EN1PWI: Prose: Writing Identities

Module code: EN1PWI

Module provider: English Literature; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: Level 1 (Certificate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Nicola Abram, email: n.l.abram@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Dr Stephen Thomson, email: s.thomson@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 17 June 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module looks at a range of forms of literary prose, both fiction and non-fiction (such as novels, novellas, short stories, memoir, theoretical and critical essays) from the eighteenth century to the present day. We will read these texts from a variety of critical perspectives to develop a better understanding of the ways in which these texts respond to, and help to shape, various cultural, aesthetic, and socio-political issues, paying particular attention to the discursive construction of identities such as ‘race’, gender, and class. You will learn skills in sustained and focussed reading and analysis that will be important throughout your degree and will help to make you more independent and more questioning as readers.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Apply discipline-specific practices of close reading, interpretative analysis and critical argument
2. Distinguish and evaluate different research methods, themes, and theoretical debates in current literary studies
3. Undertake autonomous learning, enquiry and research within the discipline of English literature, applying their mastery of relevant knowledge, skills and methods
4. Articulate their own and other people’s ideas concisely, accurately, and clearly

Module content

We will read different kinds of prose fiction, including short stories, novels, and novellas, as well as non-fiction writing of various kinds. Authors studied may include Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Henry James, Rudyard Kipling, Toni Morrison, George Orwell, Katherine Mansfield, Zadie Smith, and Virginia Woolf.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Lectures will introduce topics and explain approaches to the texts considered. In seminars students will engage with peers and tutor in interactive discussion in a small group setting. Screencasts and other self-scheduled learning resources will offer background and contextual information to support lecture materials and seminar discussions.

Study hours

At least 22 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

The first written coursework assignment serves to scaffold skills for the final summative essay.

Reassessment

Additional costs