You are required to produce two essays for the course, which will be assessed. Essays will jointly contribute 50% of assessment; the remaining 50% of your work will be assessed by the 2 hour examination in May/June 2025.

Examination (50%)

You will be requested to answer three questions in the Examination (2 hours in total) from three sections A, B and C.

Students reading the set texts in Latin will have to answer one question from each section. 

Students NOT reading the set texts in Latin will have to answer one question from question B, one question from section C, and a third question from either section B or C.

The questions in Section A (only for students reading the set texts in Latin) will consist of one or more passages from the Latin set texts to translate and comment.

The questions in Section B (at least one compulsory for everyone) will consist of a selection of passages to compare and comment upon taken from the syllabus. Please note that students reading the set texts in Latin are expected to comment on the original if one of the questions include a passage taken from a set text.

The questions in Section C (at least one compulsory for everyone) will consist of general essay topics.

Essays (50%)

The assessed essays must be word-processed and properly printed out, have proper bibliographic references, and be clearly and accurately expressed (correct spelling, good grammar, and well-structured sentences). The number of words used, as close as possible to 2500 words (including footnotes, not including bibliography), should be given on the cover sheet. The Second essay may be a topic of your own choice, to be discussed in the autumn term with the module convenor.

Deadlines

Submission deadlines must be heeded: the University has regulated that essays will attract a penalty of 5% for each day they are late. If you foresee difficulties in meeting the deadline, it is imperative that you contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies (see below). The deadlines for essay submission for this course are as follows:

Essay 1:
Essay 2:

You may not submit essays by email, but should hand them in to the departmental office, with a cover sheet filled in, before 12 noon on or before the date posted. Anonymity of marking is an adopted principle of the University for both assessed essays and examinations.

Please refer to the departmental handbook and the document ‘Advice on writing essays’ for further information about assessment criteria and marking. This is available online.

Extensions to Essay Deadlines

Applications for an extension to the essay-deadlines are only allowed in exceptional circumstances – well-documented medical reasons etc. Any such application should be made to the Director of Undergraduate Studies well before the deadline. Problems with e.g. printers, getting hold of books, bunching-up of essay-deadlines etc. are rarely considered acceptable excuses. When an extension is granted, students must ensure that the module tutor is informed and that the extension (with date limit) is recorded by the secretaries in the ledger in the Office. Only in exceptional circumstances will an extension be allowed beyond two weeks.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism, defined as ‘the attempt to pass off someone else’s work as one’s own’ is a variety of cheating or fraud. It is taken very seriously by the University and students who are caught can suffer penalties which are extremely detrimental to their career. Fortunately plagiarism has not been a problem in our Department and we fully anticipate that this situation will continue.
- To avoid any confusion however you should take special care with two things:
Cite the sources you are using.
Use quotation marks for the quotations you are including.
If any of the above is unclear, contact the Module tutor. There is more information in the Departmental Handbook.