116-471 French IV: Honours Language II

116-036 French III:Language II and admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth year honours in French.

This subject is intended primarily to foster students' writing skills, and their skills in close textual analysis and argumentation, focusing on their ability to write in different registers and genres. Particular attention is paid to French academic writing. A wide variety of genres and registers are analysed. Students then make use of these analyses in order to produce short texts of their own in the register/style studied. Students should complete the subject with a mastery of a wide range of structures and vocabulary pertinent to the registers and genres studied in class, an ability to analyse, discuss and use complex grammatical and discourse structures at sentence and text level.

• Research: through frequent and systematic use of the library and other information sources, the definition of areas of inquiry and familiarisation with research methods; Critical thinking and analysis: through required and recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion, and by assessing the strength of arguments; Thinking in theoretical and analytical terms: through lectures, tutorial discussion, essay writing and engagement in the methodologies of the humanities and social sciences; Understanding of social, political, historical and cultural contexts and international awareness/openness to the world: through the contextualisation of judgements and knowledge, developing a critical self-awareness, being open to new ideas and new aspects of French and Italian culture, and by formulating arguments; Communicating knowledge intelligibly and economically: through essay and assignment writing, tutorial discussion and class presentations; Written communication: through essay and assignment preparation and writing; Public speaking and confidence in self-expression: through tutorial participation and class presentations; Attention to detail: through close reading and textual analysis, essay preparation and writing, and examination revision; Time management and planning: through managing and organizing workloads for required and recommended reading, essay and assignment completion and revision for examinations.

A 30-minute class presentation of 1500 words subsequently written up 30% (due 1 week after the presentation), regular writing exercises equivalent to 2500 words 45% (due at regular intervals during semester) and a final test in textual analysis and argumentation 25% equivalent to 1000 words (held during the examination period).

Materials supplied by the department