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2017/18 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

SPPO1060 Essay Project in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies

20 creditsClass Size: 40

Module manager: Rebecca Jarman
Email: r.s.e.jarman@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2017/18

Pre-requisite qualifications

A-level Spanish or equivalent level

Module replaces

SPPO1180

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

The aim of this module is to equip students with the skills necessary to study Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies (and the broader field of the Arts and Humanities) at undergraduate level. Personal assistance in the form of lectures and small-group tutorials will provide students with the opportunity to acquire, practise and improve these skills through the elaboration of an essay connected to the themes studied in the History and Culture modules which students of Single Honours Spanish and Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies can choose at Level 1. This will be accomplished by means of a staggered series of the various tasks involved in the process of researching and writing an essay, with detailed feedback on each. Students will also be able to acquire in depth knowledge of their supervisor’s academic specialism.

Objectives

This module aims to equip students with the skills that will enable them to:
1) Design an essay question and elaborate a nuanced hypothesis/argument.
2) Locate and employ critically primary and secondary materials in the elaboration of an academic essay.
3) Structure and signpost the various component elements of an essay in order to get ideas across clearly and effectively.
4) Use grammatically correct and lexically precise expression, register and referencing.
5) Respond to oral and written feedback from lecturers and produce better work subsequently

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
1) Identify and critique the main arguments of a range of scholarly publications drawn from the discipline of Spanish and Latin American Studies.
2) Locate primary and secondary materials in libraries and on-line, and use the MHRA and Harvard referencing styles correctly.
3) Reflect effectively on the feedback provided on the various stages of the essay-writing process in order to produce an academic essay that is rigorously researched, appropriately structured and signposted, and uses language of an academic register.

Skills outcomes
In addition to generic academic skills, the essays that students produce over the course of the module will enable them to explore in detail issues specific to Spanish and Hispanic American topics covered in History or Culture modules at Level 1.


Syllabus

1. Independent research and critical reading skills
2. Literature Review
3. How to structure and write up an essay
4. Essay draft and re-draft

Teaching methods

Delivery typeNumberLength hoursStudent hours
Lecture81.008.00
Tutorial91.009.00
Private study hours183.00
Total Contact hours17.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)200.00

Private study

Reading and preparation for lectures and tutorials= 41 hours
Preparation and writing-up of Literature Review = 30 hours
Preparation and on-line discussion of Introduction = 25 hours
Preparation and writing-up of Draft Essay = 57 hours
Preparation and writing-up of Essay Redraft and Reflective Log = 40 hours

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Informal and formal feedback on critical reading skills in Literature Review
Informal feedback on Introduction to essay
Informal and formal feedback on Draft Essay
Informal and formal feedback on Essay Redraft

Methods of assessment


Coursework
Assessment typeNotes% of formal assessment
Essay2,500 word Draft Essay50.00
Literature Review750 words25.00
Reflective log500 Words and essay redraft25.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

There is no reading list for this module

Last updated: 15/05/2017

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