Photograph: Shane Rounce on Unsplash

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Photograph: Shane Rounce on Unsplash

Course plan · Enrolment not openPoetry foundations · Self-paced

Sentences, diction and the rhetorical life of a poem

With Shane Rounce

I want to build sentences, diction and the rhetorical life of a poem around original exercises, practical feedback and a finished project. This plan bundles related themes into one clear learning route; the actual lessons, reading permissions and teaching arrangements still need producing and confirming.

4 weeks16 learning hoursSelf-paced

I’m developing this course as part of Learn Courses. This is the full teaching plan, ready to review before I produce the lessons and open enrolment.

READ A WORKED EXAMPLE

Image, pattern and turn in Anicca

Read selected excerpts from my poem, follow the craft analysis and try an original writing exercise.

Read my Anicca teaching example →

IS THIS FOR YOU?

Who I’m building this for

Poets developing more control over language.

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.

PROPOSED COURSE FEE

£79

Provisional planning figure, not an approved price, booking invitation or promise of availability. The estimate assumes reusable self-paced lessons and bounded support. Lesson production, access period and the feedback model need costing before sale. Tax treatment and any concession scheme need review before launch.

Planning price only. Enrolment is closed and no payment is taken.

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

Rewrite one original statement using different sentence lengths and positions of emphasis.
Compare registers, invented words and precise diction without mistaking complexity for force.
Draft a poem using address, question, list or repetition to develop thought.
Prepare a final poem and a commentary connecting syntax, diction and structure to a chosen effect.
Analyse how specific choices in image, syntax, lineation or address shape a poem, using evidence from the text.

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

Make a sentence move

I want this session to develop make a sentence move through a short original demonstration, a guided experiment and a revised piece. I separate an observable craft decision from a matter of taste and leave room for different voices.

Your practical activity: Rewrite one original statement using different sentence lengths and positions of emphasis.
How I’ll check your understanding: Submit the exercise and a short craft note: rewrite one original statement using different sentence lengths and positions of emphasis. Show one deliberate choice, an alternative I tried and what I changed after review. Feedback addresses the work rather than judging the writer’s life or requiring agreement with a particular viewpoint.

MODULE 2

Choose the word with a reason

I want this session to develop choose the word with a reason through a short original demonstration, a guided experiment and a revised piece. I separate an observable craft decision from a matter of taste and leave room for different voices.

Your practical activity: Compare registers, invented words and precise diction without mistaking complexity for force.
How I’ll check your understanding: Submit the exercise and a short craft note: compare registers, invented words and precise diction without mistaking complexity for force. Show one deliberate choice, an alternative I tried and what I changed after review. Feedback addresses the work rather than judging the writer’s life or requiring agreement with a particular viewpoint.

MODULE 3

Use a rhetorical turn

Compare “does not” statements and “without” phrases as different forms of insistence.

Your practical activity: Build a short sequence with a repeated pattern and alter one clause to create a turn.
How I’ll check your understanding: Explain the pattern and variation with a specific phrase or sentence.

MODULE 4

Revise the complete language system

Trace the move from direct address to a shared “we”.

Your practical activity: Revise a passage by changing its address once and keep both versions.
How I’ll check your understanding: Describe how the pronoun shift changes the reader’s position; do not mark viewpoint.

PUT IT INTO PRACTICE

Your final project

Prepare a short original portfolio that joins the four module experiments into a coherent result. Include draft and revision evidence, a source-and-influence note and a short reflection explaining the craft decisions. A fictional or indirect route is always acceptable; personal disclosure and public publication are optional.

What you’ll produce

Make a sentence move: the original exercise, a revised version where relevant and a short account of the chosen approach.
Choose the word with a reason: the original exercise, a revised version where relevant and a short account of the chosen approach.
Use a rhetorical turn: the original exercise, a revised version where relevant and a short account of the chosen approach.
Revise the complete language system: the original exercise, a revised version where relevant and a short account of the chosen approach.
A concise project statement, source-and-rights record and revision or testing log.
A clear statement of what I am willing to share and what must remain private.

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 demonstration and an exercise sheet for make a sentence move.
An original demonstration and an exercise sheet for choose the word with a reason.
An original demonstration and an exercise sheet for use a rhetorical turn.
An original demonstration and an exercise sheet for revise the complete language system.
A rights-cleared reading or reference packet with accessible formats and brief source notes.
A portfolio or campaign workbook, revision log, peer-feedback guide and completed capstone reference.
An assessment rubric and an equivalent-access evidence template.
Worked example: Anicca (absence of permanence), by Shane Rounce, using author-supplied selected excerpts for image, pattern and formal choice.
Read my author-supplied Anicca worked example at /readings/anicca/.

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 I OPEN ENROLMENT

What I still need to finish

I’ll turn this plan into a delivered course once the teaching material and the learning service are ready.

Write and review the original lessons, exercise sheets, assessment guidance and reference submissions for this exact plan.
Confirm who is qualified and available to teach or review the subject. Shane is the proposed course owner; this plan does not claim another poet has agreed to teach or that Shane holds a specialist qualification.
Select an original, public-domain or licensed reading packet and complete the source-and-rights ledger before uploading any text, image or recording.
Pilot the complete course with access testing, realistic study time, feedback turnaround and an alternative route for each required activity.
Approve the fee, tax treatment, refund terms, access period, moderation and support boundaries before accepting bookings.
Test server-side paid access, private submissions, tenant isolation, asset permissions and payment reconciliation before enrolment.
Publish truthful course status and tutor details only after agreement; do not present Poetry School’s tutors, course brands, student work or private teaching materials as mine.
Retain author credit, provide selectable text with preserved line breaks, and offer a fictional or observational route without personal disclosure.

The ideas behind the course

My published articles are background reading for this plan. The full lessons, activities and assessment material still need producing.

EXPLORE THE ACADEMY

See how the learning space feels.

Try the fictional learner demo →