Newspaper Article

How to click as a writer . . . Aspiring authors can now hone their skills on the internet. Susan Elkin logs on

Elkin, Susan

2005

Overview

That is why, two years ago, the Open University launched three \"Start Writing'' distance learning courses, and added three more options last year. These are mini courses presented via computer. Each lasts 12 weeks and costs pounds 125. So far, nearly 9,000 people have successfully completed one of these courses, which start on three different dates each year. Students have two assignments marked by a tutor who oversees a group of about 25. \"The assignments are annotated and assessed and then emailed back to the student,'' says Nigel Warburton, who played a big part in devising the OU courses. \"The feedback is really detailed, and it's much better than the traditional practice of scribbling comments on paper in narrow margins.'' Because the \"Start Writing'' courses are so short, they can easily be slotted in alongside other work, as Jessica Marchant, 17, has found. She has just taken her AS-levels at Edgbaston High School, Birmingham, and will start doing an A2 in English literature next term. Her English teacher told her about \"Start Writing Fiction'' and she did all the work, including a 1,500 word short story at home, via the internet. Her parents, who are both teachers, paid her fee.

• Publisher: Daily Telegraph
• Subject: Lea, Catherine / Warburton, Nigel