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Robert Cutillo

Cancelled EMA & A233

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I'm not too sure how I feel about my EMA being cancelled. On the one hand I'm happy I had less work to do; on the other I feel like I've missed out on some learning.

As far as the A233 Telling Stories: The Novel and Beyond module went, I thought I did OK. But I need to get better at analysing literature: at times I felt I hadn't studied the text well enough, which often left me struggling for things to write. My problem is – and always has been – that I go too fast and try to rush through everything. If I could learn to slow down, I think I could improve my studying and writing. But learning to slow down will be tough.

There were about ten books we had to read for A233. To be honest, I was not a big fan of them. Far From the Madding Crowd wasn't too bad, and I may even reread it at some point. I was disappointed by Neil Gaiman's Stardust, something I was glad to put down when I finished it. Don't get me wrong, the story was good; it was his writing style I disliked – it just seems so lethargic at times.

What next? Well, until my next module, I'm doing an e-learning course at The Publishing Training Centre. It's one of their cheaper courses, and if it goes well, I will do one of their big courses next year, in between OU modules. But we shall see.

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Robert Cutillo

A New Module

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Edited by Robert Cutillo, Friday, 6 Sep 2019, 20:30

For the 2018/19 academic year, I did two thirty-credit modules: English for academic purposes online (L185) and Exploring languages and cultures (L161). Neither were particularly interesting to me. I suppose I chose those two modules instead of the recommended one (which was Voices, texts and material culture) because I thought they might benefit me more – which they did, to a certain degree. But it is literature and creative writing I thrive for. Which is why I'm very excited for my new module: Telling stories: the novel and beyond (A233).

I have already received one of the textbooks, which is titled Realism. I love new textbooks. There are no creases; it has the new-book smell; and every time I touch the textbook, I handle it with care, in fear I'll damage it somehow.

I believe there are about ten novels to read over the course of the module, with five being realist novels and five being fantasy. I have already begun reading one of the realist novels: Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. It is proving to be a bit of a slog. There is far too much description and exposition for my liking, and far too little action. That said, it is beautifully written in places. But at the moment, I could not care less who wins Bathsheba Everdine's heart.

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