No one is immune By Prof Dr Sohail Ansari& Assessment Methods & Portfolio of creative writing

‘Speaking the truth to the unjust is the best of holy wars.”Prophet (P.B.U.H)

Fears lurk

·       All humans are frail, valiant ones have succeeded to have a bit thicker gloss of rationality; therefore, it cannot be easily breached to uncover their apprehensions and fears.

Course: creative writing

Assessment Methods & portfolio

·        Assessment is entirely through coursework, and you will work on many different types of assignment. Your portfolio of creative work will include fiction writing, news and feature writing, audio or video interviews, web pages, blogs, short film scripts, and independent project and much more. You will also submit commentaries accompanying your work, essays, reports, critical analyses and case study evaluations and give presentations. Some assessed work will be done in groups. You will receive regular feedback on your work throughout the course, including in class, where students will discuss each other’s work, and you will also be encouraged to reflect on your work yourself.

Additional components

Modules (independent units) 

Introduction to journalism; introduction to writing A: fiction and poetry; introduction to writing B: drama and non-fiction; issues in media, politics and culture.

Core issues in journalism and communication; creative non-fiction or poetry; critical feature-writing and editing; exploring screenwriting; exploring writing B: fiction and poetry; international journalisms and global news media; writing and publishing genre; writing and publishing online and electronic media.

Campaign journalism and critical writing; creative non-fiction or poetry; independent project single weight; photojournalism and visual culture; writing and publishing for children; writing and publishing genre; writing in practice 2; writing the city.

WRITING THE CITY is a literary arts platform created by the British Council. With a focus on writing inspired by city life, we support a community of new, emerging and established writers who share their work, give and receive feedback and get invaluable opportunities to take their writing forward.
A WRITERS' PANEL of acclaimed local and international writers spearheads the project.
This is your place to READ, WRITE, DISCUSS and CONNECT. Happy writing!

Case Study

Definition of a Case Study. A case study is a method for learning about a complex instance, based on a comprehensive understanding of that instance obtained through extensive description and analysis of that instance taken as a whole and in its context.

A case study focuses on a particular unit - a person, a site, a project. It often uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative data.

Case studies can be particularly useful for understanding how different elements fit together and how different elements (implementation, context and other factors) have produced the observed impacts.

There are different types of case studies, which can be used for different purposes in evaluation. The GAO (Government Accountability Office) has described six different types of case study:

1. Illustrative: This is descriptive in character and intended to add realism and in-depth examples to other information about a program or policy. (These are often used to complement quantitative data by providing examples of the overall findings).

2. Exploratory: This is also descriptive but is aimed at generating hypotheses for later investigation rather than simply providing illustration.

3. Critical instance: This examines a single instance of unique interest, or serves as a critical test of an assertion about a program, problem or strategy.

4. Program implementation. This  investigates operations, often at several sites, and often with reference to a set of norms or standards about implementation processes.

5. Program effects. This examines the causal links between the program and observed effects (outputs, outcomes or impacts, depending on the timing of the evaluation) and usually involves multisite, multimethod evaluations.

6. Cumulative. This brings together findings from many case studies to answer evaluative questions. 

Many times those that undertake a research project often find they are not aware of the differences between Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research methods.  Many mistakenly think the two terms can be used interchangeably.

So what is the difference between Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research?

Qualitative Research

Qualitative Research is primarily exploratory research. It is used to gain an understanding of underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations. It provides insights into the problem or helps to develop ideas or hypotheses for potential quantitative research. Qualitative Research is also used to uncover trends in thought and opinions, and dive deeper into the problem. Qualitative data collection methods vary using unstructured or semi-structured techniques. Some common methods include focus groups (group discussions), individual interviews, and participation/observations. The sample size is typically small, and respondents are selected to fulfil a given quota.

Quantitative Research

Quantitative Research is used to quantify the problem by way of generating numerical data or data that can be transformed into usable statistics. It is used to quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviors, and other defined variables – and generalize results from a larger sample population. Quantitative Research uses measurable data to formulate facts and uncover patterns in research. Quantitative data collection methods are much more structured than Qualitative data collection methods. Quantitative data collection methods include various forms of surveys – online surveys, paper surveys, mobile surveys and kiosk surveys, face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, longitudinal studies, website interceptors, online polls, and systematic observations.