Assessment for this term takes three parts:

1. A formative presentation and write-up on an allocated French newspaper or magazine (completed in the seminar in week 3; this does not count towards your final mark for this module).

2. A detailed plan (x 2 sides of A4) for your chosen summative title, to be handed in during the seminar slot in week 8 of term 2. This does not count towards your final mark for this module but helps you to prepare for the summative essay.

3. A summative essay of 1500 words to be submitted via Tabula by 25 March 2016. This counts towards your final mark for this module.

Presentation and write-up

Small groups of 2-3 students will be allocated a French newspaper or magazine to analyse ahead of week 3's seminar on the French newspaper industry. The presentation in English should be presented as a PowerPoint presentation and you should make it clear in this presentation the contribution made by each student (i.e. who has prepared each slide). The presentation should address:

• Who is the intended audience of the newspaper/magazine?
• What appears to be the content of the newspaper/magazine? Are there any special features?
• How much does the newspaper/magazine cost and how does this compare to the wider market?
• What is the history and context of this newspaper/magazine?
• Is there any evidence of state control?

Your individual write-up should comprise of one page of A4 summarising your own findings and detailing any sources you used during the course of your research.

Plan for summative essay

Your plan for the summative essay should comprise a maximum of two pages of A4. It should detail as clearly and succinctly as possible your proposed argument and structure of the essay; any relevant sources; the analysis you will make in each paragraph and your proposed conclusion. It should be written in note form and in English. I will provide feedback on this plan to provide you with some support ahead of the summative essay which does count towards your final mark for this module.

Summative essays

The summative essays count towards the final mark for the module; in line with other first-year modules in French Studies, this overall mark for the module is calculated as an average of your results from term 1's summative essay; term 2's summative essay and the exam.

Download the selective bibliography for the summative essays

Should you require an extension for this summative essay, please email me (d.w.lees@warwick.ac.uk) as soon as possible before the deadline. You must also copy in the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dr Cathy Hampton (c.m.hampton@warwick.ac.uk) in this request.

Summative essay titles

Write an essay of 1500 words on one of the following topics:

1. How did the Vichy regime control the media during the Occupation?

2. 'Television in France has been shaped exclusively by the French State.' To what extent do you agree with this view?

3. 'The French newspaper industry is in perpetual decline.' Discuss

4. What are the principal influences on the pre-university French education system?

5. 'The French university system has not changed since the days of May '68.' Discuss