Newcastle University > Undergraduate > Find a Degree > Module

• Offered for Year: 2020/21

• Module Leader(s): Dr Stacy Gillis
• Demonstrator: Dr Bysshe Coffey, Mr Peter Hebden, Mr Jonathan Quayle, Miss Caroline Rae, Miss Emily Jeffreys, Miss Chiara Pellegrini Giampietro, Dr Tiago Sousa Garcia
• Lecturer: Dr Kirsten MacLeod, Dr Rachel White, Dr James Harriman-Smith, Dr Mark Byers

• Owning School: English Lit, Language & Linguistics
• Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus

Semesters

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.

Teaching Methods

Please note that module leaders are reviewing the module teaching and assessment methods for Semester 2 modules, in light of the Covid-19 restrictions. There may also be a few further changes to Semester 1 modules. Final information will be available by the end of August 2020 in for Semester 1 modules and the end of October 2020 for Semester 2 modules.

Teaching Activities

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 Methods

Please note that module leaders are reviewing the module teaching and assessment methods for Semester 2 modules, in light of the Covid-19 restrictions. There may also be a few further changes to Semester 1 modules. Final information will be available by the end of August 2020 in for Semester 1 modules and the end of October 2020 for Semester 2 modules.

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The portfolio of 2 x 1000 words close readings focuses on two of the forms studied in the first half of the module. The final exam ensures that students focus solely on the extracts and gives experience of exam conditions.

Reading Lists

• SEL1030's Reading List

Timetable

• Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
• SEL1030's Timetable