Department of English

1. Department of English Third Year Step Up Day September 2017

2. Welcome Back!

3. Outline of today’s session • Welcome by Director of Student Experience, Dr. Prudence Bussey-Chamberlain • Facing the demands of the 3nd year • ‘Things I wish I had known in my third year…’ • Looking to the future • Q and A

4. You asked… we did You asked for fewer e-mails, so we now aggregate all of our information into a weekly e-mail sent out every Friday. You asked for more contact time, so we extended dissertation provision and ran voluntary reading groups in the summer term. You asked for meetings with alumni, so we ran our Southbank Day for a second year in a row. You asked for your assessed essay questions earlier, so we released all third-year final essay questions in February to ensure maximum preparation time before the deadlines in May. You asked for further help with reading loads, so we have been running Reading Labs to help improve your reading habits and offer practical advice on how to keep focused. You asked for a wider range of courses, so we introduced:The American Gothic, Frankenstein, Writing the American City: Literature of Chicago, The 1930s: British Fiction and the Road to War, The First Person and The Other Side of Enlightenment.

5. Penalties for over-length work: 13 (5) of the College Regulations: (5) Work which exceeds the upper word limit set will be penalised as follows: • for work which exceeds the upper word limit by up to 10%, the mark will be reduced by ten percent of the mark initially awarded;  (b) for work which exceeds the upper word limit by more than 10% but less than 20%, the mark will be reduced by twenty percent of the mark initially awarded;  (c) for work which exceeds the upper word limit by more than 20%, the mark will be reduced by thirty percent of the mark initially awarded.

6. Facing the demands of the third year INCREASED ACADEMIC DEMANDS • Writing long essays • Third-year seminars: bring your game • Preparation • Participation • Further Research • Presentations (assessed and formative)

7. Facing the demands of the third year HOW TO FLOURISH • The third-year effect • Use consultation hours, ask for advice • Personal Tutors • Seminar Leaders • Use academic services • Optional events, talks, trips, etc. • Enjoy yourself!

8. Where to find help: • Foundation Studies • Academic Skills Resources • CeDAS • Essay Skills Writing Tutor: Dr. Emilia Borowska • MHRA Guidance • Pastoral Support • Your Future • Placements Scheme • Careers and Employability Service

9. Where to find help: Staff Members Dr. Betty Jay Senior Tutor B.Jay@rhul.ac.uk IN220 Dr. Prudence Bussey-Chamberlain Director of Student Experience Prudence.Chamberlain@rhul.ac.uk IN256

10. ‘Things I wish I had known in my third year …’ • Just take each essay, text and addition to the work load one step at a time • Concentrate on yourself this year: it is easy to be swept up in societies and sports but at the end of it all, this year is your most important year and your friends will understand that • Use this year to really find that passion or spark that you can't stop reading or writing about. Whether you go on to complete a masters in this area or find a job related to that topic, finding your "thing" will inevitably improve your experience as well as the quality of your work.

11. Facing the future • English and transferable skills • Careers Session on Friday 22nd September • 11-12pm, Boiler House Auditorium

12. Transferable skills When discussing texts, preparing for presentations and researching written work you will develop the ability to: • articulate your own ideas and arguments • identify key points for debate • organize material from many sources in a coherent and structured way • synthesis facts, ideas, interpretations and arguments • refine, develop and support your interpretations • use the lectures and seminars to write effective notes As you work towards deadlines for essays, presentations and projects you will: • become adept at planning, organization and self-management. • use your judgment to assess multiple sources of knowledge and information • produce short pieces of work in which key points are compressed as well as longer writings in which ideas are developed and elaborated in a structured and coherent way

13. Transferable skills In the seminars, tutorials and study groups you will learn to: • justify, defend, refine and adapt your ideas by talking and listening to others. • speak confidently and coherently to a group or in a one on one interaction • find negotiated solutions to problems and issues • develop the diplomatic skills you need to challenge others as they will challenge you • lead a team, collaborate with others and present your collective ideas You will learn a range of IT skills such as: • information retrieval, • evaluating sources and resources • identifying relevant archival materials • how to sift through varied and sometimes contradictory forms of knowledge • editing, blogging

14. Reflective exercise

15. Q and A