Students will not secure a pass for this course unless they have
met ALL the requirements below (even for resits/reexaminations):
1. ATTENDANCE [+ COMPENSATING ESSAY for poor attendance];
2. VALID CRITICAL ESSAY (See explanation
below);
3. PORTFOLIO OF READING NOTES FOR AT LEAST 3/4 OF THE MANDATORY
BIBLIOGRAPHY;
· Attendance or Do
I need to come to class?
Attending
is compulsory for 5 out of 7 seminars but only optional
for the lectures.
However, I
strongly suggest you do come to the
lectures in order to get a better grip of the critical framework and of some of
the primary texts for this class.
(If you show
up for less than 5 seminars, you will fail the first exam session. Also, be
advised that the grade for your seminar performance will be based, among other
criteria, on your attendance score.)
· Seminar
requirements or What do they want from me?
1.
WRITTEN ESSAY (+PRESENTATION).
Other than
having to attend most seminars, all students have to write a
3-to-4-page academic/critical essay.
-All essays
are to be delivered as Word documents. One page is 2000 characters with spaces.
(Use the Word Count function in the Tools menu in Microsoft
Office Word.)
- Failure
to apply the critical format to a presentation, an essay, or the
mid-term test will be graded as 2 (see Critical
methodology for seminar assignments immediately below).
-All forms
of plagiarism will be graded as 1 and will result in a
FAIL (possibly in a recommendation for the culprit to be expelled).
-Failure
to meet the deadlines (deliver the presentation/hand in the
written essay) will result in 3 points being deducted from
that particular mark.
-Most students
will make a 10-minute in-class presentation based on
their written essay. The presentation is to be delivered (not read !)
in approx. 10 mins. and then discussed in/by the class. You will
receive bonus points for in-class presentations to be added to
your mark in the written essay: 2 points if they volunteer, 1 point if they are
appointed by the seminar instructor. 3 points will be deducted from the essay
mark for failure to deliver the scheduled presentation.
-Students must
contact their seminar instructors and enlist for a presentation not
later than the second week of the semester. Note: They are under no
obligation to hand in the written critical essay at the time of the
presentation or to change the topic/approach for the written critical essay.
2. READING NOTES FOR THE COMPULSORY CRITICAL
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
(The relevant sections in your bibliography will become clear once you go through your list of exam subjects.)
(The relevant sections in your bibliography will become clear once you go through your list of exam subjects.)
Reading notes
for the text being currently discussed in class will be
checked at the beginning of each seminar.
At the end of
the semester, deliver all reading notes by email as a
single file [.doc (Word), .pdf (Adobe) or .zip (WinZip or 7z archive)]
as a prerequisite for being admitted to the examination.
N.B. HOW
& WHEN TO SEND IN YOUR ASSIGNMENTS (1+2).
- Deadline for submitting
your written essays and reading notes: before the first day of the last week of classes.
a) - LOAD YOUR ESSAY ON THE TURNITIN PLATFORM ! Essays
will not be considered unless they are mounted on the Turnitin platform!
Create an account at http://www.turnitin.com/ro/home.
For Daniela Cârstea: Class ID: 24714570; Class Key: CON20.
For Dragoș Ivana: Class ID: 24762787; Class Key: CTLIT.
When asked for a title write 2020 [LAST NAME] [FIRST NAME].
Create an account at http://www.turnitin.com/ro/home.
For Daniela Cârstea: Class ID: 24714570; Class Key: CON20.
For Dragoș Ivana: Class ID: 24762787; Class Key: CTLIT.
When asked for a title write 2020 [LAST NAME] [FIRST NAME].
Find more
details at Turnitin
Guides (link).
b) - Also, ask your seminar instructors if you should also EMAIL ANY OF YOUR ASSIGNMENTS .
- When
emailing, always state your name and class/year in the subject
line (e.g., " [LAST NAME] [FIRST NAME] CONC. LIT. 1A
Assignments "), in the signature of your email message, and in
the title of the files for your essay and reading notes.
- The essay
and the reading notes should be emailed as file attachments to
your email message. All reading notes are to be delivered as a single
file.doc (Word), .pdf (Adobe) or .zip (WinZip or 7z)
archive files. These 2 files should be titled “[LAST NAME] [FIRST NAME]
Critical Essay” or “[LAST NAME] [FIRST NAME] Reading Notes”,
respectively. E.g., STEFANESCU BOGDAN Critical Essay.doc.
- Depending on the seminar instructor, you may expect a
brief confirmation email. Should one fail to reach you in a few days, resend
your material and ask for confirmation.
3. PARTICIPATION
IN CLASS DISCUSSIONS.
4. ALL
STUDENTS (not just those on assignment) MUST
READ CLOSELY THE SELECTED TEXT(S) FOR EACH SEMINAR.
Quizzes should
be expected as well as verification of personal reading notes ["conspecte"]
for each seminar.
N.B.!!! STUDENTS
CANNOT PROCURE A PASS FOR THIS COURSE IF THEY HAVEN'T SUBMITTED THEIR READING
NOTES AND A VALID WRITTEN ESSAY.
(“Valid” means
not plagiarized and conforming to the format and methodological requirements –
see section below.)
· Critical methodology for seminar
assignments or How
do I write a successful critical essay?
1. For theoretical presentations/essays that discuss critical texts, students are expected to CRITICALLY PROCESS the text they are presenting. This involves, among other things:
1. For theoretical presentations/essays that discuss critical texts, students are expected to CRITICALLY PROCESS the text they are presenting. This involves, among other things:
- extracting the outline of the main argument in
the text,
- rearranging and selecting the ideas of the text
in accordance with the student's personal prioritization,
- suggesting points of contention and avenues for
debate,
- highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the
text, and, just as importantly,
- suggesting how the text could be employed in
analysing literary works.
2. Applied
(literary analysis) presentations/essays must USE
A PARTICULAR CRITICAL APPROACH of the student’s choice (after consultation with
the seminar instructor). Anthologies of critical approaches are available at
the Pitar Mos Reading Room where most of the course material is stored (ask at
the Librarian’s Desk for R. Surdulescu & B. Stefãnescu - Contemporary
Critical Theories. A Reader and David Lodge - Modern Literary
Criticism and Theory).
The following
is the required FORMAT for such assignments:
- Main Assumptions (what literature is in his/her selected
critical perspective);
- Objectives (a. what that critical perspective aims
for, generally speaking, and b. what the student’s particular assignment
sets out to do within the range of the general objectives of his/her
critical approach);
- Critical
Method (what critical
instruments - i.e., methodology, concepts, techniques etc. - will be
employed to achieve the Objectives);
- Argument/Analysis proper (the main body of the presentation);
- Conclusions (a concluding statement on the result of
the analysis and a brief self-evaluation of the benefits of the critical
endeavour).
All seminar
presentations must use HANDOUTS (at least one for every two students in the
audience).
You can find
useful hints for successful academic essay style at The
Nuts and Bolts of College Writing.
3. MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS
FOR THE WRITTEN ESSAY:
- Design a
solid argument and a clear structure (headed argument) for the essay
starting with the initial justification of your choice of theme and approach
and leading to relevant conclusions.
- Identify and
clearly state in the introductory section what is the problem that
you aim to tackle in the essay and provide a brief
explanation of your methodology and specialized critical terms.
- Use elegant
and nuanced language (no colloquialisms or slang terms) without becoming
pedantic and affected. Demonstrate that you can use the critical idiom
of your approach.
- Strictly
adhere to the MLA academic style in quoting and indicating
sources, inserting notes and compiling the list of cited works. (MLA
Style at Purdue University - link) Look for relevant subsections in
the left hand side column.
- Do not
forget to run a computer spell & grammar check and to
double check it yourself.
- Insert all
elements of identification (full name, year and group, course name and seminar
instructor, date). We handle hundreds of essays each semester and it is not
easy to keep track of them when there is missing info.
- Send your
essay be email to your seminar instructor before the deadline and always keep a
copy of your essay in case it gets misplaced or fails to reach him/her.
· Computation
of grade or How should I balance my efforts?
The seminar
grade will reflect:
1) the assignments (the critical essay/presentation) = 33% of seminar grade;
2) participation in the seminar debates = 33%;
3) attendance = 33% [5 attendances and over = 10; 4 att. = 8; 3 att. = 6; 2 att. = 4; 1 att. = 2].
The seminar grade will count as half of the final mark, the other half is the final exam assessment.
1) the assignments (the critical essay/presentation) = 33% of seminar grade;
2) participation in the seminar debates = 33%;
3) attendance = 33% [5 attendances and over = 10; 4 att. = 8; 3 att. = 6; 2 att. = 4; 1 att. = 2].
The seminar grade will count as half of the final mark, the other half is the final exam assessment.
· Final
exam format or How will I be examined?
The FINAL
EXAM IS ORAL. (Should you fail or miss the first exam
session, all subsequent resits [re-examinations] will be written.)
The exam ticket will consist of one subject to be prepared for about 20-25
mins. and discussed in about 6-8 mins. A student may change the ticket only
once, in which case 2 points will be deducted from the exam grade. Students may
not decline the changed subject and revert to the original one.
A list of subjects and compulsory bibliography (readings) is provided on this course site at the beginning of the semester.
A list of subjects and compulsory bibliography (readings) is provided on this course site at the beginning of the semester.
All the
primary texts in your course bibliography have to be read in order to secure a
pass. Studying
criticism or summaries of these primary texts instead of the
texts themselves (and passing it for your reasoned interpretation of them) will
not be tolerated.
· Malfunctions or What
if something goes wrong?
Should any
problems arise regarding the bibliography and its availability to students,
please notify the course director or your seminar instructor
immediately. Excuses (such as not having found the texts in the bibliography)
will not be accepted unless a solution has been attempted with the course team
previously. All other malfunctions should be reported ASAP (as soon as
possible) to the seminar instructors or to B. Stefãnescu.
·
AVOID PLAGIARISM!
or Can I take the easy way out?
-Any form of
plagiarism or cheating in exams, mid-term tests, seminar assignments
etc.--whether enacted or attempted, fragmentary or integral, deliberate or
accidental--will be punished severely (that is, a fail in the course for
minor transgressions and a formal suggestion that the culprit be expelled
for more serious offenses).
-Make sure
that what you say or write are your own ideas and words. Whenever they are
not yours, make that as clear and explicit as possible using quotation marks,
references/mentions, listings in the bibliography, footnotes/endnotes.
-You will find
clarifications and advice about plagiarism at http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/plagiarism.html or http://www.plagiarism.org/ or http://www.wpacouncil.org/node/9
- Stay
away from non-academic sites like Sparknotes, Answers.com, GradeSaver,
Wikipedia, ready-made essay banks/data bases etc. Use only authoritative
(serious) sites where articles are signed, such as academic encyclopedias
or the web pages of academics, university departments, scholarly societies etc.
-Do not
recycle your essays (which is called self-plagiarism). Write new work, do not
use older essays that you've submitted for another class.