Essays
Term 2:
Finalists are expected to develop their own titles and topics for their 4,500-word essays in consultation with their tutor. They may, with permission, formulate a topic out of one of the questions below.
Non-finalists are also encouraged to consult Dr Forman to formulate their own titles and topics.
Term 1:
Finalists are expected to develop their own titles and topics for their 4,500-word essays in consultation with their tutor. They may, with permission, formulate a topic out of one of the questions below.
Non-finalists are also encouraged to consult Dr Forman to formulate their own titles and topics.
First Assessed Essay Topics (Non-finalists)
General Tips for Essay Writing 
Your essay must have a strong central argument/thesis statement, which should appear towards the start. I will be expecting you to do close reading during the essay, commenting on issues such as narrative voice, style, etc. and the way in which these elements contribute to the title you have chosen or developed.
The essay should use parenthetical citations for quotations and have a bibliography, which preferably conforms to the MLA style. Information on the MLA style can be found at www.mla.org, and from the Library (where there is a quick guide you can download—see https://warwick.ac.uk/services/library/students/referencing/referencing-styles/).
The Online Writing Lab at Purdue https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/establishing_arguments/index.html, offers good guidance on how to formulate a thesis statement and develop an argument. I also recommend The Craft of Research, edited by Wayne Booth et al., especially the section on asking “so what” questions.
You are expected to do some degree of independent research for this assignment, which may include primary materials from the period (historical materials, contemporary criticism from journals or newspapers, other relevant literature, etc.) and/or criticism and theory. Via the library portal, you can access useful databases such as Empire Online, Gale News Vault, 19th Century British Newspapers, 19th Century UK Periodicals, the Times Digital Archives, Project Muse, the MLA International Bibliography, and ProQuest One Literature. See http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/search~S1?/venglish/venglish/1%2C7%2C154%2CB/exact&FF=venglish+all+primary+sources&1%2C38%2C for further details. Remember that recent articles are normally embargoed for several years and may not appear in JSTOR.