english literature honours handbook 2013-14

8/11/2019 English Literature Honours Handbook 2013-14

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English LiteratureHonours Handbook

2013-14



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Contents:

Welcome and Key Contacts 3

Honours Degree Programmes 4

Honours Core and Option Courses 7

Honours Core and Option Course Allocations 9

Honours Core and Option Course Assessment 11

Feedback 16

Plagiarism 19

Assessment Information for Visiting Students 19

Support from your University Careers Service 21

Links to important information 22



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WELCOME!

Welcome to Honours study in English Literature. This handbook, and the Honours

pages for Current Students on our website, provide the information you’ll need to

navigate your way successfully through the later years of your studies with us, sodo take the time to familiarise yourself with what’s here. If you still can’t find what

you’re looking for, contact the English Literature office in the first instance.

The vast majority of Honours students in this department have been very

successful at coming to terms with the challenges of third and fourth years, and we

are confident that you will too. In these years we’ll be aiming to help you become

confident, capable independent learners, and to aid you in developing and honing

your critical and intellectual skills. So as you go on, you’ll find more and greater

opportunities to set the agenda for yourself, culminating in the Dissertation work

you may well be undertaking with us in your fourth year. By the time you leaveEdinburgh, we hope you’ll be an acute critic and an alert thinker undaunted by the

practical, professional, or academic challenges still in front of you.

If we’re to help make that happen, you’re going to have to play your part. You’ll

need to prepare for your courses and classes fully and in good time. You’ll also be

expected to participate properly in the collaborative work you’ll be undertaking in

your Autonomous Learning Groups. You’ll need to make sure that you attend all

your classes, that you contribute to class discussions, and that you tackle the

coursework required of you with due attention. There’ll be a lot of independent

reading for you to do, too. For our part, we will make sure that we deal with any

questions or problems that you may have as promptly and as fully as possible.

Professor Penny Fielding

Head of English Literature

KEY CONTACTS

Third Year administrator: Mrs Anne Mason

650 3618; [email protected]

Fourth Year administrator: Ms Sheila Strathdee


Director of Undergraduate Study: Dr Andrew Taylor


Chair of the Board of Examiners: Dr Dermot Cavanagh


mailto:[email protected]


















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HONOURS DEGREE PROGRAMMES

SINGLE HONOURS ENGLISH LITERATURE

SINGLE HONOURS SCOTTISH LITERATURE

COMBINED HONOURS ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH LITERATURE

Course Credits

3rd

Year Semester 1

Core Course (Medieval to Renaissance) 20

Option course 20

Critical Practice : Criticism

Critical Practice: Poetry

10

10

3rd

Year Semester 2

Core Course (Renaissance to Romanticism) 20

Option course 20

Critical Practice: Prose

Critical Practice: Performance

10

10

3rd

YEAR TOTAL 120

4

th

Year Semester 1Core Course (Romanticism to Modernism) 20

Option course 20

4th

Year Semester 2

Core Course (Modernism to

Contemporary)20

Option course 20

4th

Year Semesters 1 and 2

The English Literature Dissertation 40

HONOURS TOTAL 240

Note:

All units are examined in the year in which they are taken.

Note for Single Honours Scottish Literature students:

In selecting courses in 3rd

and 4th

Years, Single Hons Scottish Literature students

must include at least 6 courses with Scottish content, a list of which will be made

available when courses are being selected in the previous session. One of these



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courses should be the Dissertation, which must therefore be on a topic appropriate

for the degree.

Note for Combined Honours English and Scottish Literature students:


and 4th

Years, Combined Hons English and Scottish

Literature students must include at least 4 courses with Scottish content, a list of

which will be made available when courses are being selected during the previous

session. Students are encouraged to undertake Dissertation work in Scottish

Literature, in which case the Dissertation may count as one of the required courses

with Scottish content.

COMBINED HONOURS ENGLISH LITERATURE AND ANOTHER

SUBJECT (EXCLUDING MODERN EUROPEAN LANGUAGES)

COMBINED HONOURS SCOTTISH LITERATURE AND ANOTHER

SUBJECT (EXCLUDING MODERN EUROPEAN LANGUAGES)

Course Credits

3rd

Year

Option courses in both semesters 40

Other subject 40

1-4 Critical Practice courses and/or other

subject40

3rd YEAR TOTAL 120

4th

Year

Option courses in both semesters 40

Other subject 40

English Literature or other subject Dissertation 40

HONOURS TOTAL 240

Note:

All units are examined in the year in which they are taken.

Note for Scottish Literature Students:


and 4th

Years, Combined Hons Scottish Literature [and

another subject] students must select Literature option courses with Scottish

content, a list of which will be made available when courses are being selected

during the previous session. If students undertake Dissertation work in Scottish

Literature, the Dissertation may count as one of the required courses with Scottish

content.



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COMBINED HONOURS ENGLISH LITERATURE AND A MODERN

EUROPEAN LANGUAGE

COMBINED HONOURS SCOTTISH LITERATURE AND A MODERN

EUROPEAN LANGUAGE

Third Year

During the third year abroad students will be required to work on an independent

English Literature Long Essay project, which will be submitted in September when

they return to the fourth year of the degree in Edinburgh. This Long Essay will count

for 40 credits of their third year work, the remaining 80 credits being assigned to the

language. It will be assessed during year four and the mark will appear on the final

degree transcript.

Fourth Year

During fourth year students will take courses amounting to 60 credits in English

Literature and 60 credits in their language subject.

The English or Scottish Literature courses will consist of:

FOURTH YEAR Credits

Semester 1

Option course 20

EITHER Critical Practice: Criticism OR Critical Practice: Poetry 10

Semester 2

Option course 20

EITHER Critical Practice: Prose OR Critical Practice: Performance 10

60

Notes for Scottish Literature Students:

During their 3rd

Year, Combined Hons Scottish Literature and Modern European

Languages students should write their Long Essay on an appropriate topic.

In selecting courses in 4th

Years, Combined Hons Scottish Literature and Modern

European Languages students must select Literature option courses with Scottish

content, a list of which will be made available when courses are being selected

during the previous session.



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HONOURS CORE AND OPTION COURSES

CORE COURSES

A core course in each semester of your third and fourth year is compulsory for SingleHonours students. In exceptional circumstances, Combined Honours students may

also be allowed to take a Core course if there are particularly strong reasons for

doing so.

Core courses are grouped by literary historical period, to ensure that you get to

study a range of literature from the medieval era to the present day. The period

groupings work as follows:

Semester 1, 3rd

year: Medieval to Renaissance

Semester 2, 3rd

year: Renaissance to Romanticism

Semester 1, 4th

year: Romanticism to Modernism

Semester 2, 4th

year: Modernism to Contemporary

Within each period, the courses on offer will focus on genres or kinds of literature,

particular topics or issues, or specific literary and cultural practices. Not all of them

will ask you to engage in primarily historicist accounts of the literature studied.

OPTION COURSES

As well as Core Courses, Single Honours students will take an Option Course each

semester. Combined Honours students will be required to choose a course for each

semester of their Honours years from the list of available Option Courses.

Option courses offer you the chance to study groups of texts from the varying

perspectives of genre, period, theme or topic, theoretical approach or methodology.

Full details of all Core and Option courses running each year, including seminarschedule, required reading, and days, times and locations of classes are available on

our website at http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/literatures-languages-

cultures/english-literature/undergraduate/current/honours/core-option-2013-2014 .

AUTONOMOUS LEARNING GROUPS

All Option and Core Period courses include a weekly autonomous learning hour in

addition to the two-hour seminar.

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/literatures-languages-cultures/english-literature/undergraduate/current/honours/core-option-2013-2014








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Students will be divided into small groups which will meet weekly to discuss a topic

suggested by the course tutor. Students will be asked to report back to the larger

group.

Autonomous Learning Groups are absolutely integral to the structure of Honours in

this department. These are groups of four or five students, set up by the course

tutor, each of which is required to meet privately outwith the class, in order to

discuss some assigned aspect of reading. Each ALG will have set questions to discuss

or a prescribed task to tackle, so that they can bring to the class an agreed agenda or

consideration. You might regard you ALG as a great opportunity to discuss with other

students those parts of a text which you did not really understand. In this way, you

are not alone in a seminar, and this should contribute directly to your confidence in

speaking in class.

Learn

Your Honours courses use Learn, the University’s supported virtual learning

environment, in order to give you the essential and background information you will

need to participate in seminars and undertake written assignments. Each course has

a Learn section, which appears as a clickable link when you log on to MyEd. While

different courses use Learn to various degrees, you will at the very least find Course

Information here, and you will be required to submit the electronic copy of your

essay via this interface.

ATTENDANCE

Students are required to be in attendance during term time, attend all classes

(seminars, field-work, etc) as specified in their course programme, and to undertake

all preparation and reading required for them. Failure to attend is a serious matter.

Advance notice of absence should be given to the course tutor and your Personal

Tutor. Health certificates are required for absence due to sickness in excess of one

week, and should be submitted to your Personal Tutor.

Attendance at seminars is recorded by students’ signatures. It is expected that

students will attend all seminars and autonomous learning groups. Failure to attendwithout good reason will lead to a deduction of marks from the relevant course

essay which counts as 25% of that course's final assessment.

1 seminar missed - 2

2 seminars missed - 4

3 seminars missed - 6

4 seminars missedstudent is deemed to have withdrawn

from the course



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HONOURS CORE AND OPTION COURSE ALLOCATIONS

The allocation of places on our Core and Option Honours courses is somewhat

complex, and may perhaps be opaque to you. We hope that the following

explanation provides more transparency about this process and reassurance aboutits equity.

CONTEXT

The department of English Literature has the single largest number of undergraduate

students in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS). We annually need

to find places for 400 honours students, taking either two or four Core or Option

courses with us, out of a range of around 85 choices: this equates to 1200 course

places, to be divided as equally as possible for each year group. This is by far the

most flexible range of choice in the College.

The department is also committed to retaining small group teaching: you can be sure

that there will not be more than 15 students in our Honours seminars. As we are

also required to reserve 3 spaces in each seminar for Visiting Students (in 3rd year)

and for Taught Masters Students (in 4th year), this means that, in practice, there are

12 places for our home students. However, from experience we are aware that

some courses are more popular than others and where possible we offer a popular

course twice in a semester to accommodate student demand.

In order to maintain these kinds of flexibility, the Department relies upon somereciprocal flexibility on the part of its students: for this reason, we operate a system

of preferences.

PROCESS

Each year the Head of English Literature and the Director of Undergraduate Studies

have to plan which courses will be available in which semester, in order to a)

accommodate student needs and b) balance staff workloads (taking into account the

fact that some members of staff will be working on research projects rather than

teaching for some or all of the semester).

Our administrative staff then produce the Honours Application forms which you fill

in. We ask you to indicate FOUR preferences in each of the Core/Option courses

which are appropriate to your Degree Programme. These are ranked 1,2,3,4, with

the assumption being that 1 = first choice and 4 = fourth.

In order to guide you, and to help us meet your preferences, we indicate which

courses are likely to be in high demand by annotating such courses accordingly on

the Honours Application form. While you will have a good chance of gaining a place

on a high demand course if you make it your first preference, you will be unlikely to

gain a place on such a course if you make it your second or subsequent preference.



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On receipt of the forms, our administrative staff enter the raw data into our Honours

database. This allows staff to see where student demand is highest (and, of course,

lowest). At this point, actual demand may well be at odds with what we had

anticipated and we adapt our provision accordingly, where possible. However, the

raw data in itself does not allow us to see how the general spread of preferences

relates to an individual student’s specific choices. To ensure that as many as possible

of you gain entry into your first or second preference in any given course/semester

over the year, our administrative staff check each individual application.

By so doing, we are able to ensure that there is general equity across the cohort;

that is, while not everyone will always get all of their first or second choices, we can

guarantee that no-one will be assigned to all their fourth choices.

Arguably, a time-saving alternative would be for us to operate a first-come, first-

served policy, but this would actually disadvantage more students more often thanour current policy, and would not allow us to respond flexibly to fluctuations in

student demand. Other systems might allow us to please some students all of the

time, but only at the cost of displeasing as many to the same extent. Our current

approach allows us to please all students some of the time, which we feel is a fairer

outcome.

SWAP SHOP

While both administrative and academic staff spend a great deal of time trying to

sort out what’s best for everybody, in addition we allow for further flexibility byoffering a ‘Swap Shop’.

Once the allocations have been made, students are informed of the outcomes. At

this point, any student who has been allocated a course they would prefer not to

take, can sign up in the hope that a space may become free in their preferred option.

The Swap shop is NOT operated on a first-come, first-served basis. The desired

‘swap’ can only be accommodated if another student wishes to move out of the

course you would like to move into.

FINAL OPPORTUNITY FOR CHANGE

From experience we are aware that, despite all the work that goes into the process

described above, for various reasons there can be some last minute changes at the

beginning of the Academic Year.

If you are still keen to obtain a place on a preferred course, you should register your

interest with the departmental administrators. This must be done during Freshers’

Week and will be operated on a first-come, first-served basis. The administrators

will maintain a waiting list and contact applicants should a place become available.



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HONOURS CORE AND OPTION COURSE ASSESSMENT

BASIS FOR ASSESSMENT

Core Period course (20 credits): coursework - 25% of final mark

2-hour formal examination - 75% of final mark

Option course (20 credits):

coursework - 25% of final mark

take-home exam essay of no more than 3,000 words - 75% of final mark.

COURSEWORK - ESSAYS

Coursework for Core and Option courses usually – but not always – takes the form ofan essay. Essay titles are distributed to the class by the end of week 3, and essays

are due in on the Monday of week 9.

The word limit for essays is 2,500 including footnotes. Excessively long essays will

not be marked. This limit does not include the list of Works Cited. This should

include all the texts you have cited in preparing the essay (i.e. sources you have

referred to, as well as those from which you have directly quoted). Full details on the

presentation and layout of essays are included in the English Literature Writing

Guide, which can be downloaded from the website.

2,500 words is a challenging word limit, since it forces compression and clarity. The

discipline of editing to this length encourages concision and precision and results in

better essays. The challenge is well worth while since it teaches a skill valuable long

after finals are over.

DEADLINES FOR COURSEWORK SUBMISSION

In Semester 1 Week 8 is set aside as "Essay Completion Week" for course essays. In

Semester 2 this is Week 9.

SEMESTER 1

The final deadline for essay submission for both Core Period and Option courses in

Semester 1 is

2 p.m. on the Monday of Week 9

However, in the interests of good time-management, Single Honours students are

strongly advised to submit the essay for one of their courses before 2 p.m. on

Thursday of Week 8.



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SEMESTER 2

The final deadline for essay submission for both Core Period and Option courses in

Semester 2 is

2 p.m. on the Monday of Week 10

However, in the interests of good time-management, Single Honours students are

strongly advised to submit the essay for one of their courses before 2 p.m. on

Thursday of Week 9.

HOW TO SUBMIT ESSAYS

With the exception of 2-hour examinations, all assessed work should be completed

using MS Word. The essay, including title page, essay and list of Works Cited, must

be saved as a single document, with a page break inserted between each element.

Please ensure that it contains only the essay you are submitting, and that the file is

clearly identified with your name and the title of the course.

When printing out your essay, it is permissible to use both sides of the paper.

Essays should be submitted both electronically and in hard copy. Both electronic

and hard copy submission must be completed by the deadline set for the essay.

Electronic and hard copies must be textually identical. Any submission containing

significant discrepancies between hard and electronic copies will be declared voidand a mark of zero will be recorded.

Electronic submission will take place via the Turnitin interface in your

course’s Learn section. You are responsible for ensuring that the connection

over which you submit your electronic copy is capable of uploading a Word

document through Learn, and that you have sufficient time to print out your

hard copy before the deadline. Computer or printing problems cannot be

accepted as a legitimate excuse for late submission, other than in the case of

a general failure affecting the university network.

Hard copies should be left in the wooden course boxes to be found beside

the lifts on the 7th floor of the David Hume Tower. They must be

accompanied by an attached feedback sheet, copies of which will be

available in a marked wall locker on the right-hand side along the seventh

floor corridor of the DHT. A copy of the essay feedback sheet is also

available on the web.

Please make sure you post your essay in the appropriate THIRD or FOURTH YEAR

course box. After the submission deadline the boxes will be cleared and essays

distributed to markers.



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Hard copies will be returned with feedback. The electronic version will be scanned by

software which generates an ‘originality report’, to help you and your tutors ensure

that you have referenced your sources correctly.

NOTE: Please retain all coursework after marking. You will need to submit it to the

office no later than Friday, 2nd May 2014. Since all this work contributes to the

final assessment, it must be available for the external examiners in April/May. It is

your responsibility to ensure that your work is available at that time: failure to

submit your work could affect your final mark.

EXTENSIONS ON COURSE WORK ESSAYS

If you are seriously unwell or suffering serious personal difficulties and unable to

finish your course essay by the deadline after which late penalties are applied, you

must apply for an extension in advance of the deadline. You should contact the

relevant course secretary in the first instance. They will put you in contact with the

Undergraduate Director if your circumstances require it. Your request should be

supported by a medical certificate or endorsed by your Personal Tutor where

applicable and possible.

PENALTIES FOR LATE SUBMISSION OF COURSEWORK ESSAYS

It is University policy to penalise late work. Please note that late submission is

penalised not because it causes members of staff any extra work (generally speaking,

it does not), but in the interests of fairness to those students, the vast majority, who

work hard to get their work finished on time. The student who complains about

being penalised for their essay being one hour late is complaining at not being given

an extra hour to complete their essay that other students did not have: that is, they

are complaining about not being privileged over their classmates by the department.

You must submit both hard copy and electronic versions of your work in advance of

the deadline. The electronic version is essential as it will be used to check for

plagiarism. Penalties are exacted on the hard copy submission only, using the

following scale:

after 2 pm on Monday of Submission Week but before 2 pm on

Tuesday- 5

after 2 pm on Tuesday of Submission Week but before 2 pm on the

following day (Wednesday)- 10

after 2 pm on Wednesday of Submission Week but before 2 pm on the

following day (Thursday)- 15

after 2 pm on Thursday of Submission Week but before 2 pm on the

following day (Friday)- 20

after 2 pm on Friday of Submission Week but before 2 pm on the

following working day (Monday) - 25



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after 2 pm on Monday zero

If the hard copy of your essay is submitted after 2 pm on Monday of Submission

Week but before 2 pm on Friday of that week, YOU RISK RECEIVING NEITHER A

MARK NOR FEEDBACK UNTIL AFTER THE VACATION FOLLOWING THE RELEVANT

TEACHING PERIOD.

If the hard copy has NOT BEEN RECEIVED BY 2 PM ON THE FOLLOWING MONDAY

the essay submission will be declared void and a mark of zero will be recorded,

EVEN IF YOU HAVE SUBMITTED YOUR ELECTRONIC COPY.

FINAL ASSESSMENT – EXAM ESSAYS

THIRD YEAR

Exam essays for 3rd

Year Option Courses are written during the End of Year

Examination period (28 April to 23 May 2014). The precise scheduling of the exam

essay deadlines is dependent on the exam timetable compiled by Registry, and will

be finalised as soon as this is available.

FOURTH YEAR

Exam essays for 4th

Year Semester 1 Option Courses are written during the

Semester 1 Examination Period (9 to 20 December 2013). For the 2013-14

academic year, 4th Year Semester 1 Option course exam essay questions will be

released at 9 am on Monday 9th December, and the exam essay will be due by 2 pm

on Friday 13th December.

Exam essays for 4th

Year Semester 2 Option Courses are written during the End of

Year Examination period (28 April to 23 May 2014). The precise scheduling of the

exam essay deadlines is dependent on the exam timetable compiled by Registry, and

will be finalised as soon as this is available.

ALL HONOURS STUDENTS

An exam essay is designed to allow you to demonstrate your knowledge of particular

texts and issues from your course as well as of the broad range of texts and topics

covered. As you will be writing this essay with access to your notes, books and online

resources, it is expected that it will be properly presented and referenced in line with

the requirements set out in the English Literature Writing Guide. However, it should

not involve you in new reading of either primary or secondary texts. You should

aim to have completed your revision for the course before the exam essay questions

are released to you.

The expectation is that within the period allowed, an Exam Essay is at most a five-day task, and is not expected to take up all the time you may have available for



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academic work during these five days. However, if you have exams in other subjects

falling during a week assigned for an exam essay, you may be eligible for

consideration for an extension on the exam essay deadline. Students will receive an

email from the department with fuller information once the examination timetable

is released.

Exam essay questions are released on the Course Content page of a course’s Learn

section, normally at 9am on the Monday morning of the first week of the exam diet.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you can access Learn on the days when

questions are released.

A rubric and full instructions will accompany the questions. Please read these

carefully.

Exam essays for all Option courses must be submitted by 2.00 p.m. on the deadline

day.

Students are strongly urged not to leave final completion of their essays until the last

minute.

Two copies of each exam essay should be submitted by the deadline set.

One electronic copy should be submitted to Turnitin via LEARN for the course.

One hard copy should be posted in the essay submission boxes by the lifts on the 7th

floor of the David Hume Tower. Please make sure you post your essay in Box 3 if

you are a Third Year student, and in Box 4 if you are a Fourth Year student. After

the submission deadline the boxes will be cleared and essays distributed to markers.

FINAL ASSESSMENT – EXAM ESSAYS – LATE SUBMISSION

As this exercise is a Degree Examination, there is no procedure for the granting of

extensions. Your work must be submitted by the due date. Late submissions count

as defaulting on a Degree Examination, and will normally be marked as zero.

If you are unwell or experience acute personal difficulties whilst undertaking the

assignment, you should contact your Personal Tutor, School Student Support Officers

and the Chairman of the Board of Examiners as a matter of urgency. You should alsoobtain a medical certificate covering the relevant part of the assessment period as

soon as possible. Your Personal Tutor or the Student Support Officers will be able to

advise you whether you should make use of the University’s Special Circumstances

provision, and how to do so.

Computer problems are in no circumstances an acceptable reason for delayed or

incomplete submission.



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FINAL ASSESSMENT – EXAMS

Students take a 2-hour formal examination for each of their Core Courses in third

and fourth years.

Past examination papers are available for consultation in the University library.

Copies of English Literature papers can also be accessed via Edinburgh University

Exam Papers Online on the Library website. In the case of new courses, a sample

paper will be given to students during the course.

THIRD YEAR

Exams for all Core Courses will take place during the Final Assessment period (28

April to 23 May 2014). Examination times and venues will be posted on Registry's

website.

FOURTH YEAR

Exams for 4th

Year Semester 1 and Semester 2 Core Courses are taken during the

during the End of Year Examination period (28 April to 23 May 2014).

Examination times and venues will be posted on Registry's website.

FINAL ASSESSMENT – EXAMS – MISSED AND INCOMPLETE

If you miss an exam, or are unable to complete it, you should contact your Personal

Tutor, School Student Support Officers and the Chairman of the Board of Examiners

as a matter of urgency. You should also obtain a medical certificate covering the

relevant part of the assessment period as soon as possible. Your Personal Tutor or

the Student Support Officers will be able to advise you whether you should make use

of the University’s Special Circumstances provision, and how to do so.

FEEDBACK

The marks you receive for your work should always be understood in the light of thefeedback that you will receive at the same time, and both marks and feedback

should be read in the light of the Grade Descriptors published elsewhere on these

pages. All coursework is returned to you with feedback from the tutor or course

organiser; mid-year exams, and the long essay written by students on joint degrees

with Modern European Languages are also returned with feedback during the first

semester of fourth year.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK

Learning is a process of communication between students and teachers, andfeedback is essential to that process. It helps you identify your strengths and



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weaknesses, zero in on problem areas, and devise strategies to improve your

performance. It helps you recognise variability and trends in your own performance,

and where you stand in regard to your peers. Feedback is not an end in itself, but a

tool for advancing the more important goal of learning.

WHAT FORMS DOES IT TAKE?

It is important to recognise the variable forms that feedback takes. There is more to

it than just comments on individual pieces of work.

When we think of feedback, we usually think first of written comments on

specific essays, dissertations and sometimes on exams. Such feedback aims

to give you some explanation of the mark you received, pointing out the main

strengths and weaknesses, and suggesting what would have improved the

performance. As already suggested, such feedback tells you something about

that particular performance, but also about your general academic abilities.

It is important to remember that marks are themselves a form of feedback,

providing a ranking of your performance in relation to others doing the same

piece of assessment, and in relation to general standards of assessment

performance. Grade descriptors are intended to give a guide to how

assessment performance is judged. They provide a basic context for reading

and understanding the meaning of a mark.

Some courses provide opportunities to submit non-assessed work, often as a

preparation for work that will be assessed later. Feedback on non-assessedwork can be just as vital as feedback on assessed work, so you should make

the most of these opportunities.

Particularly at honours level, supervision of dissertations and research

projects involves considerable feedback along the way to producing the piece

of work that will be assessed. In cases like this there is feedback both before

and after the assessment.

One of the reasons you are encouraged to participate actively in discussions

in seminars and workshops is that this is one of the most fruitfulopportunities for feedback, for trying out ideas, exploring your understanding

of material, and raising questions. It is for this reason that our courses

sometimes attach a mark to tutorial performance; on the other hand, when

tutorial performance is not assessed, this provides an ideal environment to

gain feedback without the pressure of formal assessment. Make the most of

it.

HOW CAN STUDENTS GET THE MOST OUT OF FEEDBACK?

First off, as suggested above, you should appreciate the various forms that feedbacktakes. Beyond that, here are some suggestions:



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Learn more about study and assessment skills. There is a lot of helpful

literature and guidance available. Two places to start are:

(1) The Library. Books on ‘study skills’ are generally found under the Library

of Congress call numbers LB2395. You can always ask a librarian for

guidance.

(2) The Institute for Academic Development – Study development for

undergraduates:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/institute-academic-

development/undergraduate .

Try to consider the various forms of feedback you receive not as isolated

events, but as part of an overall pattern of performance, identifying general

areas of strength and weakness. This should become clearer the more you

are assessed and the more feedback you receive as you progress through

your programme. If you detect a consistent area where you need to improve,seek advice from tutors and course conveners about what to do.

In the first instance, when trying to understand a mark and any associated

comments, read these in the context of School marking descriptors. Marking

descriptors are necessarily general, but may help put the feedback you’ve

received in a wider context.

If you know that a classmate has done particularly well, you might ask to read

their essays. They may say no, but they might also be flattered. Doing this

will help you get a realistic picture of what good coursework looks like, whatcan be achieved, and what kinds of performance your own work is being

evaluated in relation to.

If you have questions about a mark and associated comments on coursework,

you are always entitled to seek clarification from the marker. For Core and

Option essays, you should approach the course organiser. For other pieces of

Honours work, you should approach the Undergraduate Director in the first

instance.

ENGLISH LITERATURE POLICIES ON ASSESSMENT FEEDBACK

In line with University policy, assessment in English Literature Honours operates

according to the following principles:

Feedback on coursework is provided in written form. You may also ask your

tutor or course organiser for additional comment and advice, where

appropriate.

There is a ‘three working week’ turn-around time expected for mid-semester

coursework assessment. If this turn-around time is not being met you shouldbring this to the attention of the Undergraduate Director.

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/institute-academic-development/undergraduate







19 27-Sep-13

The department is required to retain exam scripts as a record of exam

performance, and cannot return these to students. You may, however, ask to

see your scripts if you wish to do so.

PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is the use of material taken from another writer's work without proper

acknowledgement, presenting it as if it were your own. While it is perfectly proper in

academic study to make use of another person's ideas, to do so under the pretence

that they are your own is deceitful. Plagiarism, whether in coursework or

examinations, is always taken extremely seriously within the university as it is a form

of cheating. Work found to be plagiarised may be penalised, assessed at zero, or not

accepted, and in serious cases may lead to disciplinary action being initiated.

Work undertaken for our courses is designed to help you develop your knowledge

and understanding, and your own powers of analysis and argument. Essays, exams

and exam essays assess these skills. Plagiarism therefore undermines the whole

purpose of the academic study of literature. For all work for the department’s

courses, it is important to be aware of, and to acknowledge the sources of

arguments and words. This applies to material drawn from critical books and

lectures, but also from the work of other students (including tutorial or seminar

discussions) and from the internet and other electronic sources. Lectures, tutorials

and seminars must not be recorded or otherwise transmitted, unless there is special

dispensation relating to disability (endorsed by the Disability Office). Tutors will

check web-based material, as well as other sources, where they have reason to

suspect that the writing a student submits does not represent their own ideas, words

and arguments.

While deliberate plagiarism involves an intention to deceive and is easy to avoid, it is

possible to fall unawares into practices which could be mistaken for plagiarism if you

are not familiar with the proper means of using and acknowledging material from

other writers. Inadequate referencing and inappropriate use of others' material

could inadvertently lay you open to charges of plagiarism. Since different subjects

involve different uses of material, and may have different conventions about how it

should be acknowledged, it is important that in each of their subjects students

consult departmental guidelines about the purpose and presentation of written

work in that discipline.



20 27-Sep-13

ASSESSMENT INFORMATION FOR VISITING STUDENTS

ON HONOURS CORE AND/OR OPTION COURSES

FULL YEAR VISITING STUDENTS

Students who are here for the whole year will take their Core and/or Option courses

under the same arrangements as home students.

SEMESTER 1 ONLY VISITING STUDENTS

Any student who is visiting Edinburgh for the first semester only (i.e. not those

visiting students who are here for the full year) is required to write a take-home

exam essay at the end of Semester One for every Honours Core or Option course

taken.

For each Core or Option course in English Literature a Visiting Student here for

Semester One only will write an exam essay of not more than 3,000 words in

answer to one of four questions. These questions will be set via the course’s Learn

section. Two copies of each exam essay should be submitted by the deadline set

during Weeks 13 and 14: one electronic copy should be submitted via Turnitin on

Learn and one identical printed copy of the essay should be submitted to the English

Literature essay submission box (No. 3) on the seventh floor of David Hume Tower.

As each essay is the equivalent of a degree exam, no extensions are automatically

available, and late submission will result in the essay being graded at zero.

The English Literature department has arranged two sets of deadlines to spread the

load for those Visiting Students taking two such courses with us.

Exam essay questions for both Core and Option courses will be released at 9 am on

Monday 9th December (the first day of the December exam diet).

Option course exam essays will be due by 2 pm on Friday 13th December, and

Core course exam essays by 2 pm on Monday 16th December.

Please ensure that you do not make irrevocable arrangements to return home until

you are completely sure you know when you will be required to submit your exam

essays.

SEMESTER 2 ONLY VISITING STUDENTS

Students who are here for Semester 2 only will take their Core and/or Option

courses under the same arrangements as home students.



21 27-Sep-13

What Next after University? – Support from your

University Careers Service

Honours years are an excellent time to start researching your future after

graduation, if you haven’t already done so.

Whatever your ideas – work, further study, gap year, volunteering, gaining

experience………whatever stage you’re at – clued up or clueless, and anything in

between …….….the Careers Service can support you in your journey from university

to your future after graduation. We work with students and graduates from day 1, to

2 years after graduation.

We offer information, advice and guidance on:

-Career direction

- Gaining experience

- Job hunting

- CVs, applications and interviews

- Further study

……and more….via our website, careers information centre, individual discussion

with a careers adviser, programme of talks and events, and more.

Browse our website www.ed.ac.uk/careers for further information on all of our

services, or call in and see us on the 3rd

floor of the Main Library Building.

And specifically for English lit students - your own careers blog

http://englitcareersblog.wordpress.com/ - regular postings relevant to English lit

students, to inform and inspire.

Also check out your dedicated English Literature careers pages

http://tiny.cc/k337ew. Discover:

- What recent English Literature graduates have gone on to do

- Your options with an English Literature degree

- After English – a website dedicated to helping English Literature graduates plan

for their future after graduation- … and more

Finally – look out for notices and emails about Careers Service activity in English

Literature for 2013/4 including regular drop-in sessions for quick career queries in

the foyer of DHT and sessions for specific year groups.

We look forward to working with you on your plans for your future after graduation.

http://www.ed.ac.uk/careers



http://englitcareersblog.wordpress.com/


http://tiny.cc/k337ew







22 27-Sep-13

Links to important information

This section is designed to provide details of common policies which will beimportant throughout your studies. Many of these apply across the College of

Humanities and Social Sciences, while others are School-wide policies or are specific

to your subject area. Students are expected to familiarise themselves with these

policies. More information on the statements below can be found by following the

relevant links.

Each title here is a link to the relevant information, and QR codes (readable by most

smartphones; you may need to install a barcode reader app) can be found below.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is taken very seriously and incurs penalties. Make sure you know what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.

Marking SchemeAn explanation of the marks and grades applied to coursework and exams.

Attendance MonitoringWe monitor attendance to make sure that students are studying on the courses for

which they are enrolled, and to identify and offer help to students who may be

experiencing difficulties.

Use of Student E-mailsWe will communicate with you via your student e-mail account. It is essential

that you check this regularly.

[Special Circumstances] – under revision; link to new documents to follow

If your studying or academic performance is affected by circumstances such as

illness, you will find advice here.

Past Exam PapersYou can look at exam papers from previous years here.

Taught Assessment RegulationsInformation on the principles of assessment used by the University of Edinburgh.

Entry into HonoursEntry into Honours is normally by achievement of 50% or higher at the first

attempt in all the compulsory second-year courses of your registered degree. See

your Degree Programme Table for more details.

Student Disability ServiceStudents are encouraged to contact the Student Disability Service as early as

possible in order to take advantage of the help and advice available.

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/information-services/services/learning-technology/assessment/plagiarism

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/registry/exams/regulations/common-marking-scheme

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/humanities-soc-sci/undergraduate-academic-admin/current-undergraduate-students/monitoring-attendance

http://www.docs.sasg.ed.ac.uk/AcademicServices/Policies/Contacting_Students_by_Email.pdf

http://www.ed.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.71556!/fileManager/Common%20sense%20guide.doc

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/information-services/students/exam-papers

http://www.docs.sasg.ed.ac.uk/AcademicServices/Regulations/TaughtAssessmentRegulations2013-14.PDF

http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/13-14/index.php

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/student-disability-service/students












23 27-Sep-13

Careers ServiceUseful links to graduate job database (SAGE), year abroad opportunities and

general careers advice.

Student support and Personal Tutors (no link)

Your Personal Tutor will be your first point of contact for all academic mattersrelating to your degree programme and choice of courses. Your Personal

Tutor will also provide academic references. All students will have one

mandatory meeting with their Personal Tutor each semester, and group

meetings will also be arranged.

The School Student Support team will be the first point of contact for all

administrative matters and pastoral care. The Student Support team deal with

status letters, degree transfers, concessions and authorised interruption of

studies; they can also offer guidance and information on all support services

available to students at the University of Edinburgh.

Study skillsStudents are encouraged to take advantage of the study support offered by the

Institute for Academic Development.

Library and computing facilitiesInformation on library services, computer facilities and basic computer

training.

Edinburgh University Students' Association (EUSA)

Find out how to seek help from or get involved with your students’

association.

School-wide policies

LearnLearn is the University’s virtual learning environment (VLE) and is used for

course information, discussion forums, coursework submission and so on.

Student feedback : Course Questionnaires (no link)Questionnaires will be handed out towards the end of the course. Your views are

important to us. Student feedback allows us to continually improve the student

experience.

Student feedback : Class Representatives and Staff-Student LiaisonStudents have the opportunity to volunteer to represent their class/cohort as a class

representative. All class representatives will be invited to attend Staff-Student

Liaison Committee meetings (one per semester) to express any views or concerns

on behalf of their class mates.

Coursework submissionStudents must normally submit all essays by the deadline in hard copy and

electronically (using Turnitin, through Learn). Both submissions MUST be

identical. The hard copy will be treated as the primary copy (ie the officially

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/careers


http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/institute-academic-development/undergraduate/advice



http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/information-services/services/help-consultancy/help-services/online-help-guidance



http://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/information-services/services/learning-technology/virtual-environments/learn/learn-home

http://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/representation/classreps/info/

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/information-services/services/learning-technology/assessment/plagiarism/turnitin




http://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/







24 27-Sep-13

recorded submission). All essays will be reviewed by the plagiarism detection

service Turnitin.

Use of dictionaries in examinationsStudents whose first language is not English are permitted to use a language

dictionary during an examination. This must be authorised in advance by thecourse organiser. Electronic dictionaries may not be used. See your Teaching

Office for more information.

The following links are given as QR codes, which should be readable by most

smartphones (you may need to install a barcode reader app), and also function as

traditional hyperlinks

PLAGIARISM

MARKING

SCHEME

ATTENDANCE

MONITORING

USE OF E-MAIL BY

STUDENTS

SPECIAL

CIRCUMSTANCES

PAST EXAM

PAPERS

TAUGHT ASSESSMENT

REGULATIONS

DEGREE PROGRAMME

TABLES

STUDENT DISABILITY

SERVICE

http://www.docs.sasg.ed.ac.uk/registry/exams/ExamHallRegs.pdf




















CAREERS

SERVICE

LEARN

CLASS REPRESENTATIVES

COURSEWORK

SUBMISSION USE OF DICTIONARIES SCHOOL OF LLC


http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/literatures-languages-cultures/






english literature honours handbook 2013-14

Documents