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Twentieth Century – literary timeline – part 1

a chronicle of events, literatures, politics, and the arts 1895. X-rays discovered; invention of the cinematograph; trial and imprisonment of Oscar Wilde; Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest and An...

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What is close reading?

a brief guide to advanced reading skills Close reading – explained 1. Close reading is the most important skill you need for any form of literary studies. It means paying especially close attention to...

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How to cite electronic sources

academic conventions for the digital age Referencing 1. More and more data is now stored electronically in a variety of forms. 2. When quoting, your sources may be in some digital form. 3. The...

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Glossary of essay instruction terms

common terms used in essay questions 1. Instruction terms are words commonly used in essay questions. They instruct or direct you in the approach you should take towards the proposition of the...

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How to fail your dissertation

clear guidelines for guaranteed disaster Failing your dissertation is admittedly not an easy task, but if you try really hard you can fail by ignoring all the good advice you have been given. If in...

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How to take notes

important skills for successful study 1. In preparation for writing a piece of work, you should take notes from a number of different sources: course materials, set texts, secondary reading,...

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How to study a novel

reading novels and effective study skills Why study a novel? There’s nothing wrong with reading a novel just to pass the time, or as an alternative to watching TV. But if you want to get more out of...

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Essay plans

creating firm structure and clear argument 1. Essay plans You can approach the composition of an essay using a number of different writing strategies. Some people like to start writing and wait to see...

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How to avoid plagiarism

how to understand plagiarism – and avoid it Plagiarism – definition 1. Plagiarism is defined as “Passing off someone else’s work as your own”. 2. It happens if you copy somebody else’s work instead of...

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How to use quotations

the conventions and techniques of quotation Quotations 1. There are in general two instances when you may wish to use quotations from other writers’ work: Evidence – when quoting from other sources to...

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How to write book reviews

notes and style guide for reviewers 1. Good book reviews should as a bare minimum be informative, but if they are good they will also be entertaining. Keep three things in mind whilst writing – your...

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The Novella

tutorial and guidances notes What is a novella? The novella is a prose fiction which is longer than a long story, but shorter than a short novel. If that seems baffling, you could think of something...

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The Short Story – essential works

tutorial and guide to important texts The short story is as old as the earliest tale-telling. Many longer narratives such as epics and myths (such as the Bible) contain short episodes which can be...

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Twentieth Century – literary timeline – part 2

a chronicle of events, literature, and politics 1920. League of Nations established; Oxford University admits women; D.H. Lawrence, Women in Love; Nobel prize – K. Hamsun (N). 1921. Irish Free State...

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Twentieth Century – literary timeline – part 3

a chronicle of events, literature, and politics 1950. India declares itself a republic; UK and USA attack Korea; first credit cards; first organ transplant; Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard; Nobel prize...

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Sample essay introductions [advanced]

getting your essay off to a good start The essay introductions that follow are all taken from third-year undergraduate courses in literary studies. They are not being offered as models of perfection –...

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Nineteenth Century – literary timeline – part 1

a chronicle of events, literature, and politics 1789. French Revolution 1790. Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France 1791. Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man 1792. Denmark is first country...

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Nineteenth Century – literary timeline – part 2

a chronicle of events, literature, and politics 1830. Death of George IV; William IV becomes King. Petitions to both Houses of Parliament on the abolition of slavery. William Huskisson, a former...

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Nineteenth Century – literary timeline – part 3

a chronicle of events, literature, and politics 1866. George Eliot, Felix Holt the Radical; Elizabeth Gaskell, Wives and Daughters; Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; Fyodor Dostoyeski,...

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Bleak House close reading

reading skills in the critical analysis of a text What is close reading? 1. Close reading is the most important skill you need for any form of literary studies. It means paying especially close...

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Analysis of a Shakespeare sonnet

sample answer to an examination question This analysis of a shakespeare sonnet is an example of literary analysis at third year undergraduate level. It’s also an example of an answer to an essay...

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Analysing fiction – a glossary

a checklist of literary terms Analysing fiction requires that you are able to name and describe the features of a story or a novel that you find interesting. This means having a clear understanding of...

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How to create a bibliography

the basic conventions for academic writing 1. At the end of any scholarly writing (an essay, report, or dissertation) you should offer a list of any works you have consulted or from which you have...

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How to structure an essay

What is structure? Structure is the underlying framework which holds something together. You might not be able to see it, but it’s underneath the outer shape – like the skeleton of a body or the steel...

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How to read a novel

reading skills for appreciating fiction If you love reading novels you’ll know that they can offer an entire world in which to get imaginatively lost. People read Wuthering Heights and actually cry...

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How to use quotation marks

Quotation marks Quotation marks or quote marks are the single or double raised commas used at the beginning and the end of a written quotation. Single quote marks are shown ‘thus’. Double quote marks...

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How to get an academic teaching job

advice, tips, and templates for humanities PhDs An academic teaching job is a golden objective, but not an easy goal to achieve. If you’ve made it through your first degree, then a masters or a PhD,...

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How to summarize a book

What is a book summary? A summary of a book is a digest of all its main points. It should be a shorter version or a précis of its main arguments or topics – depending on the type of book. It should...

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How to write a thesis abstract

tutorial – guidance notes – example – tips A thesis abstract – definition A thesis abstract is a digest or a shorter version of the whole thesis. The abstract draws out in summary what’s in the...

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Analysing narratives

understanding how stories are told What is analysing narratives? Analysing narratives is making a critical assessment of features in a piece of work. This activity goes from making a detailed...

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How to buy books for a penny

find bargains at online bookshops I’ve bought several books for a penny each in the last couple of weeks at Amazon. Yes – that’s one penny. And they were not tatty old paperbacks, but hardback...

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Bookseller jargon

understanding the language of the book trade When buying second-hand books you’ll often come across bookseller jargon used to describe the goods they have on offer. These descriptions appear in both...

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Analysing characters

how to study and understand fictional characters Analysing characters When studying literature, you will be asked to write about the characters in stories, plays, and novels. Most people find it easy...

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Close reading tutorials

tutorials in literary criticism and close critical analysis What is close reading? Close reading means not only reading and understanding the meanings of the individual printed words of a text: it also...

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Point of View

the perspective of authors, narrators, and characters Point of view – what is it? An important part of analysing fictional narratives is to take into account the point of view from which a story is...

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