A template setting out the required format for essay submission is available here.
You are strongly advised to download and use this template when you present assessed work. The advice given below sets out the department's requirements for summatively assessed work (on which the template is modelled). Please adhere to this advice carefully.
- Students are expected to word-process their assessed essays and submit them both electronically and in hard copy. Information regarding e-submission of essays can be found in the link to the right of this page. Please remember at all times to have a secure back-up copy of your work in case of accidents. (Claiming computer failure prevented you from handing in your essay on time is NOT accepted by the University as an adequate reason for non-submission or late submission of the essay!)
- Make sure, too, that your essay has all the appropriate French accents; failure to do so will be penalised in the same way as inaccurate spelling. If you are not sure how to find French accents on the computer keyboard, consult the link to the right of this page.
- In calculating the word-length of your essay, please remember that this should include all quotations, but exclude all footnotes and the bibliography. You should bear in mind however that footnotes should be reserved primarily for reference purposes.
- You should note that the prescribed word length is a strict limit. Candidates whose essays are found to be shorter than the required word-length are liable to be penalised; candidates whose essays are longer run the risk that the examiner will stop reading once the word limit has been reached!
- Remember that examinations in the University are conducted on the basis of the anonymity of candidates. Please identify your work by indicating not your name, but library card number, together with the module code and name, and title of the essay on the first page. You should also indicate your library card number and the module code on each following page, preferably by use of a running header. (In Word, go to View, then Header and Footer.) And don't forget to number the pages (go to Insert, Page Numbers, and enter Bottom of Page, Right)!
- All quotations from or other references to secondary literature MUST be acknowledged in your essay. Guidelines on the French Department’s preferred referencing format (MHRA) can be found in the Study Skills material on referencing here. However, other referencing conventions (e.g. Chicago, Harvard, MLA) are acceptable provided all references are clear and consistent. An overview of essay writing, including structuring and referencing, can be found on the Essay Writing Conventions page.
- The essay must also list at the end the bibliographical or other resources used in researching and writing the essay.
- You are REQUIRED to undertake the Study Skills training provided for this module, and to consult the online material provided with it when preparing your essays. Once you have written and received feedback on your first summative assignment, you will be expected to present and reference subsequent summative work (assignments 2 to 4) correctly. Failure to do so may cause you to incur a penalty of up to 5 marks.
- Please note that these rules concern assessed work submitted to this Department for the Strategies module. In the case of all modules taught in other Departments, please refer to the rules and regulations published by that Department.
