LITR12028 - Poetry and Poetics

General Information

Unit Synopsis

The study of poetry, from the Romantics to contemporary slam poetry, offers a rich exploration of how human expression has evolved through language, form, and performance across centuries. This journey takes you from classic love sonnets to modern spoken word, showing how society and culture shape the way we express ourselves through verse. The aim of this unit is to introduce you to practical skills in understanding poetry and communicating your understanding to others. You'll learn to analyse poetry and appreciate its history and various forms while developing valuable skills in critical thinking and creative expression that you can use in any career path.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 1
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Students need to have completed 18 credit points prior to enrolling in this unit.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2025

Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Reflective Practice Assignment 20%
2. Written Assessment 35%
3. Essay 45%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 12.5% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Student feedback and UC reflection
Feedback
The curriculum requires refreshed content with lecture videos and recorded tutorials, along with more diverse voices, including more First Nations poetry, as well as more practical poetry analysis and understanding of how to write poetry.
Recommendation
The curriculum will be revised, with new lecture videos and slides, and weekly tutorials to be recorded. The new curriculum will consider an original structure and approach that incorporates greater emphasis on new and emerging voices, First Nations poets, new content on how to write poetry, and emphasis on the development of analytical and critical thinking skills.
Action Taken
The curriculum was comprehensively revised for the 2025 offering. A new structure was introduced that began with four weeks of “poetry foundations” — focusing on poetic form, close reading, and analysis — to build student confidence and skills early in the term. This was followed by thematic modules exploring movements in poetry, from Romanticism & Victorian poetry, through war poetry, the Harlem renaissance, poetry and identity, contemporary Australian poetry, and slam poetry. A dedicated focus was placed on Australian and First Nations poets, with new readings and resources introduced to reflect diverse voices and perspectives. Assessment 2 was redesigned to include a creative-analytical task, requiring students to write their own poem in response to a studied form, thereby deepening their understanding of poetic technique and expression. This task was well received and provided a practical entry point into poetic composition, particularly valuable for both BA students and future educators. Moodle content and e-readings were updated throughout, and tutorials were recorded weekly to support flexible access. Microsoft Teams and collaborative whiteboards were used to enhance engagement and provide opportunities for asynchronous participation.
Source: Student feedback and UC reflection
Feedback
Assessments require revision.
Recommendation
The assessments will be revised as necessary.
Action Taken
All assessments were redesigned. Assessment 1 was revised, Assessment 2 was completely new and innovative, and Assessment 3 essay questions were updated to align with the revised content.
Source: Student feedback and UC reflection
Feedback
Clearer expectations for the unit delivery and outcomes.
Recommendation
Embed clear and deliverable expectations in the unit introduction and greater utilisation of Microsoft Teams for communication with students.
Action Taken
The unit introduction and structure were revised to ensure clarity in delivery and outcomes. Emphasis was placed on ensuring all assessments were scaffolded in learning content every week, and assessments were likewise designed to build on each other.
Source: Verbal student feedback with UC
Feedback
A glossary of literary and poetic terms would be useful.
Recommendation
Create a glossary that contains key literary and poetic terms.
Action Taken
A glossary of literary and poetic terms was created and continues to be updated.
Source: UC reflection and student performance data
Feedback
Clarity of assessment expectations and scaffolding
Recommendation
Continue refining the scaffolding of assessments and ensure expectations are clearly communicated by the Unit Coordinator to students and any external markers. This will support consistency in marking and help maintain strong student outcomes.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student Unit Evaluation data
Feedback
Volume of weekly content
Recommendation
Review the volume of content provided each week to ensure it remains accessible and manageable. While the unit’s scope is intentionally ambitious, care should be taken to present expansive topics in a way that supports student engagement and avoids cognitive overload.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Identify and analyse different poetic forms and techniques, and how they shape meaning in a range of poetry
  2. Evaluate critical debates and theories surrounding the reception of different types of poetry
  3. Formulate responses to issues raised and ideas about poetry, and convey those ideas through cogent arguments

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Reflective Practice Assignment •
2 - Written Assessment • • •
3 - Essay • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Communication •
2 - Problem Solving •
3 - Critical Thinking • •
4 - Information Literacy •
5 - Team Work •
6 - Information Technology Competence • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence •
8 - Ethical practice •
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10