This course is for anyone wanting to learn to read critically and explore texts that are regarded as 'critical', or essential, reading.
The course will introduce you to some key concepts in criticism and theory. It will help you to acquire skills of close critical analysis that will enable you to study, write about, appreciate, and above all enjoy literary texts. Illustrations and exercises will be taken from nineteenth- and twentieth-century poetry and narrative fiction.
This course has no live sessions. You will study structured materials at your own pace each week. Find out more about how our short online courses are taught.
The course is broken down into 10 units over 10 weeks, each requiring approximately 10 hours of study time. The following topics are covered:
1. Introduction: what is literature?
2. Close reading and criticism
3. Comparing literary texts
4. Narrative
5. Description and devices
6. Analysing Poetry
7. Writing critically
8. Developing as a writer and reader
9. Other approaches
10. Honing and keeping up your skills
We strongly recommend that you try to find a little time each week to engage in the online conversations (at times that are convenient to you) as the forums are an integral, and very rewarding, part of the course and the online learning experience.
To participate in the course you will need to have regular access to the Internet and you will need to buy the following books:
Please ensure you are able to access copies of any required textbooks prior to enrolling on a course but please keep in mind that courses with insufficient students enrolled will be cancelled. The Department accepts no responsibility for books bought in anticipation of a course running.
Credit Application Transfer Scheme (CATS) points
Coursework is an integral part of all online courses and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework. All those enrolled on an online courses are registered for credit and will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard.
See more information on CATS points
Digital credentials
All students who pass their final assignment will be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so.
Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail.
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course Fee | £415.00 |
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Dr Jennifer Dunn, lecturer in English at Oxford University from 2002-2009, has taught for OUDCE since 2007. She is the supervisory tutor for online writing and literature courses, and Assessor in English for the Undergraduate Certificate. She has published on twentieth-century and contemporary fiction, and her teaching and research interests also include women's literature, nature writing, and eco-criticism.
By the end of this course students will be expected to:
By the end of the course you will know:
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an Enrolment form for short courses | Oxford University Department for Continuing Education
FHEQ level 4, 10 weeks, approx 10 hours per week, therefore a total of about 100 study hours.
We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements please follow this link: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/english-language-requirements
This course is delivered online; to participate you must to be familiar with using a computer for purposes such as sending email and searching the Internet. You will also need regular access to the Internet and a computer meeting our recommended minimum computer specification.
View a sample page to see if this course is for you
