ATS1904: Reading the City: Literary Genres

- Annotated Bibliography (Worth 25%)
- Research Essay or Creative Writing (Worth 40%)
- Exam (Worth 35%)

Content
Whereas ATS1903 is an introduction to the study of literature, ATS1904 is much more focused. Its focus is solely the city, and is divided into three modules:
1. Writing Melbourne
2. Walking the City
3. The Transnational City

The first module is self-explanatory, but also very fascinating. In this module, you read poetry, short stories, articles, and literary non-fiction.

Walking the City primarily focuses on London, but it also covers French writers, and Paris. In this section, you’re introduced to literary theory, and although the texts are not examinable, the literary theory is.

The Transnational City studies texts translated into English, as well as texts outside the West.

Assessments
The unit is comprised of two assessments, plus an exam. I’ll briefly explain and comment on each below:
Annotated Bibliography
The first assessment, and worth 25%. This assignment should have been relatively easy, and straightforward. However, it was poorly explained, the marking criteria wasn’t clear, and basically, everyone struggled with it. To give you an idea of how confusing it was, even the Skills Advisor told me she spent ages trying to get her head around what we had to do. I still did pretty well, but I mostly put that down to (a) starting early, and (b) seeing the Skills Advisor for advice, and getting feedback.

Major Research Essay, or Creative Writing
This is the second assessment, and is worth 40%. You have the option of either writing a Research Essay, of which you are given five, or six topics, and you choose one. The word limit is 1500 words, and you need to cite at least four sources, two of which must be from the Unit Reader. The other option is a Creative Writing piece. I chose the Major Research Essay, so I can’t commend much about it. But, you produce an original piece of work, drawing on literary techniques, themes, and styles of the texts studied in this unit. You can write in any form, e.g., poetry, fiction, or literary non-fiction, etc. The word limit is the same as the Major Research Essay, however is broken up into two components; 1250 words of prose, and a brief exegetical statement of no more than 250 words. You must cite at least two sources, of which one must be from the Unit Reader. There are three streams within the English major; English Literature, Literature in Translation, and Creative Writing. If you’re interested in the latter, I’d recommend choosing the Creative Writing piece over the Research Essay, however, it is of course optional.

Exam
The exam is worth 35%, and is 2 hours long. You’re required to write one essay, either on Virginia Woolf, A Not So Perfect Crime, or Persepolis. The exam is open book, which means you can take both examinable texts, as well as the Unit Reader. The texts can be annotated, highlighted, etc., and you can also use page-markers, or sticky notes.

The essay is not a close-analysis of the texts, but much more general, and you’re also required to cite in the exam.

The prompts are related to the text, but also incorporate literary theory, or other ideas, depending on the text. For example, I did Woolf and I wrote on the idea of the Flaneuse in Literature. All topics brought up in the prompts were covered in lectures and tutorials, so be sure to go over those in preparation for the exam.

Dr. Ali Alizadeh, and various others.

No. You are given a practise exam, I can’t remember if this is made up, or if its questions from last year’s exams. Either way, it’s practically useless. The questions aren’t on the texts you’re allowed to take into the exam, but on the texts studied earlier in the semester, which I didn’t study in-depth enough to be able to formulate a response that might mimic what I should be doing in the exam.

3/5

Yes, with screen capture.

- Unit Reader
- Broken Teeth by Tony Birch
- The Fall of the House and Usher and Other Writings by Edgar Allan Poe
- A Not So Perfect Crime by Teresa Solana
- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

The Unit Reader has most of the texts you will study inside it, along with literary theory and criticism. I’d recommend picking it up, they’re usually quite cheap anyway. Neither Broken Teeth, or Poe are examinable. If I remember correctly, we studied Broken Teeth for a week, and only two of Poe’s short stories. So, I’d recommend borrowing these instead of buying it. A Not So Perfect Crime, and Persepolis are examinable. Although you can borrow these, I’d recommend purchasing them. I found it more convenient having these with me, rather than having to worry about how many copies are available. Also, you’re allowed to annotate, highlight, etc., your texts in the exam, which you obviously cannot do if you choose to borrow your books instead.

The Unit Guide also recommends John Frow’s Genre. I think it might have been quoted a couple of times in lectures, but other than that, we didn’t use it. Unless you’re interested in it for personal interest, or further reading, you definitely don’t need it.

2x1 hour lectures, 1x1 tutorial

Semester 2, 2017

TBA