EL3221: Literary Stylistics
1st Semester 2006/07
Project Specifications & Recommendations

Components

The project consists of two components: the presentation, and the report. Further notes on these components are given below.

Size of group

Six or seven members. Smaller groups are discouraged, unless it is really impossible for members of a smaller group to join other groups.

Summarizers

In addition to the project groups, there should also be a group of two or three summarizers, who will give a general overview of all the group presentations. The summarizers will be appointed by me. They should present their report in the session one week after the project presentations. They should look at the following general tendencies:

  1. The texts chosen and whether they could be divided into distinct genres, whether their division or non-division into distinct genres by the groups is justified, etc.
  2. The different methods of analysis adopted by the respective groups (if applicable), and an evaluation of these methods.
  3. Diversity or similarity of opinions within each group and between groups.
  4. Any general observations that could be derived from the observations and conclusions of each of the groups.
  5. Which presentation, in the opinion of the summarizers, is the best, and the reasons for their judgment (their judgment here may not necessarily agree with that of the lecturer or by the students' peer review).
  6. General observations on the use of songs for stylistic and linguistic analyses, the pedagogical purpose underlying the analyses, and what the class has achieved.
  7. Any other relevant observations or comments.

Scale of project

Please note that the project carries only 15% of the marks. As such, you should be realistic about the scale of your project. It is strongly recommended that only one song is selected, as you will not have the time to discuss more songs during the presentation. Remember, you only have fifteen minutes for the presentation (which includes playing time for the song or extracts from it), and there should be five minutes of discussion with your course-mates and me as well.

The presentation

  1. The presentation should be fifteen minutes in length, and no more. Groups that exceed the time limit will be stopped, even if they have not completed their presentation.
  2. There should be five minutes of discussion after the presentation.
  3. Instead of unswervingly presenting a conformist group opinion, your group should present, whenever possible, a diversity of opinions. Remember, critical thinking has nothing to do with conformist thinking. However, diversity of opinions and evaluations should be presented systematically, and you should discuss with your group mates or with me on how this could be done.
  4. The recommended software for the presentation is PowerPoint 2003. Other software may be used, but students are urged to ascertain beforehand if their software is compatible with the operating system and hardware available in the lecture room. I have found that Macintosh presentation software does not always work with the available operating system and hardware. No added time will be given for technical glitches – these glitches should be resolved before and not during the session.
  5. Students are expected to play at least the audio version of the song. How exactly they will combine the audio with their analysis in their presentation will be left open.

The project report

  1. The project report should be between 500 and 1,500 words
  2. The report need not be an exact replica of your presentation.
  3. A project report is not a group essay. The requirements of the project report are not the same as those of a group essay. You should present your points and observations more succinctly than in an essay, and the write-up should follow a prescribed format, which is given below (the format is usually more variable for an essay).
  4. Your project report should follow the following format:
    1. Introduction
    2. Body
    3. Conclusion
    Details of the above are given in another document.

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Document last revised on 06 October, 2006.