| DESCRIPTION | READINGS | CONTENTS | EMAIL | ESSAY | EXAM FORMAT |
English Language, Honours Year
Continuous Assessment
40 per cent of the final
mark will depend on the end-of-term
examination; 60 per cent will come
from your continuous assessment. The CA
component will include assessments of:
Each student is also
expected to be involved in one group
presentation, which should take place on Weeks 12 and 13. There appears to be
about XXX signed up for EL4252 now, and this gives us Y groups of Z each. Try
to make the presentation as attractive and interesting as possible.
You need to be in presentation groups, and sign-up
is through LumiNUS. So that there is a decent
coverage of discourse types, I will specify the kind of data that the groups
will deal with.
I expect the presentation to be data oriented.
During the presentation, you will be expected to
·
provide a quick
round-up of the relevant bits of the framework
·
if necessary,
provide a critique to the framework, and/or make appropriate modifications for
your data
·
introduce your
data (this can include your own recorded data, or data recorded off the media,
or from novels, plays and films)
·
provide an
analysis based on the framework assigned
·
suggest how this yields
insights to your data
·
frame your
presentation (ie
include an appropriate introduction and conclusion; state the thrust of your
presentation clearly; provide clear linkages between different parts of your
presentation)
It is up to the group to
decide how to divide up the work. Please remember that you need to be aware of
what other members of the group are doing, and that if different people are in
charge of different sections of the presentation, they should still dovetail
nicely into each other. It is often useful to let one person be in overall charge of the presentation text.
Please be aware of time constraints. Each
presentation should not run over 30 minutes to allow for questions and
comments.
FAQs
Q. What's the required length of the data?
A. This wasn't specified
in the stipulations. The main stipulation was that the presentation time limit
was 30 mins and that some for the data at least needs
to be introduced. People usually collect more data than they will require.
Also, how much data will depend on what you do with the data.
A more statistical approach can accommodate much more data. A more qualitative
approach cannot.
Q. Need all the data be transcribed?
A. No, though it would
probably be useful to keep notes or outlines of your data sets, and only
transcribe in full the sections that you will analyse.
Q. Can I use non-spoken data?
A. Yes, you can argue
that things like internet chat is highly interactional. But you must be aware
of the effect of this MODE of communication. I've already mentioned literary
dialogues (even Shakespeare!) and the like: again, be aware of the complex
communication involved.
Q. Can I set up contrastive data to investigate
the effects of a sociolinguistic variable (gender, age, education level,
ethnicity, social class) or other variables like text type?
A. Yes, of course. Just
be aware that this calls for something more sophisticated in 'setting up' your
data, and ensuring that you have very compatible data and that the data sets
are distinctive in terms of the variable under investigation.
Q. Will you specify or assign frameworks or tasks?
A. No. I find that how
you will analyse your data depends very highly on the nature of your data, and
my intention is not to straitjacket your research. So choose what you think is
most relevant, helpful or interesting.
Q. Can I use frameworks not raised in the module?
A. Yes,
that is not a problem provided you also use frameworks raised in the
module. Remember you will then need to additional burden of introducing that
new framework. If there's uncertainly, please get in touch with me.
Students in each group
will be required to submit one group report, about 3,000 words in length. You
may keep to the data analysed at the oral presentation, or you may tweak things
for the report. There should be an introduction and statement of aim
and conclusion which should ideally be jointly written, and sections
which can be the responsibility of individual members (they should be named in
the report). In most cases, the sections to highlight salient points of the
data rather than provide a comprehensive analysis of the data. Although there
might be individuals responsible for certain sections, please be familiar with
the whole report, and make sure the report comes together coherently as a
whole. Cross-referencing each other’s sections is a useful strategy.
All essays must be typed or printed on A4 paper
(8¼ by 11¾ inches/210 by 297 mm) and double-spaced
(or 1½-spaced). Double-sided printing is encouraged. Margins of at least one inch or 2½ centimetres all round are expected. I prefer you not to justify your right margin.
Spelling should be consistent and conform to that
in the (Shorter/Concise) Oxford Dictionary. (If you word-process,
please use the Spell Check facility —
click Tools then choose Language, then choose English (Singapore) or English (UK).) Your language should be
precise and explicit. A semi-formal style will be acceptable. There is no general injunction to avoid personal
references (‘I selected this passage because it struck me as
being …’), but avoid ‘I feel’, or ‘I think’ because we assume that your essay will evidently contain what you feel or think. Check your language
for grammaticality, etc. because all infelicities in language will be
penalised.
You may adopt any consistent system of citation,
but all sources (of ideas, words, phrases, passages) must be acknowledged.
Include a bibliography or reference list at the end of your essay.
You might remember that a guideline on essay
writing for English Language was distributed with the History of English
module. This will still hold true. Go to http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/elltankw/history/writing.htm for a Web version if you have lost yours.. Again, this can be used for module essays as well.
The deadline for all reports is 8th November 2021.