- Knowledge and understanding
At the end of the module, learners will be expected to show knowledge and understanding of:
A1: the formal characteristics of the principal genres and sub-genres of literature (novel, short story, plays, romance and realist novel, novel of growth, tragedy, comedy, life-writing, travel-writing, letters, film, popular fiction, and writing for children).
A2: a range of writers coming from many cultural backgrounds, including English, Irish, Scottish, French, German, American, African, and Caribbean writers.
A3: how literary texts have been written and received within literary, cultural and socio-historical contexts from the Renaissance to the present.
A4: theoretical concepts such as 'literature', textuality, the nature of context and inter-text, the idea of the author, the history of reading and the book.
A5: the problematic nature of a literary history conceived in terms of period and nation, and the development of the concept of 'literatures'.
B. Cognitive skills
At the end of the module, learners should be able to:
B1. work with a novel, play or a critical text that is the product of a culture other than that of the reader, and to appreciate the historical changes with reference to issues like gender, race, culture, nation.
B2. construct an argument, comparing and contrasting two or more literary texts (novels, plays, characters, themes).
B3. engage with literary criticism of the assigned texts.
B4. Use appropriate literary, critical, and linguistic terminology to describe and discuss specific theories, concepts and evidence.
B5: Synthesise information and ideas from different sources in order to reach their own conclusions.
C Practical and professional skills
At the end of the module, learners should be able to:
C1. be able to keep to the focus of a question while answering
C2. write an essay in the correct format, with proper beginning, and in logical and coherent development;
C3. use correct language: syntax, grammar, spelling, punctuation and quotation marks;
C4. use word processing skills effectively, to present a typed answer in a format that aids understanding, using different fonts, highlighting devices, margins and indentations;
C5.use secondary sources ethically by avoiding plagiarism.
D Key transferable skills
At the end of the module, learners should be able to:
D1. be able to write in an appropriate academic register, using scholarly conventions, like acknowledging borrowings from other sources, like audio video, the internet, and relevant critics, with proper referencing.
D2. be able to read and synthesize from a large range of texts.
D3. develop listening strategies, especially in relation to audio video course material, and to gain an extended understanding of narrative and dramatic texts.
D4. make effective use of feedback from a tutor to improve performance continually.