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School of Modern Languages and Cultures

FR118 Formative work

Term 1 Formative essay

  1. ‘The narrative is the story of the dissemination of a story (DE LOOZE).’ Discuss this statement with reference to La Châtelaine de Vergy.
  2. 'The ChV poet jolt[s] his public into an ineluctable confrontation with the problematic: was it fair that the knight should lose his lady and his life (ARRATHOON)?' Discuss this statement with reference to La Châtelaine de Vergy.
  3. To what extent and in what ways does knowledge of Montaigne’s Au Lecteur assist our reading of his essay ‘Des Cannibales’?
  4. 'Montaigne has ‘composed ‘Des Cannibales’ not as a dissertation, but quite literally as an exercise designed to increase our understanding and sharpen our judgment by putting both of these faculties to the test. (DUVAL, adapted).' Discuss this statement with reference to the text.
  5. Analyse the motif of the journey in any ONE or TWO of the following texts: ‘Des Cannibales’, Candide.
  6. ‘Candide has lost little of its general appeal. It still has ample power to entertain and to teach. But Voltaire wrote it for his contemporaries, who would all be familiar with the thought, the customs described, and the historical events referred to (JOHN BUTT).’ How important is it to make a distinction between modern and contemporary approaches to reading Candide?


Submission deadline for formative essay: Friday 27th November 12 noon.

Please read carefully the directions for submission set out on the First-Year E-Submission page.

Please submit your essay on tabula HERE 

If you are unable to submit the essay by its due date, please apply for an extension using Tabula by following the instructions HERE 



Preparing for and getting the most out of classes

  • Read through your Study Skills Handbook carefully (you received a copy in your start-of-term packs. If you require a further copy, you can click on study skills handbook(PDF Document)). The handbook gives detailed information on the following:
    • reading primary material
    • preparing for lectures
    • preparing for seminars
    • producing written work
  • Take another look at the study skills lectures and advice documents here: skills workshops materials

Preparing written work

  • Follow the link to Writing Essays and Commentaries for key advice about structure, expressing ideas on paper, presentation, and departmental criteria for these tasks.

Marking, correction and feedback

  • Your tutor will return your work to you with added comments and an overall mark. It is important to read through comments carefully. Your tutors may also suggest further useful reading. You will have the opportunity to discuss the work you have prepared in class.
  • Find out about the university's 17-point scale marking scheme.