Special Project (Text, Context, Intertext)

Module overview

The Special Project module will allow you to produce a written assignment or equivalent on a topic of your choice, undertaking independent research with individual guidance from the convenor. The number of supervisions you have will depend on the size of the group you are in. If you are supervised alone or in a group of 2-3 you will normally have up to three supervisions of up to two hours over the course of the semester. Larger groups will have further supervisions, up to a maximum of eight meetings of up to two hours for very large groups.

Meetings will be focused on readings selected in consultation with the convenor.

In consultation with your supervisor, you will be encouraged to identify resources from the undergraduate curriculum which will help you to build your knowledge and understanding. This may be an entire module, individual lectures (recorded or live), or guidance provided on Blackboard from a single module or from a range of modules.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

dominant, important, and emerging critical and theoretical approaches to rhetoric within a literary period or field of enquiry;
the significance of these texts within the larger context of English literary studies, and other relevant and broader contexts of cultural production.
a specific aspect of a text or group of texts in a particular literary period or field of enquiry;

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

research and plan independently;
summarise and assess textual arguments;
formulate and communicate an argument;
write a sustained piece of work.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

find resources of relevance to any given topic related to the specific aspect of rhetoric in English literary studies;
distil, summarise and assess extant approaches to rhetoric within the subject of English literary studies.
creatively and persuasively present your own approach to text or group of texts within the subject of English literary studies.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include:

up to three one-to-one meetings or up to eight group meetings with members of staff with particularly deep knowledge in a field.

Learning activities include

individual study and research time;
accessing research materials (possibly including archival material) and on-line resources;
preparation of written assignments, or equivalent, in consultation with the Special Project convenor/s.
the opportunity to undertake in-depth independent research into a topic of your own choosing

Study time
Type	Hours
Tutorial	8
Preparation for scheduled sessions	192
Completion of assessment task	100
Total study time	300

Resources & Reading list

General Resources

Archives. You may also need: Relevant resources will vary according to your Special Subject. You will be encouraged to seek information beyond that which is easily available in the University Library, and will be given advice on accessing specialists’ archives in your field.

Assessment

Assessment strategy

Assessment is made up of two elements.

The first assignment is worth 20% and is intended to provide you with the means of successfully developing your independent project. Depending on the nature of the Special Project it will be appropriate for this to be a blog, literature review, annotated bibliography, recorded presentation, academic poster, research proposal, or other similar assignment agreed with your supervisor.

The second assignment is worth 80% and will represent the culmination of your independent research. There is no set question which applies to all projects: instead, special projects invite you to begin by exploring a particular area of study, and then, in conjunction with your supervisor, to shape both the question to be addressed, and the form in which to address it. Depending on the topic, supervisors may recommend a single long-form assignment (where designing the scope of the final assignment — its focus, range, and organisation — is part of the exercise that you are being asked to undertake); they may divide the project into subsections which enable you to explore a range of related topics; or they may, for example, invite you to consider an assignment in the form of a recorded presentation.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Assessed written tasks	20%
Written assignment	80%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Written assignment	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Written assignment	100%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External