CQUniversity Unit Profile
LITR11056 Introduction to Literature
Introduction to Literature
All details in this unit profile for LITR11056 have been officially approved by CQUniversity and represent a learning partnership between the University and you (our student).
The information will not be changed unless absolutely necessary and any change will be clearly indicated by an approved correction included in the profile.
General Information

Overview

In this unit, you will be introduced to the study of literature by learning how to read, analyse and write about the different genres of literature such as novels, short stories, poems, and dramas. You will learn how to develop independent and critical thinking skills through the imaginative engagement with the process of reading and analysing complex literary and non-literary texts.

Details

Career Level: Undergraduate
Unit Level: Level 1
Credit Points: 6
Student Contribution Band: 7
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load: 0.125

Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

There are no requisites for this unit.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Offerings For Term 1 - 2023

Online
Rockhampton

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Class and Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Class Timetable

Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Assessment Overview

1. Online discussion forum
Weighting: 20%
2. Written Assessment
Weighting: 50%
3. Written Assessment
Weighting: 30%

Assessment Grading

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.

Previous Student Feedback

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Feedback from SUTE

Feedback

Deliver an actual lecture on zoom.

Recommendation

Free standing, pre-recorded weekly lectures will be developed and made available in addition to the other resources.

Feedback from SUTE

Feedback

This is an introductory course, students require more feedback on assessments.

Recommendation

More feedback on assessment items will be given through a dual process of commenting and correcting individual assessment items and providing a general statement in accordance with the assessment rubric.

Unit Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate skills in textual analysis
  2. develop your own informed interpretations of literary texts
  3. Articulate how literary texts function as sites of contestation for the meanings, values and ideologies represented within them.

N/A

Alignment of Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Graduate Attributes
N/A Level
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Professional Level
Advanced Level

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes

Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Online discussion forum - 20%
2 - Written Assessment - 50%
3 - Written Assessment - 30%

Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes

Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Communication
2 - Problem Solving
3 - Critical Thinking
4 - Information Literacy
5 - Team Work
6 - Information Technology Competence
7 - Cross Cultural Competence
8 - Ethical practice
9 - Social Innovation
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes

Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Online discussion forum - 20%
2 - Written Assessment - 50%
3 - Written Assessment - 30%
Textbooks and Resources

Textbooks

There are no required textbooks.

IT Resources

You will need access to the following IT resources:
  • CQUniversity Student Email
  • Internet
  • Unit Website (Moodle)
Referencing Style

All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)

For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.

Teaching Contacts
Stephen Butler Unit Coordinator
s.butler@cqu.edu.au
Schedule
Week 1 Begin Date: 06 Mar 2023

Module/Topic

What is Literature?

Chapter

See Moodle for eReadings & other learning materials

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 2 Begin Date: 13 Mar 2023

Module/Topic

Critical Approaches

Chapter

See Moodle for eReadings & other learning materials

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 3 Begin Date: 20 Mar 2023

Module/Topic

Poetry 1 - Sonnets and Odes

Chapter

See Moodle for eReadings & other learning materials

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 4 Begin Date: 27 Mar 2023

Module/Topic

Prose 1 - The Novel


Chapter

See Moodle for eReadings & other learning materials

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 5 Begin Date: 03 Apr 2023

Module/Topic

Drama 1 - The Play as Text

Chapter

See Moodle for eReadings & other learning materials

Events and Submissions/Topic

Reading Diary Due: Week 5 Friday (7 Apr 2023) 11:59 pm AEST
Vacation Week Begin Date: 10 Apr 2023

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 6 Begin Date: 17 Apr 2023

Module/Topic

Poetry 2 - Rhythm and Rhyme



Chapter

See Moodle for eReadings & other learning materials

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 7 Begin Date: 24 Apr 2023

Module/Topic

Prose 2 - The Short Story


Chapter

See Moodle for eReadings & other learning materials

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 8 Begin Date: 01 May 2023

Module/Topic

Drama 2 - Stage and Screen

Chapter

See Moodle for eReadings & other learning materials

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 9 Begin Date: 08 May 2023

Module/Topic

The Novel, Film & TV

Chapter

See Moodle for eReadings & other learning materials

Events and Submissions/Topic

Activity Journal Due: Week 9 Friday (12 May 2023) 11:59 pm AEST
Week 10 Begin Date: 15 May 2023

Module/Topic

Literature & Popular Culture

Chapter

See Moodle for eReadings & other learning materials

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 11 Begin Date: 22 May 2023

Module/Topic

Literary Theory & Nonfiction

Chapter

See Moodle for eReadings & other learning materials

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 12 Begin Date: 29 May 2023

Module/Topic

Review

Chapter

See Moodle for eReadings & other learning materials

Events and Submissions/Topic

Research Essay Due: Week 12 Friday (2 June 2023) 11:59 pm AEST
Review/Exam Week Begin Date: 05 Jun 2023

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Exam Week Begin Date: 12 Jun 2023

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment Tasks

1 Online discussion forum

Assessment Title
Reading Diary

Task Description

Each week select one literary text and explain its significance (themes, meanings, social relevance, etc.) using an idea or quotation from the eReadings to guide or support your interpretation. You are required to write 250-300 words each week, then in Week 5, collate your five (5) pieces (1250-1500 words) into a Word doc. and upload through the Moodle Assessment system. You are encouraged to post your weekly response to the Discussion Forum. 

More information on this Assessment item can be found on Moodle under the Assessment tile.


Assessment Due Date: Friday Week 5

Weighting: 20%


Assessment Due Date

Week 5 Friday (7 Apr 2023) 11:59 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Week 6 Friday (21 Apr 2023)

Assessments will be marked and returned ASAP


Weighting
20%

Assessment Criteria

  1. Ability to explain the text's themes and meanings;
  2. Ability to relate the text to other literary and popular texts and social contexts;
  3. Ability to incorporate ideas and critical concepts from a secondary source (eReading);
  4. Ability to write clearly and reference properly (in Harvard style).


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • develop your own informed interpretations of literary texts
  • Articulate how literary texts function as sites of contestation for the meanings, values and ideologies represented within them.


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Critical Thinking
  • Ethical practice

2 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Activity Journal

Task Description

Choose five [5] of the Activity Journal topics and write 400 words in response to each. The Activity Journal entries should be a detailed analysis (close reading) of a specific literary text using practical analytical techniques and skills as modelled in lectures, exemplars and eReadings. This assignment requires that you "show your workings" so to speak. This involves annotating the literary text: highlighting key phrases, identifying devices and techniques, commenting in the margins, and summarizing your findings in a brief thesis statement). 

NOTE: More information on this Assessment item can be found on Moodle under the Assessment tile.


Assessment Due Date

Week 9 Friday (12 May 2023) 11:59 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Week 11 Friday (26 May 2023)

Assessments will be marked and returned ASAP


Weighting
50%

Assessment Criteria

  1. Evidence of close reading of the literary text;
  2. Effective use of analytical techniques as modeled in eReadings and other unit resources;
  3. Development of an argument expressed in a provisional thesis statement;
  4. Clear and effective writing, with correct grammar, spelling and punctuation;
  5. Appropriate acknowledgement of all sources using the Harvard (author-date) referencing style.


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • develop your own informed interpretations of literary texts
  • Articulate how literary texts function as sites of contestation for the meanings, values and ideologies represented within them.


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Ethical practice

3 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Research Essay

Task Description

Choose from one of the topics listed below and write an essay of 1500-2000 words. Use at least five set eReadings as secondary sources to support your argument.

  • According to John Stephens (1992, p. 64), ‘If our discussions of a work are to be anything more than expressions of mere personal response, they must be based in an identifiable critical practice able to describe the textual strategies of particular works and relate them to those of other works.’ Use this statement to discuss the significance of five chosen literary texts.
  • For Kusch (2016, p. 3): ‘Literature is a set of texts ... whose purpose includes, but extends beyond, communication, in which the language itself is as much a part of the end product as is the content'. Discuss how this view is exemplified in your selection of five literary texts, while interpreting their various themes and meanings.
  • Although a literary text is limited by genre conventions, it is by no means limited in the scope of its perception. With reference to your five chosen literary texts discuss this idea, examining the formal devices with which writers communicate complex ideas, themes and social issues.
  • Issues around class, race, gender and sexuality are often explored in literary texts in ways that both challenge and/or reinforce ideological norms. Discuss this using your selected texts to exemplify your argument.

  • For Wallace Stevens (cited in Thompson 2014, p. 14) literature is ‘the imagination pressing back against the pressure of reality.’ However, literature is part of reality, and moreover, bound by ‘sets of overlapping conventions or expectations’. In other words, it seems that formal constraints of genre enable freedom of thought. Discuss the implications of this using a selection of literary texts to exemplify your position.
  • While Thompson (2014, p. 14) admits it is impossible to provide a simple definition of literature, he does identify three main areas of interest for the critical scholar:
    1. Exploring the blurry line between fact and fiction;
    2. Analyzing the formal properties and style of a text;
    3. Recognizing the validity of multiple interpretations and reading positions.
           Discuss the significance of five selected literary texts in relation to these ideas.


NOTE: More information on this Assessment item can be found on Moodle under the Assessment tile.


Assessment Due Date

Week 12 Friday (2 June 2023) 11:59 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Exam Week Friday (16 June 2023)

Assessments will be marked and returned ASAP


Weighting
30%

Assessment Criteria

  1. The ability to explain the texts' themes and meanings;
  2. The extent to which identification of genre elements is used to explain the significance of the literary texts;
  3. Evidence of close reading and effective use of secondary sources to support argument;
  4. Clear and effective writing, with correct grammar, spelling and punctuation;
  5. Appropriate acknowledgement of all sources using the Harvard (author-date) referencing style.


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Demonstrate skills in textual analysis
  • develop your own informed interpretations of literary texts


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Ethical practice

Academic Integrity Statement

As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.

Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.

When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.

Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.

As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.

What is a breach of academic integrity?

A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.

Why is academic integrity important?

A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.

Where can I get assistance?

For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.

What can you do to act with integrity?