Course Catalogue

Crime Fiction CRWRT5058

  • Academic Session: 2026-27
  • School: School of Critical Studies
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: No
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No
  • Curriculum For Life: No

Short Description

This Masters course aims to explore the techniques, structures and contexts of crime fiction, thereby enabling students to develop their own writing practice and produce original crime fiction. The course involves close reading and analysis of a diverse range of crime fiction texts, explorations of the conventions and plasticity of the genre, workshopping of students' creative work and contributions by writers in the field.

Timetable

10 x 2hr weekly seminars over ten weeks as scheduled on MyCampus

Requirements of Entry

Standard entry to Masters at College level.

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

The standard assessments for this course are:

■ Portfolio of original crime writing (4,500 words) - 80%

■ Presentation (10 minutes) - 20%

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:

■ There is no alternative to the Portfolio, but extensions to the deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (students should follow the usual process for extensions)..

■ Recorded presentation (video or audio) or one-to-one presentation with staff as alternative to the Presentation

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.

Course Aims

The course aims to:

■ Investigate the multiple structures, styles, histories and concerns of a range of international crime fiction novels

■ Present a wide range of crime fiction texts for analysis

■ Investigate the elasticity and parameters of the crime genre

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to: 

■ Critically analyse and assess the structures, styles, concerns and ethics of crime fiction, orally and in writing through creative practice

■ Appraise the changing crime fiction marketplace and identify new trends within crime fiction

■ Apply a wide range of crime fiction craft and techniques via written work

■ Produce their own original creative work of crime fiction, edited to a high standard

■ Challenge, through oral debate and in writing, the parameters of crime fiction in their practice

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

No exceptions