Tutorials and seminars are especially important elements of the programmes in English, as well as lectures and, of course, your own private study and library work. On some modules you may also do group work with your fellow students as preparation for presentations or tutor-led seminars. The quality of our teaching was recognised by the award of an ‘Excellent’ rating in the most recent government teaching quality assessment exercises.
Our degree programmes run over three ‘Stages’ or years (four in the case of Linguistics with a foreign language), and each Stage is divided into two semesters. The basic teaching unit is a ‘module’, and you complete modules to a value of 120 ‘credits’ (a unit of learning-time) at each stage.
There is a combination of compulsory and optional modules. The compulsory modules ensure that you have the essential background for your studies, especially at Stage 1.
At Stages 2 and 3, the range of options increases to allow you to explore in depth the areas of the subject which interest you most. Undergraduates are also expected to pursue their own interests more intensively as they progress through their degree.
There is some emphasis on ‘Extended Study’ (ie an essay on a particular topic chosen by the student); and these studies become more in-depth as you proceed from Stage 2 to Stage 3. Both Literature and Language students may choose to write Dissertations in their final year.
The range of modules is always very wide, although the exact list of those available varies somewhat from year to year. At Stages 2 and 3, modules are grouped into categories called ‘Bands’, and the requirements for each degree use the Bands to guide your choice, so that you experience a good range of topics and approaches within your field, but at the same time have plenty of choice among individual modules. It is also possible to take modules from outside the School as part of your English degree.
Most modules are assessed by submitted work, by traditional exams, or by a combination of those during or at the end of the semester in which you study them. Some modules are also assessed in part through presentations or performance, where this is appropriate to the subject.