Newcastle University

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

The module aims:

1. To develop students' ability to close read the formal and stylistic features of a range of literary modes.

2. To introduce students to the critical vocabulary used to identify and describe those features.

3. To teach students how to apply that critical vocabulary thoughtfully and with precision in their own analyses.

Outline Of Syllabus

Close reading is one of the tools which are fundamental to any degree involving the study of literature. This core Stage 1 module will equip students with the analytical skills and vocabulary needed to read and write meaningfully and accurately about a wide range of 'texts'. These skills will underpin the study in the rest of the degree. The syllabus will involve the analysis of works in a range of different literary modes. Lectures and seminars will concentrate on developing students' understanding of how to approach works in each mode, identifying and interpreting key formal and stylistic features. Students will develop their own close reading practice both orally and in writing.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

At the end of the module, students will have gained:

1. knowledge of how to approach and engage in the close reading of a range of literary modes

2. knowledge of the critical vocabulary needed to discuss key formal and stylistic features of works in each mode

3. an understanding of how to apply critical terms in their analyses

4. insight into the significance of literary form

Intended Skill Outcomes

At the end of the module, students will be able to demonstrate:

1. the ability to identify key formal and stylistic features of a wide range of texts

2. the ability to ask new and different questions of texts informed by the understanding of their form

3. the ability to formulate and support their own critical interpretation of a text, using their analytical skills and critical vocabulary

4. the ability to present a meaningful critical analysis of unfamiliar extracts, demonstrating close engagement with it, in an academic essay

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures introduce students to a range of literary modes, examining some of the major stylistic and formal features which are particular to a mode or in some cases common to all of them, and explaining essential critical terms and how to use them. Seminars give students the opportunity to develop and practise their analytical skills orally and through preparatory small-group written work, using both set texts and unseen sample extracts from each mode. Students will also receive detailed guidance on their assessments in some of the lectures and regular feedback on their assignments and study group work.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The module introduces students to advanced close reading practices across five genres/modes (Prose, Drama, Poetry, Visual Culture and Film), using prose and drama extracts, short poems, film clips and single images. The formative assessment at mid-module offers students practice in performing close readings on two of the genres/modes, preparatory to the end-of-module summative assessment that requires them to write on the remaining three. The assessment of participation mark will be based on a select range of small group teaching activities (e.g. contributions to seminar discussions, study group reports, solo or group presentations, contributions to Canvas discussion boards, as appropriate). This component will be assessed using the SELLL supplementary criteria for Assessing Participation and Engagement and is designed to encourage students to engage consistently with all aspects of the module.

General Notes

N/A