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Evergreen course plan · Enrolment not openEditing and publication · Self-paced

Develop a poetry portfolio through an advanced workshop

Develop an existing poetry portfolio through demanding questions, formal experiments and considered revision. Record what changes and why, without treating taste as a universal rule.

Suggested pace: 4 weeks
Learning time: 16 hours
Format: Self-paced

Our course is evergreen, so its suggested pace is not a fixed start date or deadline. Explore our syllabus and original open lesson below. The full teaching pack, feedback arrangements and delivery still need to be completed before enrolment opens.

AN OPEN LESSON · ABOUT 20 MINUTES

Choose the draft that resists its neighbours

A portfolio's most awkward poem may reveal a useful direction rather than a mistake. Comparing its voice or structure with the others can make the writer's habits easier to recognise.

Try it now

Write summaries of five original drafts. Choose the outlier and propose one experiment that borrows a feature from it for another poem.

Read it back, or check the result

Keep both versions and describe the result. Advanced work means a more deliberate question and revision process, not a requirement to disclose personal experience or accept every suggestion.

This original Learn Courses exercise is free to read and use for your own practice. It is a standalone introduction, not a claim that the full course or tutor feedback is available.

FREE · AT YOUR OWN PACE

Follow this plan

Keep your own record as you work through the open lesson, each module and the final project. The full lesson pack and tutor feedback are still in production, so this records your own study, not an assessed result.

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KEEP IN TOUCH ABOUT THIS COURSE

Interested? Let us know.

Our course is evergreen. Register interest for course-specific availability contact, without a fixed start date, payment or reserved place. This does not subscribe you to a general newsletter.

IS THIS FOR YOU?

Who this course is for

Writers with a small set of existing drafts who want a structured revision project and a more demanding feedback practice.

Before you begin

A notebook or accessible writing tool and a way to read the supplied text-first material.
No formal writing qualification is required. Bring existing drafts if useful, or start with the original prompts supplied for the course.
Use my own work, public-domain material or expressly permitted sources. Sharing personal experiences is optional.

FREE TO DO

Free

Our poetry and writing courses are free to do. We will not charge a course fee for these courses. The published introductory lesson is available now; full teaching materials and any tutor-led sessions will open when ready.

No course fee. Try the open lesson now; full course enrolment is not open yet.

Explore a sample learning space →

The sample is fictional. It is separate from this course’s future lessons.

A PRACTICAL NEXT STEP

What you’ll be able to do

Select five original drafts and identify a craft question that connects them without forcing a single theme.
Prepare a workshop response that names the writer's intention, locates evidence and proposes one testable revision.
Make a substantial alternative to one draft and document what the experiment reveals.
Sequence five revised poems with a reflective statement and a record of accepted and declined feedback.

THE TEACHING PLAN

Your next 4 weeks

A clear route through the subject, with something to make, test or reflect on at every stage.

MODULE 1

Set the portfolio question

Select five original drafts and identify a craft question that connects them without forcing a single theme.

Your practical activity: Select five original drafts and identify a craft question that connects them without forcing a single theme.
How the plan proposes to check your understanding: Provide the original draft, a revised version and a short craft note explaining the choices behind set the portfolio question. Include a source-and-rights note and identify what you chose not to share.

MODULE 2

Give evidence-based feedback

Prepare a workshop response that names the writer's intention, locates evidence and proposes one testable revision.

Your practical activity: Prepare a workshop response that names the writer's intention, locates evidence and proposes one testable revision.
How the plan proposes to check your understanding: Provide the original draft, a revised version and a short craft note explaining the choices behind give evidence-based feedback. Include a source-and-rights note and identify what you chose not to share.

MODULE 3

Take a deliberate formal risk

Make a substantial alternative to one draft and document what the experiment reveals.

Your practical activity: Make a substantial alternative to one draft and document what the experiment reveals.
How the plan proposes to check your understanding: Provide the original draft, a revised version and a short craft note explaining the choices behind take a deliberate formal risk. Include a source-and-rights note and identify what you chose not to share.

MODULE 4

Prepare the revised portfolio

Sequence five revised poems with a reflective statement and a record of accepted and declined feedback.

Your practical activity: Sequence five revised poems with a reflective statement and a record of accepted and declined feedback.
How the plan proposes to check your understanding: Provide the original draft, a revised version and a short craft note explaining the choices behind prepare the revised portfolio. Include a source-and-rights note and identify what you chose not to share.

PUT IT INTO PRACTICE

Your final project

Sequence five revised poems with a reflective statement and a record of accepted and declined feedback. Show how the first three module experiments informed the final result. Personal disclosure and public performance are optional.

What you’ll produce

Select five original drafts and identify a craft question that connects them without forcing a single theme.
Prepare a workshop response that names the writer's intention, locates evidence and proposes one testable revision.
Make a substantial alternative to one draft and document what the experiment reveals.
Sequence five revised poems with a reflective statement and a record of accepted and declined feedback.
A concise reflection, revision record and source-and-rights note.

What good work looks like

Intent and craft: 30 marks for purposeful choices that the submitted work demonstrates.
Development: 25 marks for meaningful experiments, revision and an explained response to feedback.
Coherence and usability: 25 marks for an integrated portfolio or practical pack suited to its intended audience.
Reflection and sources: 20 marks for clear process notes, honest attribution and appropriate privacy boundaries. Completion requires at least 70/100, all exercises and correction of any unresolved source-rights or privacy issue. Literary taste, personal disclosure, publication acceptance and sales are not marking criteria.

Resources for your learning

An original text-first lesson and worked example for set the portfolio question.
An original text-first lesson and worked example for give evidence-based feedback.
An original text-first lesson and worked example for take a deliberate formal risk.
An original text-first lesson and worked example for prepare the revised portfolio.
A course-specific workbook, source-and-rights ledger and a completed project reference.
Captions and transcripts for any recordings produced before launch.

A course you can access

Provide text-first lessons, edited transcripts and captions for every recording.
Support screen readers, keyboard navigation, readable formatting and low-bandwidth downloads.
Offer equivalent written or recorded evidence; live attendance and rapid spoken responses are not required by default.
Allow an invented or indirect writing route and private tutor submission where a subject feels personal. Provide content notes and a clear support boundary before enrolment.

FINISH WITH SOMETHING USEFUL

How you’ll complete the course

Complete the four original exercises and a revision or testing record.
Submit the capstone with a source-and-influence statement and meet the published 70/100 rubric.
Respond to feedback or explain a reasoned decision to retain the original choice.
No public performance, personal disclosure, external publication or commercial sale is required. Completion is internal recognition of assessed work, not external accreditation.

Completion will describe the work you have done. No external accreditation or professional qualification is claimed.

BEFORE ENROLMENT OPENS

What still needs finishing

Course materials and delivery are not ready yet. We’ll update this page before enrolment opens.

Produce and review the four original lessons, exercise sheets and reference submissions for this course.
Confirm tutor availability, relevant experience, feedback arrangements and realistic study time through a pilot.
Clear source and media rights, provide accessible equivalents and keep personal disclosure optional.
Approve the final fee, access period, support, cancellation and refund terms before sale.
Verify paid entitlements and private submission boundaries before enrolment opens.

The ideas behind the course

Our poetry curriculum draws on public subject research and our original writing exercises. Linked external sources retain their own authorship and are background references, not our course materials or an endorsement. The full teaching pack still needs production and review.

autumn 2026 quick course guide

KEEP EXPLORING

A useful next course

Explore all poetry and writing courses →

EXPLORE THE ACADEMY

See how the learning space feels.

Try the fictional learner demo →