Essay guidance

• You must make reference to the work of at least two poets.
• You may dedicate equal time to two poets; OR you can focus on one poet with minor reference to a second.
• For a 3000-word essay you should expect to focus on 3–4 passages of 10–15 lines each. 'Passages' might refer to whole poems; or selected lines from longer poems.
• An essay of this length will benefit from focus, so don't reference too many poets or poems (2–3 poets will work best; or 3–5 poems).
• In a 4,000 word essay you are expected to take a slightly larger scope. This may mean discussing the work of 2 or 3 poets in more depth, or it may mean discussing 3 or 4 poets.
• Final year students writing the 4,000 word essay are expected to have a greater sense of the current critical field their argument intervenes into.