Undergraduate Advanced Diploma in English Literature

2016-2018
Course code: 1618GCR63

COURSE SPECIFICATION

University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education, Madingley Hall, Cambridge, CB23 8AQ
Tel 01223 746222 www.ice.cam.ac.uk

Contents
Teaching staff ................................................................................................................................... 1
Administrative staff .......................................................................................................................... 1
Venue ................................................................................................................................................ 1
Parking............................................................................................................................................ 1
Contact details of ICE....................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 2
This course specification and how to use it ..................................................................................... 2
Networks and support ..................................................................................................................... 2
1. Aims of the course ...................................................................................................................... 2
2. The overall structure of the course ............................................................................................. 2
Course schedule ............................................................................................................................. 2
Induction day................................................................................................................................... 3
Supervisions ................................................................................................................................... 3
Formative assignments ................................................................................................................... 4
Summative assignments ................................................................................................................. 4
Draft dissertation ............................................................................................................................. 4
Dissertation ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Student Research Ethics Form ....................................................................................................... 4
3. You and your supervisor.............................................................................................................. 4
4. Time management ........................................................................................................................ 5
5. Subject Sources ........................................................................................................................... 5
6. Course details ............................................................................................................................... 6
Summative assignments ................................................................................................................. 7
Guidance on Plagiarism .................................................................................................................. 7
Submission of your dissertation ...................................................................................................... 8
Presentation of your dissertation ..................................................................................................... 9
7. Check-list before Submission (and order) .................................................................................. 9
8. Writing your assignments and dissertation.............................................................................. 10
9. Assessment of assignments and examination of the final dissertation ................................ 14
Marking Scheme ........................................................................................................................... 14
Learning Outcomes ....................................................................................................................... 14
10. If you encounter difficulties ......................................................................................................... 15
11. Complaints and appeals ............................................................................................................. 15
12. What next? ................................................................................................................................ 15

Welcome to the Undergraduate Advanced Diploma in English Literature a University of

Cambridge award offered by the Institute of Continuing Education (ICE). The Advanced Diploma is
taught and awarded at FHEQ level 6 (i.e. third-year undergraduate level), attracts 120 credits and is
completed over two academic years. For further information about academic credit please see our
website,http://www.ice.cam.ac.uk/studying-with-us/information-for-students/faqs/3-credit-faqs
This programme allows you time and space to focus on a particular topic in English Literature and will
enable you to produce a substantial piece of writing on your chosen subject. During the two years of
the course, you will develop your research skills and subject knowledge, and will extend your
awareness of varying literary, critical and cultural perspectives.

Teaching staff
Course Director
Dr Jenny Bavidge is University Senior Lecturer in English Literature and Academic Director in
English Literature for the Institute of Continuing Education. She is a Fellow of Murray Edwards
College, Cambridge. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Oxford and her
PhD from the University of London in 2001. Before joining the Institute in 2011, she was Senior
Lecturer at the University of Greenwich. Her publications have included work on the contemporary
novel, London in literature, children's literature and ecocriticism. Her institute web page can be found
at:
http://www.ice.cam.ac.uk/who-we-are/institute-staff/directors-and-academic-staff/jenny-bavidge
Contact Details: Dr Jenny Bavidge, Institute of Continuing Education, University of Cambridge,
Madingley Hall, Madingley, Cambridge, CB23 8AQ, jrb203@cam.ac.uk

Administrative staff
Academic Programme Manager: Miss Katherine Roddwell, Institute of Continuing Education,
University of Cambridge, Madingley Hall, Madingley, Cambridge, CB23 8AQ, 01223 746223,
Katherine.Roddwell@ice.cam.ac.uk
Programme Administrator: Mrs Lisa Hitch, Institute of Continuing Education, University of
Cambridge, Madingley Hall, Madingley, Cambridge, CB23 8AQ, 01223 746212,
Lisa.Hitch@ice.cam.ac.uk

Venue
Madingley Hall is an historic Tudor mansion on the outskirts of Cambridge with one of the finest
gardens in the region.
The Hall is situated in the village of Madingley, three miles west of Cambridge with easy access from
the M11 and the A14. Full directions are given on our website at www.ice.cam.ac.uk/directions,

Parking
There is ample car parking reached via the roadway branching to the left at the top of the drive.

Contact details of ICE

Institute of Continuing Education
University of Cambridge
Madingley Hall
Madingley
Cambridge CB23 8AQ
Website:
Email:

www.ice.cam.ac.uk
ug-awards@ice.cam.ac.uk
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Introduction
This course specification and how to use it
You are encouraged to read this course specification and follow its advice. Please return to it
frequently. This guide and the Student Handbook will help you with practical matters you will
encounter in the course. It will help you to make the best use of your time and resources, set out the
format to be used for references, the bibliography and presentation of the dissertation, emphasise
areas you should be aware of, and encourage you to engage with your research.
If you have questions or queries not answered in this guide ask your supervisor or the Course
Director. They have expert knowledge about the subject, conventions to be used and sources and
resources that are available, and will be able to tell you the best person to contact should any
problems occur.

Networks and support

Research is exciting and rewarding and you are embarking on an exciting voyage of discovery. At
times it might seem stressful; for example, the document you thought would provide essential
information did not and your writing is not going as smoothly as you hoped. This is the time to contact
your supervisor or the Course Director. They are there to help you and to make sure that you achieve
your goals. Their experience and the resources of the University of Cambridge are there for you to
use. Discussing issues with your fellow students within the VLE will also be helpful and supportive.
This research and writing it up should be an enjoyable experience. Students, supervisors and the
Course Director should all be looking forward to the coming year with pleasurable anticipation.

1. Aims of the course

The Undergraduate Advanced Diploma in English Literature aims to:
a) support you in developing a range of research skills to a high standard and guide you in
writing a significant piece of original research in a well-informed, fluent style;
b) place your textual analysis within wider relevant literary contexts and extend your awareness
of varying literary and cultural perspectives;
c) encourage you to engage critically with theoretical and critical sources.
d) enable you to undertake and complete a substantial piece of primary research culminating in a
10,000-12,000 word dissertation.

2. The overall structure of the course

Course schedule
The course is run every academic year starting in November.

Part 1 Summative assignments

Course Starts
1 November 2016
Induction Day (compulsory)
5 November 2016
Supervision 1
See below
Supervision 2
See below
Submit summative assignment 1
31 January 2017
Supervision 3
See below

Part 2 - Dissertation
Submit summative assignment 2

2 May 2017

Supervision 4

See below

Complete Student Research Ethics Form

May/June 2017

Formative assignment 1

30 July 2017

Formative assignment 2

30 July 2017

Supervision 5

See below

Supervision 6

See below

Supervision 7

See below

Submit draft of dissertation

20 March 2018

Supervision 8

See below

Dissertation deadline

1 May 2018

During the Advanced Diploma you will be given a total of 8 supervisions over 2 years.
The table above lists all the course dates that you need to know. Supervision dates are arranged
individually between supervisors and students. Please write the agreed dates into the spaces above
for your own records.

Induction day
The Induction day provides an opportunity to meet your fellow students as well as your Course
Director and there will be sessions on undertaking research, including how to access the resources of
the University Library, and on preparing your dissertation. The first supervision will also be held during
the Induction day. You will be sent details of how to prepare for this session in advance of the
Induction day.

Supervisions
The course is structured so that during the first part of the course you develop your knowledge and
understanding and the appropriate skills to undertake the research that will culminate in your
dissertation. Your supervisor will give assistance in this by advice on research methodology, asking
questions and engaging in debates pertinent to your field of study as well as making sure that you
keep to a manageable timetable.
During the course you will receive one group and seven individual supervisions. The content of group
supervisions will be adapted to reflect the interests and research topics of the students attending but
will cover general topics of literary analysis and critical theory, with some set reading details of which
will be sent to students at least a month in advance of the supervision. Group supervisions are
designed to sharpen students research and critical skills and to develop their knowledge of recent
literary and critical debates in preparation for their immersion in their particular area of research.
Assignments and the dissertation
During the course you will undertake a number of pieces of written work. The types of work you need
to submit are listed below and the submission date for each piece of work is listed above.
All assignments must be submitted by the stated deadline and be within the stated word limits
(counting any text in the body of the assignment, inclusive of references/footnotes/endnotes in the
main body of the text, but exclusive of any bibliography or list of resources consulted and of any
abstract, list of contents or abbreviations that may be included at the beginning or end of the
assignment).

Formative assignments
Formative assignments are designed to help you in your studies. These are compulsory but do not
contribute towards your course mark.

Summative assignments
The summative (marked) assignments together account for 30% of your final course mark. Should
you fail a summative assignment, your supervisor will advise you on the reasons and ways to
improve.

Draft dissertation
You will be required to submit a draft of your dissertation from 6 to 8 weeks before the submission of
your final version of your dissertation (see timetable above). Your supervisor will then read the draft
and give you feedback. To make the most of your supervisors feedback, please aim to submit
at the draft stage a near-complete version of the dissertation and leave yourself sufficient time
to implement any improvements to your draft dissertation that are recommended by your
supervisor.

Dissertation
At the end of the course you will submit a 10,000 12,000 word dissertation which is worth 70% of
your final course mark.
Your final mark will be a composite of your summative assignment and dissertation marks weighted
30% and 70% respectively. It is necessary to achieve a pass mark of 40% or above in each piece of
marked work. You will be allowed to resubmit, once only, any failed summative assignment during the
first part of the course. It is not normally possible to resubmit a failing dissertation. Resubmission of a
dissertation which is given a fail mark is only possible in exceptional circumstances and is not
normally permitted.

Student Research Ethics Form

During the course, your Course Director will ask you to complete a Student Research Ethics Form.
The date for submission of this form is listed in the table above.

3. You and your supervisor

Supervisors are drawn from relevant Faculties of the University of Cambridge and the Institute of
Continuing Educations tutor-panel and will have expertise in the field you are studying. You will be
notified by the Course Director or the Academic Programme Manager about your supervisor, and your
supervisor will receive your details and will get in touch with you to arrange for the first supervision.
Students can expect supervisors to be well-qualified and experienced in the study of, and
research into, English Literature but not necessarily have in-depth knowledge of a students
particular topic.
The relationship between the student and supervisor is a very important one. It is useful to give
details of the 'contract' between you in order to avoid misunderstandings:
a) Supervisors are contracted to give eight face-to-face meetings (totalling eight hours) to discuss
your progress. The timings and details of these meetings are to be mutually agreed;
b) Summative assignments will be marked by your supervisor and feedback will contain constructive
criticism;
c) The supervisor should read through the final draft of your dissertation and make constructive
comments on it, no later than six weeks before your submission date;
d) The supervisor should be prepared to deal with a limited number of queries by communication
through the VLE, or by telephone or letter.
As the student you will be expected to conform to a number of criteria:
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a) To keep to the agreed timetable for meetings and handing in assignments. Please give your
supervisor plenty of time to read and comment upon your assignments before your supervision. If
you are unable to keep an appointment, please ensure you give your supervisor as much notice
as possible.
b) To make the best use of supervision time: firstly by preparing for the meeting in advance and
secondly by listening to the advice given to you by your supervisor.
Your supervisor will be asked to write a number of reports on your progress to the Course Director.
These reports will be uploaded in your course VLE space as a record of your progress through the
course.

4. Time management
It is very useful to make a preliminary plan for your work. Research often takes longer than the
researcher anticipates but it is a useful discipline to impose deadlines on yourself.
A useful tool is a research log. This can be constructed to suit your requirements but the following
headings have proved useful in the past:

Date
Weekly objective
Hours worked and where
Summary of main work covered, books read, primary research material collected
Problems with research or general comments
Plan for following week

One page per week should be sufficient to help you keep track of your work.

5. Subject Sources
What is a primary text or primary source?
In simplest terms, a primary text is a literary text written by an author and (usually) intended for
publication to the general public. Thus, if you were researching Shakespeares Roman plays, Julius
Caesar and Coriolanus would be primary texts. For Shakespeare himself, of course, Norths Plutarch
was a primary source; for you, on the other hand, it would be secondary. In the same way, if you were
researching Dickens London, Our Mutual Friend would be a primary text, and Henry Mayhews
London Labour and the London Poor, which would have been a primary source for Dickens, would be
a secondary text for you. Jeremy Tamblings study of Dickens London, Going Astray, would be - for
the purposes of your research also a secondary text.
What is a secondary text?
In general, you should work on the principle that critical texts are always secondary, unless one or
more such text happens to be the focus of your research.
A secondary source is a text that relates or discusses information originally presented elsewhere.
Such sources give you information about how something has been interpreted by others.
Secondary sources fall into several different categories. For example:

Reference works. These are books that summarise current understandings of a subject, and
key data ('facts'), and usually claim to be comprehensive in some way or other. They do not
generally engage in sustained analysis or analysis that is controversial within the field.
Examples of reference works are the Oxford Companion to English Literature, or indeed the
Oxford English Dictionary.
Synthesis. These are works that present a synthesis of the arguments of others but do not
necessarily contain original research. These make an excellent starting point for research and
point you towards debates found in other works. The Cambridge Companion series, and (at a
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more introductory level) the Cambridge Contexts in Literature series are examples of this kind
of synthesis.
Academic monographs and articles
These are based on original research and will contain ideas and theories developed by the author.
For example, the following book is a monograph: Fred Parker, Devil as Muse: Blake, Byron and the
Adversary (2011)
Articles are collected in scholarly Journals and Periodicals and you should familiarise yourself with the
most-read Journals within your field. The following is an example of an article in an academic journal.
Priya Gopal, The Moral Empire: Africa, Globalisation and the Politics of Conscience, New
Formations: a Journal of Culture/Theory/Politics, ed. Priyamvada Gopal and Neil Lazarus 59,
2006, 81-97
Your literature search should include journals since the most up-to-date research is often found in
periodicals. Although you will find much useful information online, be wary of using the internet as a
reliable source for anything other than academic articles accessed via online academic journals. Your
supervisor and the Course Director will give you advice about appropriate sites.
Although you might be the first to research your particular subject, it is probable that you will not be
the first to write on the broader topic. There will be debates within the secondary literature with which
you will need to be familiar. You will need to review this secondary literature, identifying particular
viewpoints and issues of dispute between scholars. For example: Which primary sources are they
using and how? Is their interpretation plausible? Try to be critical. Although a literature review will not
form part of your final dissertation, your work will be marked on the extent and manner in which you
use your sources and evaluate academic debates. You need to place both your study and your final
conclusions within this broader context.
You will find useful subject guides to particular areas of English Literature at the Faculty of English
Library webpage: http://subjects.cam.libguides.com/EnglishSubjectResources

6. Course details
The Advanced Diploma comprises eight supervisions, two summative assignments and one
dissertation over two academic years of study. The two summative assignments are written in part
one of your course and together count towards 30% of the final mark. In part two of your course you
will undertake a 10,000-12,000 word dissertation, which makes up 70% of your final mark. In order to
break these into something more manageable, you will be required to submit two formative
assignments; that is, assignments that must be completed but in themselves carry no mark.
These are designed to help you to prepare your assignments and dissertation. It is advisable to
discuss your research plan and assignments with your supervisor as soon as possible after
beginning.
Application: Outline Research Proposal
Outline Research Proposal, submitted as part of your application, of not more than 1 side of A4.
This should propose a title for the dissertation and explain the subject you intend to research. There
should be some indication of the primary and secondary sources you intend to use and the research
questions you will be asking.
It is probable that this will be a broad-based proposal which is refined down after later supervisions
and that it will have to be modified further when you have looked at the sources available or realise
that you have been too ambitious. Do not worry about this; being able to make adjustments because
of lack of sources or time is part of the learning process when undertaking a sustained piece of
research. Formative assignments later in the first year will help you to further structure your
dissertation.

Summative assignments
You will be required to submit two summative assignments for assessment of 3000 4000 words
each. Please check carefully the precise word count required for each summative assignment.
Your assignment word count must fall within the word count range stated. Details of the
summative assignment deadlines are given in section 2 above. Summative assignments should be
submitted via the VLE and be accompanied by a cover sheet as described below.
These summative assignments will constitute 30% of your final mark with each summative
assignment contributing 15%.
The word length specified for the assignment(s) is inclusive of references in the main body of the text,
of footnotes and endnotes but exclusive of any bibliography or list of resources consulted and any
abstract, list of contents or list of abbreviations that may be included at the beginning or end of the
assignment.
The use of appendices is generally discouraged except where additional data, not available in
published form, must be presented, and must be previously agreed with your supervisor.
Summative Assignment 1
Closing date for the submission of Summative assignment 1 is 31 January 2017 by 12.00 (noon)
GMT *
Discursive essay (3000-4000 words) which may be on a topic related to your dissertation or on
another area of your choosing. If you choose to write an essay close to the topic of your dissertation,
you may write on a work by the same author, or a work from the same period, or adopting a similar
critical/theoretical approach but should not use material or texts you intend to discuss in your
dissertation. You will devise a title in consultation with your supervisor and/or the Course Director.
*Greenwich Mean Time
Summative Assignment 2
Essay (3000-4000 words) Write a critical response to a scholarly article or academic book chapter on
a subject related to your dissertation topic, providing a summary of the argument, defining its
critical/theoretical position and analysing and evaluating the argument.
Closing date for the submission of Summative assignment 2 is 1 May 2018 by 12.00 (noon) BST*
*British Summer Time

Guidance on Plagiarism
Students are expected to make sure that their summative assignments and dissertation are supported
by appropriate referencing and that there is no danger their work could be suspected of plagiarism.
They should familiarise themselves with the guidance and plagiarism policy of the Institute available
at www.ice.cam.ac.uk/studying-with-us/information-for-students/plagiarism-policy.
Students will be required to attach to each summative assignment and the dissertation a completed
Assignment Cover Sheet and Declaration, confirming that:
the work I have submitted for assessment is my own, except where acknowledgement of sources
is made;
I have read the Institutes definition of plagiarism, the Institutes guidance: Plagiarism and how to
avoid it and the University of Cambridge guidelines on good academic practice and plagiarism for
submitted work ;
I give permission for this work to be screened by Turnitin UK, as described in the VLE Help &
Guidance area, and understand that it will be added to the Turnitin UK database.
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For guidance on referencing your sources and setting out a bibliography please see section 9,
References and bibliography.
There are also 2 formative assignments attached to the first part of the Advanced Diploma,
prior to the writing of the dissertation. They are compulsory but carry no mark. These are
intended to develop your research skills and your writing skills.
Formative assignment 1: Literature Review, including a bibliography. Between 1,000 2,000 words
Formative assignment 2: Plan of the dissertation, including a chapter outline, abstract and research
plan.

Formative assignment 1: Literature Review

This is an important and necessary component of your research project. In order to contribute a new
piece of research you have to connect it with what has already been written. All scholarly writing
includes such a review in some form so this assignment helps you develop an essential skill.
You do not have to read every book on your subject and you do not have to include everything you
read in your final dissertation. This exercise should help you identify the current issues in your field
and it should help give you an idea of the gaps in your own knowledge.
Finally, it offers the opportunity for the research student to appraise the work of others. You need to
approach the literature with a critical eye. Below are some suggested ways to achieve this.
a) Record full bibliographical information, including page references as you work. Record your
works in alphabetical order.
b) Be selective - scan the abstract, introduction and conclusion to decide if they are relevant for
your topic.
c) If they seem relevant, make notes. You must mark clearly those parts of your notes that are
direct quotes or figures or statistics. At first your notes may be quite detailed but they should
become shorter as you progress and need to record less background material.
d) Ask critical questions as you work:
i. What are the authors main arguments or conclusions?
ii. Do these align with particular positions?
iii. How logical is the argument being made?
iv. How well does the writer support the argument with evidence (primary sources)?
v. Does this work contribute anything relevant to your project?
Do not simply list the books you have read in your literature review. You need to summarise the main
findings and principal arguments of the main scholars in your field of research. There will be several
(or more) scholars who have particular arguments and approaches identified with them. Their
approaches are based on their primary sources or a specific methodology they have adopted. There
will be others who disagree with them. You need to get to grips with the various approaches and
arguments, and be able to summarise these in your literature review.
Formative Assignment 2: Plan of the dissertation
This should be completed towards the end of the first academic year and is intended to help you plan
your research and writing for the dissertation.
You may find that the plan is not set in stone and that it will evolve as you research and write, but it is
important to begin with a clear and realistic overview of the parameters and limits of your project.

Submission of your dissertation

You will be required to submit a final dissertation of 10,000 to 12,000 words. Please ensure that your
dissertation is not less than 10,000 words and not more than 12,000 words.
Closing date for the submission of the dissertation is 2 May 2017 by 12.00 (noon) BST
8

The dissertation will constitute 70% of your final mark.

The word length specified for the dissertation is inclusive of references in the main body of the text, of
footnotes and endnotes but exclusive of any bibliography or list of resources consulted and any
abstract, list of contents or list of abbreviations that may be included at the beginning or end of the
dissertation.
The use of appendices is generally discouraged except where additional data, not available in
published form, must be presented, and must be previously agreed with your supervisor.
It is advisable to send your final dissertation (after all corrections have been completed) to your
supervisor for one final check.
You should upload your dissertation into the course space of this Advanced Diploma in the Institutes
Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Your name and address should be clearly visible on the uploaded copy and accompanied by a
completed cover sheet. The cover sheet will be available in the Institutes Virtual Learning
Environment.

Presentation of your dissertation

The final draft should contain an introduction, central chapters, bibliography and any appendices you
are including. You should already have discussed this final format with your supervisor. Supervisors
should offer guidance on how to prepare the final draft, including the abstract, main chapters,
conclusion, references, bibliography and any appendices. One of the aims of submitting the whole in
draft is so that the supervisor can see that overall it has a logical progression and sustains an
argument.
In the final supervision the supervisor should indicate areas in the dissertation requiring further work
and polishing. The supervisor should also check that the abstract, contents page, references and
bibliography are laid out correctly and that any appendices are appropriate.
Dissertations will vary in structure and style depending on your topic and your own critical and
philosophical approach to your topic. As a broad guide, however, the dissertation will be expected to
contain the following elements:
The Introduction should indicate:
a) The main topic of the dissertation and an indication of the shape of the argument to come. It
may also include a contextual account of the literary and historical context, biography of the
central author(s) or a summary of the major critical debates to date.
b) The questions you are asking and their relationship to current debates.
c) The sources you will be using and how you will deal with these.
You need to state and discuss your research questions and tell you reader about your sources and
methodology (how you have chosen to use and analyse these sources). Set out what the rest of the
dissertation will do.
Each chapter usually tackles a different theme.
The conclusion draws together your main findings and any wider implications you can draw from
your research for the secondary literature.

7. Check-list before Submission (and order)

Signed cover note

Abstract
Acknowledgements
9

Contents page, including list of tables, graphs, maps, illustrations

List of Abbreviations
Main body of the dissertation, with footnote references in the text
Any appendices (use sparingly)
Bibliography

8. Writing your assignments and dissertation

Good critical writing has a beginning, middle and end, follows a logical progression and sustains an
argument throughout. It should state its aims clearly from the start, and refer back to these aims
throughout the text. Each section should be linked and each section should show how it relates to the
topic or adds to the argument. Examples and quotations should be used selectively and only when
they add to the argument. You should stick to the point and not digress down interesting side tracks;
these belong to another piece of work.
Your dissertation must place its findings within wider academic debates. It should be comparative,
using examples where appropriate from secondary sources. Secondary sources should be evaluated
and re-evaluated in light of any new findings. It should not be too descriptive, but must analyse. It is
not enough to describe what you have found in the primary sources, you must also analyse it,
compare it with other work, and draw conclusions. Narrative helps to drive the text along, but should
be used sparingly to set the scene.
Make sure to plan out each assignment or chapter before you begin. Keep a record of all works you
consult as you read and make notes; it will save you time in the end.
POINTS TO REMEMBER WHEN WRITING UP YOUR DISSERTATION

It must ask questions and develop an argument.

It should state the argument as quickly and concisely as possible as early as possible in the
introduction. Get to the point in the first paragraph.
Always give evidence to support your assertions.
Quote selectively and do not fill your dissertation with long quotes from literary or critical works
without justifying their presence by careful and close analysis. The study of some authors will
require you to quote extensively from primary sources and some authors are more longwinded than others; sometimes their prolixity is important. Try to use long quotes sparingly,
always make sure you comment on them if they are included and do not quote and run. Let
your reader know why this extract rather than any other deserves their attention.
Try not to distort arguments which you do not agree with, or try to force your primary sources
to fit the argument you are making, even when they do not.
Be honest and acknowledge any flaws there might be in your argument.
Keep to the subject and do not add any details or descriptions that are not relevant to your
argument. Quotations should be relevant.
Build up your evidence or argument step by step in a logical manner.
Use good standard English and ensure the spelling, grammar and punctuation are completely
accurate throughout.
Let your introduction and conclusion mirror each other, and continually refer back to your main
theme or argument, showing how the discussion relates to this.
Be self-disciplined and selective.
Be prepared to cut out material that is no longer irrelevant, no matter how long you might have
worked on it and however painful it might feel! Your dissertation will be better for it.

References and bibliography

Academic writing uses different systems in order to organise information about sources,
references and attribution of quotes and ideas.

10

We suggest that you use either the Harvard System or guidelines to referencing of the Modern
Humanities Research Association (MHRA) . You can find details of the Harvard system on the
ICE VLE under Help and Guidance, then Study Skills in Academic Study.
The English Faculty, which endorses this Advanced Diploma in English Literature, expects research
students to use the MHRA Style Guide, and you may prefer to use this system. The main difference is
that MHRA uses footnotes rather than in-text citations. Footnotes are included in your overall word
count and the Harvard system will use up fewer of your words.Whichever system you use, the most
important factor is to be accurate and consistent within your own dissertation.
Full details of how to use MHRA can be found in its Style Guide which covers every possible
source you might want to use and tells you how to cite it:
http://www.mhra.org.uk/Publications/Books/StyleGuide
General Style Guidance
Whenever you mention the title of a work (a novel, film, work of criticism, painting etc.) you must
italicise it.
eg. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bront
eg. In Frankenstein, we first encounter Frankenstein through the eyes of Robert Walton.
The title of any work which was published as part of a collection should be in single inverted commas.
This applies to short poems, short stories, articles, and essays.
eg. The Raven, The Tiredness of Rosabel, Tradition and the Individual Talent.
Bliss refers to the particular story by Katherine Mansfield, whereas Bliss, and Other Stories refers to
the collection as a whole.
When you first mention a novel or a poem you should supply its date, either as part of a sentence or
in parenthesis:
eg. Jane Eyre (1847) exploits elements of the Gothic within a realist narrative.
eg. Charlotte Bronts Jane Eyre, published in 1847, may not comment directly on womens position
in society but is full of feminist intent.
Presentation of quotations
It is very important that you show where quotes from texts begin and end and that you leave your
reader in no doubt as to whether you are writing in your own words, or quoting a literary text or critic.
When you write about any literary text, the convention is to phrase your discussion in the present
tense.
eg. In his poem The Lake Isle of Innisfree, Yeats creates a precisely detailed image of a place
where peace comes dropping slow.
eg. When Jane marries Rochester, she describes her decision in the active voice: Reader, I married
him.
a. Short quotations
These can be included as part of your text. Use single inverted commas to show where the quote
begins and ends and double inverted commas for a quotation within a quotation.
eg. Jane describes her own mind as being like a ridge of lighted heath, alive, glancing, devouring as
she confronts her aunt.
Where a whole sentence is quoted in full, without any interruption, the final full stop in the sentence
comes before the closing inverted comma.

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eg.: Jane then goes on to describe her feelings when her anger dies away and a period of calm
reminds her of the madness of my conduct, and the dreariness of my hated and hating position.
b. Longer quotations
Quotations of more than one-and-a-half lines should begin on a new line and should be indented and
single-spaced.
Do not use inverted commas (quote marks) for indented passages.
eg. When Jane describes her anger during her confrontation with her aunt she again speaks in
images of fire and destruction :
A ridge of lighted heath, alive, glancing, devouring, would have been a meet emblem of my
mind when I accused and menaced Mrs. Reed: the same ridge, black and blasted after the
flames are dead, would have represented as meetly my subsequent condition, when half-anhour's silence and reflection had shown me the madness of my conduct, and the dreariness of
my hated and hating position.
References and footnotes
You must make clear acknowledgement of all works you have used in writing your essay. If you fail to
do so, you may be penalised for plagiarism (using someone elses words without acknowledgement,
whether from a book or internet source.) References may be given either within the text, or in
footnotes or endnotes (but be consistent as to which you use in any given essay).
You should provide a reference for any direct quotations, facts that are not widely known, opinions
directly derived from a secondary work and paraphrase of any part of a primary or secondary work.
You must also include a bibliography which will include all works cited where you list all the texts you
have quoted from and any from which you have not quoted but which have been crucial in the
formation of your argument.
The guidelines below are for the MHRA system. Full details of the Harvard system may be found on
the ICE VLE or in the Student Handbook.
a. First reference
The first time you refer to a particular work, you should insert a footnote or endnote at the end of the
sentence, giving a full reference.
eg. According to Jonathan Bate, literature is writing that must be judged according to the criterion of
significant form.1
1

Jonathan Bate, English Literature, A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2010),
p. 271.
b. Second and subsequent references
If you refer to the same work again in your essay, then on second and subsequent occasions you
may give the reference in a shortened form.
eg.. 4 Bate, p. 39.
Or if you have more than one work by the same author:
4

Bate, English Literature, p. 39.

If you are referring to the same text many times throughout the essay then provide the full reference
in a footnote the first time you quote, and let the reader know how you will refer to the text in
subsequent references, which can be given in parentheses in the body of your essay.
eg. When Jane marries Rochester, she describes her actions in the active voice: Reader, I married
him.1
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Charlotte Bront, Jane Eyre, ed., by Margaret Smith (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 448.
Subsequent references provided parenthetically as JE.
Thereafter in your essay you would place the reference after the quote:
eg. Jane describes her mind as a ridge of lighted heath, alive, glancing, devouring in her
confrontation with her aunt. (JE 42)
How to present information on sources in footnotes and endnotes
a) Book
Give, in this order: name of author, title of book, name of editor (if applicable), place of publication,
name of publisher, date of publication, and page number(s).
eg. Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, ed. by Margaret Smith (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p.
448.
b) Article in a Journal
Give, in this order: name of author, title of article, title of periodical, volume number, date, page
numbers of start and end of article, and the specific page number(s) for your reference.
eg. Raymond Williams, Literature and the City, Listener, vol. 78 (1967): 653-6 (p. 655).
c) An essay in an essay-collection
Give, in this order: name of author, title of essay, editor of volume, title of volume, place of publication,
name of publisher, date, and page number (s).
eg. Miranda J. Banks, A Boy for all Planets: Roswell, Smallville and the Teen Male Melodrama, in
Teen TV: Genre, Consumption and Identity, ed. by Glyn Davis and Kaye Dickinson (London: British
Film Institute, 2004), pp. 17-28 (p. 22).
d) A film
Give, in this order: title of film, name of director, and date.
eg. Vertigo, Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
e). Internet Sites
If your source provides you with an author, give their name and the title of the article or review.
Provide the exact web address and the date you last accessed the information.
e.g. http://www.oldbaileyonline.org, last accessed 1 July 2011.
Bibliography
A bibliography is a list of (1) all the literary or other primary texts that constitute the subject-matter
of your essay, and (2) all the critical or historical studies to which you have referred in your
discussion, together with any other important works of this sort that formed part of your reading
and thinking on the subject where not specifically cited in your footnotes. Texts in the first category
should be listed in a section called Primary Sources, and texts in the second category should be
listed in a section called Secondary Sources (Note: Primary and Secondary do not mean more
important and less important in this instance; the difference is between the Works of
Shakespeare on the one hand, and a critical book on Shakespeare or a historical account of Tudor
England on the other.) You may also have a section on Manuscripts or Works of Reference
where relevant.
You should begin compiling your bibliography from the very beginning of your work, keeping
accurate records of authors, titles, and so on, together with library class-marks for your own use.
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Bibliography items should be listed in alphabetical order (beginning anew under each section)
Items should be listed under these headings: Primary Sources, Secondary Sources,
Manuscripts Sources (if any), Works of Reference (if any).

Place the author or editor surname before the forename(s)

After reversing the first listed name, maintain the usual order for collaborating authors or
editors
Unlike footnotes, entries in a bibliography should not end with a full stop
Use a hanging indent to highlight the first line of each item

Example bibliography:
Primary Sources
Johnson, Thomas H., ed., Emily Dickinson: Selected Letters, 2nd edn (Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 1985)
McKerrow, Ronald B., ed., The Works of Thomas Nashe, 2nd edn, rev. by F. P. Wilson, 5 vols
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1958)
Secondary Sources
Chadwick, H. Munro, and N. Kershaw Chadwick, The Growth of Literature, 3 vols (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1932-40; repr. 1986)
Welsh, Alexander, The Influence of Cervantes, in Anthony J. Cascardi, ed., The Cambridge
Companion to Cervantes (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), pp. 80-99
Works of Reference
Strayer, Joseph R., and others, eds, Dictionary of the Middle Ages, 13 vols (New York: Scribner,
1982-89), VI (1985
There may be other examples not dealt with here. When in doubt ask your supervisor how to deal
with unusual bibliographic entries.

9. Assessment of assignments and examination of the final dissertation

Marking Scheme
Your summative assignments are marked in relation to your achievement of the learning outcomes
specified for the course. For further information and a description of the marking scheme please refer
to the Student Handbook.

Learning Outcomes
Summative assignment 1
The student will be able to:
a) Formulate a research question and construct a focused response to it;
b) Write fluently and coherently, demonstrating comprehension of and intelligent engagement
with relevant literary texts, critical and theoretical approaches.
Summative assignment 2
The student will be able to:
a) identify appropriate scholarly sources;
b) assess the nature and quality of scholarly sources and their relevance to the students own
research;
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c) provide a coherent account of an academic argument, and be able to critique and evaluate
that argument.
Dissertation
The student will have:
a) acquired critical, in-depth knowledge of their selected area of literary studies;
b) gained a critical ability to summarise, represent and interpret a range of both primary and
secondary sources including (where appropriate) materials from different disciplines;
c) demonstrated comprehension of and intelligent engagement with relevant literary texts, critical
and theoretical approaches;
d) gained a critical awareness of how changing theoretical positions have influenced the manner
in which textual and critical analysis are conducted;
e) demonstrated an awareness of key themes, debates, and methods of the discipline and,
where appropriate, related disciplines from, for example, the humanities or the social sciences.
f) stated clearly, discussed and demonstrated critical comprehension of some of the following:
the literary, political, social, intellectual, historical, ethical, institutional or aesthetic contexts in
which texts are created, received and read.
Your summative assignments and dissertation will be marked by your supervisor, after which they will
go through a moderation process; for further information relating to moderation please refer to the
Student Handbook. Feedback will be returned to you as soon as possible
On passing the course, you will be invited to receive your certificate and transcript in person at the
Institute of Continuing Education at Madingley Hall; alternatively the certificate can be sent to you by
post.
ICE will normally retain a paper copy of your dissertation for a period of six months following
confirmation of an award, unless you have initiated an appeal against your result.

10. If you encounter difficulties

If you encounter difficulties during your studies that affect your performance, you should let your
Course Director know as soon as possible so that we can give you advice.
Extensions are not available. Instead, you should submit your work as close as possible to the
deadline, even if incomplete. You should then use the mitigating circumstances process to ask that
the circumstances be taken into account. The mitigating circumstances process takes place at the
end of each academic year, and is explained in full in the Student Handbook.

11. Complaints and appeals

If you feel that you have not received the tuition you expected, or there were academic circumstances
which limited your achievement of the learning outcomes, you should notify the Course Director. The
procedures for making a complaint and academic appeals are detailed in the Student Handbook.

12. What next?

When you have successfully finished your dissertation and been awarded your Advanced Diploma
you might want to rest on your laurels, but you might also want to continue with your research. The
structure of the Advanced Diploma in English Literature will have given you the skills necessary to
proceed to a higher degree: either a taught Masters or Masters by research, perhaps leading to a
Ph.D.
If you wish to pursue further study, speak to your supervisor or the Course Director.
You might want to publish the whole or part of your dissertation. Your supervisor will be able to give
you advice on which journal to send an article to, and which part you should abstract for this.
Talk to your supervisor about your future in the study of English Literature and literary studies.
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Information correct as at 07 July 2016

University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education, Madingley Hall, Cambridge, CB23 8AQ
Tel 01223 746222 www.ice.cam.ac.uk

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