School of English
Module manager: Dr Sam Durrant
Email: s.r.durrant@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2021/22
Usually Grade B at A level in English Language or Literature or equivalent.
ENGL1120
This module is approved as a discovery module
This module aims to lay a solid foundation for the study of English at university level through the analysis of a number of different prose texts. It explores the mechanics of prose writing and considers a range of critical and theoretical approaches to literature. By the end of the module, students will have developed as readers and as writers, with improved close reading skills, a greater understanding of critical tools and terminology, and an awareness of some of the conceptual issues raised by interpreting prose in English. Topics to be examined will include: genre; narrative form; writing and subjectivity; race and nation; literature and politics; gender difference; and authorship.
On completion of this module, students will be able to read prose texts in various genres with an awareness of historical context; they will possess the fundamental critical skills and terminologies required to produce close textual readings of both fictional and non-fictional writing and they will be familiar with a range of critical and theoretical approaches to literature and culture across history.
In terms of Academic Excellence this module develops critical thinking, flexibility of thought and analytical skills. It supports and develops the ability to work autonomously, initiative, planning and organisational skills. Students will learn to analyse information, synthesise views and make connections; students will be critically aware of, and be informed by, current knowledge; and will develop research skills. In short:
- Skills for effective communication, oral and written.
- Capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse.
- Ability to acquire quantities of complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way.
- Capacity for independent thought and judgement.
- Critical reasoning.
- Research skills, including information retrieval skills, the organisation of material, and the evaluation of its importance.
- IT skills.
- Time management and organisational skills.
- Independent learning.
- Skills for effective communication, oral and written.
- Capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse.
- Ability to acquire quantities of complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way.
- Capacity for independent thought and judgement.
- Critical reasoning.
- Research skills, including information retrieval skills, the organisation of material, and the evaluation of its importance.
- IT skills.
- Time management and organisational skills.
- Independent learning.
Examining a wide range of prose writings, including novels, short stories, critical essays and letters from the early modern to contemporary periods, this module provides diverse opportunities to experience the pleasures, possibilities and challenges of reading, interpreting and writing prose. It explores the fundamentals of narrative form, theoretical approaches and topics like race, politics, authorship, and gender difference. Investigating a wide range of genres, it asks what is at stake when writers take prose into the realms of experiment, fantasy and critique. Taught through a combination of lectures and small group work, this foundational course will help students to understand and engage with what happens when literature seeks to represent life in all its complexity, anguish and beauty.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 22 | 1 | 22 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 168 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 32 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
The module will be taught through weekly seminars (10 x 1 hour) and lectures (22 x 1 hour).
Private Study: To include preparation and reading for each weekly seminar; additional reading from the indicative reading list; preparation of any unassessed tasks as required.
- Seminar contribution
- Feedback on close reading assignment
- Feedback on essay
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment | 1,000 word assignment | 33.3 |
| Essay | 2,000 word essay | 66.7 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 1/31/2022
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team