Department of English

1. Department of English Second 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 2nd year • ‘Things I wish I had known in my second year…’ • 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 second year • Thinking ahead to: • course choices • dissertation topics • year abroad • careers and skills development • Greater engagement with critics • Developing independence – intellectual and personal

7. Where to find help: The Foundation Programme • 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

8. 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

9. Transferable skills • What do you think are the skills you are acquiring on your degree? • Independent working • Time management and organisation • Articulating knowledge and writing coherently • Team work • The UG Handbook lists the skills we think you are developing. • You can use these when writing your CV or covering letter.

10. ‘Things I wish I had known in my second year …’ • It’s never to late to join a club or take up an activity • But don’t get so sucked into your social life that you forget about your studies • Plan ahead – work out all your deadlines to avoid an essay crisis • Take advantage of all the help that the department and college offers

11. Reflective exercise

12. Q and A