For thi literature essay you MUST write on one Restoration comedy (The Country Wife or The Man of Mode) and you MUST NOT write on the text used for your critical analysis. Please note that for questions which specifically ask you to consider Restoration comedy you should only write on The Country Wife and The Man of Mode. Questions which ask you to consider Early Modern Comedy can be answered by referring to Shakespearean plays and/or Restoration plays. The question is, Discuss the role of master and servant relationships in Early Modern comedy. ♣ Demonstrate that you have paid careful attention to and given detailed consideration to the question taking particular care to ensure that you have understood and are addressing its precise wording. This means that if you are uncertain about the meaning of some terms you should seek to clarify them with the use of a good dictionary and/or by consulting the module tutor. ♣ Provide a clear, relevant and coherent argument. It is not enough to put down a series of points, these have to be structured into a logical sequence in which point a) can be seen to relate to point b) and so on. The argument must also be consistently relevant to the question and not stray into other issues which it does not ask you to consider. It is important to keep the question in mind throughout and ask yourself if your argument is addressing it. An essay is a rhetorical act of persuasion, the more coherent your argument, the more convincing your case will be. If the reader cannot follow the stages in your argument they will be less convinced that you properly understand the issues you are addressing and you will lose marks as a consequence. ♣ Display original and independent thought. Whilst it is expected that your essay should demonstrate that you have understood arguments and ideas presented to you in lectures and seminars simply repeating what you have been told on a topic is not sufficient at degree level. Good work is characterised by the ability to think independently in response to the framework provided by the module. That means you will be rewarded for having insights and perspectives which you have developed independently. ♣ Quote extensively from the primary texts you are considering to illustrate your points and follow the advice (below) on how to reference Shakespeare’s plays. ♣ Write as clearly and fluently as possible adopting an appropriate academic style: avoid colloquialism, abbreviated forms (etc, ie, eg) and aim for a formal but not over-ornate style. Your written expression in assessed work should not be like conversational speech but as close as you can get to the critical works you read on Shakespeare. In semester two of level one you need to be working to develop a good prose style and you will get much better marks if you are able to display this effectively. ♣ Demonstrate an appropriate engagement with a range of relevant secondary sources (critical and contextual work of an appropriate scholarly standard). ♣ Give proper acknowledgement of and proper references for other people’s work. Please recognise that a failure to properly acknowledge when you are drawing on the work of others, even if you have put this into your own words, can result in a charge of plagiarism which could result in your work being very severely penalised (awarded a fail mark) and in some circumstances may result in you having to withdraw from the Course. ♣ Present your work properly in accordance with the Essential Style Guide (see the MyBeckett page for Early Modern Comedy for a copy of the Essential Style Guide). Worth 80% of overall mark
