Honour School of English and Modern Languages

Differences from 2018/19 to 2022/23

A

  • 1. The subjects of the examination in the Honour School of English and Modern Languages shall be (a) English Language and Literature in English and (b) those modern languages and literatures studied in the Honour School of Modern Languages.

  • 2. All candidates must offer both (a) and one of the languages in (b) with its literature.

  • 3. No candidate shall be admitted to the examination in this school unless he or she has either passed or been exempted from the First Public Examination.

  • 4. The examiners shall indicate in the lists issued by them the language offered by each candidate obtaining honours or satisfying the examiners under the appropriate regulation.

  • 5. The examination in this school shall be under the joint supervision of the Boards of the Faculties of English Language and Literature and of Medieval and Modern Languages, which shall appoint a standing joint committee to make, and to submit to the two faculty boards, proposals for regulations for this examination and for the Preliminary Examination in English and Modern Languages.

  • 6. (i) The examiners in the honour school shall be such of the Public Examiners in the Honour Schools of English and Modern Languages as shall be required.

    (ii) It shall be the duty of the chairs of examiners in the Honour School of English and in the Honour School of Modern Languages to consult together and designate such examiners as shall be required for the honour school, whereupon the number of the examiners shall be deemed to be complete.

B

1. The Year Abroad

Candidates will be examined in accordance with the examination regulations set out below. In addition, every candidate shall be required to spend, after their matriculation, a year of residence in an appropriate country or countries, and to provide on their entry form for the examination a certificate confirming that they have done this, signed by the Head or by a tutor of their college or society. Candidates wishing to be dispensed from the requirement to undertake a year of residence abroad must apply in writing to the Chair of the Medieval and Modern Languages Board, 41 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2JF, stating their reasons for requesting dispensation and enclosing a letter of support from their college or society.

Candidates should during this year abroad undertake a programme of activity acceptable to their college or society.  They will also be expected to carry out during this period such academic work as their society may require. Candidates will agree with their College Tutor in advance of their year abroad an independent course of study to be followed during that period.

2. English and Modern Languages Papers

Each candidate shall offer Part I, either Part II or Part III, and Part IV as prescribed below.

Except in a Special Subject or an alternative to a Special Subject, a candidate shall offer (in addition to English) one modern language and its literature only.

Candidates are warned that they must avoid duplicating in their answers to one part of the examination material that they have used in another part of the examination.

Part I

The regulations for these subjects shall be those specified in the regulations for the Honour School of Modern Languages.

  • 1. Honour School of Modern Languages, Paper I.

  • 2. Honour School of Modern Languages, Papers IIA and IIB.

  • 3. Honour School of Modern Languages, one paper chosen from Papers VI, VII, or VIII.

  • 4. Honour School of Modern Languages, one paper chosen from Papers IV, V, IX, X, XI, or XII.

  • 5. Oral examination.

EITHER: Part II

  • 6., 7., 8. Three papers chosen from Course I, Subjects 1 to 6 of the Honour School of English Language and Literature. A maximum of two of the three papers may be examined by submission. The papers will be written examinations of three hours’ duration, unless otherwise specified. Candidates shall choose three from:

    • (i) Shakespeare (a portfolio of 3 essays, each of not fewer than 1,500 and not more than 2,000 words in length) [as specified for the Honour School of English Language and Literature, Course I, Subject 1]. See in addition the regulations in 3. for ‘Submitted work’.

    • (ii) Literature in English 1350 – 1550 [as specified for the Honour School of English Language and Literature, Course I, Subject 2].

    • (iii) Literature in English 1550 to 1660 [as specified for the Honour School of English Language and Literature, Course I, Subject 3]. Candidates who have satisfied the Examiners in the Preliminary Examination in Classics and English may not offer this paper.

    • (iv) Literature in English 1660 to 1760 [as specified for the Honour School of English Language and Literature, Course I, Subject 4].

    • (v) Literature in English 1760 to 1830 [as specified for the Honour School of English Language and Literature, Course I, Subject 5].

    • (vi) Special Options (an extended essay of not fewer than 5,000 and not more than 6,000 words in length) [as specified for the Honour School of English Language and Literature, Course I & II, Subject 6]. See in addition the regulations in 3. for ‘Submitted work’.

OR: Part III

  • 6, 7, 8. Three papers chosen from Course II, Subjects 1 to 6 of the Honour School of English Language and Literature. A maximum of two of the three papers may be examined by submission. The papers will be written examinations of three hours’ duration, unless otherwise specified. Candidates shall choose three from:

    • (i) Literature in English 650 – 1100 [Honour School of English Language and Literature, Course II, Subject 1].

    • (ii) Medieval English and Related Literatures 1066 to 1550 [Honour School of English Language and Literature, Course II, Subject 2].

    • (iii) Literature in English 1350 - 1550 [Honour School of English Language and Literature, Course II, Subject 3].

    • (iv) The History of the English Language to c.1800 (a portfolio of two essays of no more than 2,500 words each) [Honour School of English Language and Literature, Course II, Subject 4].

    • (v) EITHER The Material Text (a portfolio of one essay and one commentary, each of not fewer than 2,000 and not more than 2,500 words in length) [Honour School of English Language and Literature, Course II, Subject 5(a)]. See in addition the introductory regulations for ‘Submitted work’ for the Honour School of English and Modern Languages.

      OR Shakespeare (a portfolio of three essays, each of not fewer than 1,500 and not more than 2,000 words in length) [Honour School of English Language and Literature, Course I, Subject 1/Course II, Subject 5(b)]. See in addition the regulations in 3. for ‘Submitted work’.

    • (vi) Special Options (an extended essay of not fewer than 5,000 and not more than 6,000 words in length) [Honour School of English Language and Literature, Course I & II, Subject 6]. See in addition the regulations in 3, for ‘Submitted work’.

Part IV

9. Dissertation (an extended essay of not fewer than 7,000 and not more than 8,000 words in length). See in addition the regulations in 3. for ‘Submitted work’.

Footnotes will be included in the total word count, but bibliographies and titles do not count towards the limit. Candidates may offer an extended essay in any subject area of English Language or Literature in English, or may take a comparative approach combining English and their Modern Language. Candidates should show such historical and/or contextual knowledge as is necessary for the profitable study of the topic concerned.

Candidates should electronically submit to the Chair of Examiners, by 5 p.m. on Thursday of the eighth week of the Michaelmas Term preceding the examination, an abstract of no more than 100 words, describing their area of study. Confirmation of the abstract will be received from the Chair of Examiners by Thursday of the first week of the Hilary Term preceding the examination.

The candidate may not discuss with any tutor either his or her choice of content or the method of handling it after Friday of the sixth week of the Hilary Term preceding the examination.

A typed copy of the essay shall be uploaded to the University approved online assessment platform , by noon on Tuesday of the ninth week after the commencement of Hilary Full Term. A certificate, signed by the candidate to the effect that each essay is the candidate’s own work, and that the candidate has read the Faculty guidelines on plagiarism, must be presented together with the submission (see in addition the regulations in 3. for ‘Submitted work’).

3. Submitted Work for Parts II, III, and IV

(a)  A typed copy of each extended essay or portfolio essay must be uploaded to the University approved online assessment platform, according to the deadlines specified in the regulations for each subject. It is additionally strongly recommended that the candidate keep a copy of his or her submission. A certificate signed by the candidate to the effect that each extended essay or portfolio is the candidate's own work, and that the candidate has read the Faculty guidelines on plagiarism, must be presented together with each submission (see (b) below).

(b) Every submission must be the work of the candidate alone, and he or she may not discuss with any tutor either his or her choice of content or the method of handling it after the last date indicated in the regulations for each subject.

(c) Essays previously submitted for the Honour School of English and Modern Languages may be re-submitted. No essay will be accepted if it has already been submitted, wholly or substantially, for a final honour school or other degree of this University, or degree of any other institution.

(d) Essays may be penalised that are deemed to be either too short or of excessive length in relation to the word limits specified in the regulations for each subject.