Skip to main content

Unit information: Literature: Exploring Short Stories in 2023/24

Unit name Literature: Exploring Short Stories
Unit code LANG00016
Credit points 20
Level of study QCA-3
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director Mr. Thornthwaite
Open unit status Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)

Students require a proficiency of at least 6.0 in IELTS (min. 5.5 in writing and 5.0 in other components) or an equivalent.

Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)

None

Units you may not take alongside this one
School/department Centre for Academic Language and Development
Faculty Faculty of Arts

Unit Information

The unit aims to introduce students to the short story genre focusing on texts by a variety of authors. Classes will focus on student-led close reading and analysis of the short story texts and discussion of the shared themes and features of the texts. The course also aims to develop study skills, including those particularly associated with literary study and critical thinking, and students will be encouraged to develop their own critical voice.

Your learning on this unit

By the end of this unit, students will be able to demonstrate:

  • ILO1: An understanding of the short story genre and the works of a variety of authors;
  • ILO2: Skills in identifying and discussing salient themes in a series of short stories;
  • ILO3: An understanding of the role of intertextuality;
  • ILO4: Enhanced skills for independent reading;
  • ILO5: Skills in performing close analysis of prose text;
  • ILO6: Critical and discourse analysis skills;
  • ILO7: Skills of expression in an academic written context;
  • ILO8: Skills of expression in an academic spoken context.

How you will learn

Students will attend 3 hours of study per week. The sessions are in the form of a seminar, which will include discussion of the set reading or other set material for that week. Students will be taught using a communicative approach in small groups to allow for in-depth discussion of content in a supportive environment. In addition to the selected authentic texts, use will be made of appropriate e-learning technologies and the VLE.

How you will be assessed

Formative assessment:

  • Essay (1,000 words)
  • Individual presentation with peer and tutor-led feedback.

Summative assessment:

  • Essay (1,500 words) (75%) ILOS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
  • Individual presentation based on student coursework (15 mins) (25%) ILOs 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LANG00016).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.

Feedback