Each week select one literary text and explain its extrinsic significance (themes, historical context, contemporary 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. You may choose literary texts from any weekly section of the Unit Anthology

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

Important information about Word Count:

The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. It excludes the cover page, abstract, contents page, reference page and appendices. It includes in-text references and direct quotations.

This assignment will be marked using the following evaluation criteria:

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

Choose five [5] of the Activity Journal topics and write 400 words in response to each. The Activity Journal pieces should provide a detailed intrinsic analysis (close reading) of a specific literary text using practical techniques and skills as modelled in lectures, exemplars and eReadings. This assignment requires that you "show your workings" (so to speak), annotating the literary text, highlighting key phrases, identifying devices and techniques, commenting in the margins, and finally, summarizing your findings in a brief thesis statement. You are required to write 400 words per topic, then in Week 9, collate your five (5) pieces into a Word doc. and upload through the Moodle Assessment system. More information on this Assessment item (including exemplars) can be found on Moodle under the Assessment tile.

Word Count: 2000 words (max.)

Important information about Word Count:

The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. It excludes the cover page, abstract, contents page, reference page and appendices. It includes in-text references and direct quotations.

1. Evidence of close reading (intrinsic analysis) 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.

Choose from one of the topics below and write an essay using 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 a selection of literary 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:

• Exploring the blurry line between fact and fiction;
• Analyzing the formal properties and style of a text;
• Recognizing the validity of multiple interpretations and reading positions.

         Discuss the significance of five literary texts in relation to these ideas.

Word Count: 1500-2000 words (max.)

Important information about Word Count:

The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. It excludes the cover page, abstract, contents page, reference page and appendices. It includes in-text references and direct quotations.

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

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.