Faculty of Oriental Studies

Setting conventions for the Final Honour School in Oriental Studies 2017:

EANES: EGYPTOLOGY WITH AKKADIAN

The formal procedures determining the conduct of examinations are established and enforced by the University Proctors. These conventions are a guide to the examiners and candidates but the regulations set out in the Examination Regulations have precedence. The examiners are nominated by the Nominating Committee in the Department and those nominations are submitted for approval by the Vice-Chancellor and the Proctors.

1.  Numbering of papers follows that in the Examination Regulations 2016. The Examination Schools website, http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/examregs/, gives information on the provisional start date of the examination. The date, time and location of individual papers will be published not less than 5 weeks before the start of the first examination. For the order of papers in the examination itself, please refer to the Examination timetable. Academic dress must be worn for all parts of the examination including the viva if applicable.

2.  In order to maintain the anonymity of the examination, candidates are instructed to write their candidate number, not their names or Bodleian card number, on their scripts and submitted works. Candidate numbers can be obtained from the Student Self-Service, http://www.ox.ac.uk/students.

3.  All submitted works should be typed or word- processed in double spacing and should conform to the standards of academic presentation prescribed in the "Guidelines for writers of Theses", https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/x/rLRQ0z.

4.  All submitted works (dissertations, take-home essays etc.) have to be securely held together (not paper clips) with a cover sheet stating the degree, paper title, term and year of submission, your candidate number and word count. Dissertations have to be securely bound. Two copies of the works must be submitted to the Examination Schools unless otherwise stated. A declaration form, https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/x/vpMauj, stating that the submission is the candidate’s own work, should be included in a sealed envelope with the two copies of the submitted works in a larger envelope. The larger envelope should have your candidate number at the front and addressed to Chair of Examiners, (name of degree), Examination Schools, High Street. The Chairman of Examinations in Oriental Studies would like to advise candidates to obtain a signed receipt from the Clerk of Exam Schools for their submitted work (e.g. if you are submitting dissertations or take-home essays). Remember to write your candidate number and not your name on all submitted work.

5.  As well as two hard copies of the dissertation, which it is compulsory for candidates to submit, we also request candidates to submit if possible a copy of their dissertation on CD in PDF format.

6.  When submission of written work is required, the penalty posed in case of late submission without the prior permission of the Proctors will range from outright failure of the submitted work (i.e. where it is considered that the extra time has given unfair advantage to the candidate and thus may be equated with cheating) to a percentage reduction in the mark awarded, as deemed appropriate by the examiners. Please refer to the Examination Conventions, https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/x/eoq6Qc.

7.  Candidates should note that if they have any complaints or queries concerning the examination process, including results, these should be directed in the first instance to their colleges and not to the examiners or any member of the teaching staff.

8.  Candidates may be examined by viva voce (oral examination) and so candidates should be prepared to travel to Oxford up until the final examiners’ meeting (4 July 2017).

The following papers will be set:

Paper 1: Translation Paper (First Language Egyptian)

Two passages from the Old Egyptian prepared texts not included in Paper 4 below will be set for translation and comment. One should be attempted. Four further passages will be set for translation only from Middle and Late Egyptian, of which three should be attempted. All questions attract equal marks.

Paper 2: Translation Paper (Second Language Akkadian)

Three passages from the prepared texts not specified for Paper 6 below will be set for transliteration into roman script, transcription into roman script marking vowel lengths, and translation into English. Two passages should be attempted. Each passage attracts 30% of the total marks. Three unprepared passages in the Standard Babylonian dialect will be set for transliteration into roman script and translation into English. Two passages should be attempted. Each unprepared passage attracts 20% of the total marks.

Paper 3: Literary and Historical Topics including Prepared Translation (First Language Egyptian)

Five passages from the Middle and Late Egyptian prepared texts not included in Paper 4 below will be set: four hieroglyphic passages for translation and comment, and one hieratic passage for transcription. Three passages should be attempted, including at least one from Middle and one from Late Egyptian. There will be three or four further questions on Egyptian literature and history, of which one should be attempted. All questions attract equal marks.

Paper 4: Literary and Historical Topics including Prepared Translation (First Language Egyptian)

Take-home examination for first week of Trinity Term. Four passages, one in Old Egyptian, two in Middle Egyptian, and one in Late Egyptian, will be set from a group of prepared texts specified at the end of the Hilary Term before the examination term, constituting approximately 40% of the total of set texts. Candidates should present an essay on one passage, typed and in proper scholarly form. The question paper will be published by 10 a.m. by the examiners on this website, https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/x/40yJJT, on the Monday of first week of Trinity Term. The essay should not exceed 3,500 words in length and should include an annotated translation of the passage chosen and a general discussion of its significance and/or that of the text from which it is taken. Where appropriate, the physical form and significance of the artefact bearing the text should also be discussed. Two copies of the essay should be submitted to the Examination Schools not later than 12 noon on the Monday of second week of Trinity Term. For submission instructions, please refer to paragraph 4 above.

Paper 5: Literary and Historical Topics including Prepared Translation (Second Language Akkadian)

Three passages from the prepared texts not specified for Paper 6 below will be set for transliteration into roman script, translation into English, and comment. Two passages should be attempted. For each passage the comment attracts 4% of the total marks. Five essay questions will draw on the full range of prepared texts and will relate to literary and historical content. Three essays should be attempted. All five questions attract equal marks.

Paper 6: Literary and Historical Topics including Prepared Translation (Second Language Akkadian)

Take-home paper for Third Week of Trinity Term. Four passages will be set from the prepared texts specified for Paper 6 at the end of the Hilary Term before the examination term. Candidates should present an essay on one passage, typed and in proper scholarly form. The essay should be around 3000 words in length (no longer than 3500). The essay should include an annotated translation into English of the passage chosen and a general discussion of its significance and/or that of the text from which it is taken. Where appropriate, the physical form and significance of the artefact bearing the text should also be discussed. The question paper will be published by 10 a.m. by the examiners on this website, https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/x/40yJJT, on the Monday of third week of Trinity Term. Two copies of the essay should be submitted to the Examination Schools not later than 12 noon on the Monday of fourth week of Trinity Term. For submission instructions, please refer to paragraph 4 above.

Paper 7: A Field of Concentration: Royal Mortuary Cults in the Old Kingdom

Between five and eight essay questions will be set, including one (non-compulsory) question on images. In this a selection of between five and six images will be set, of which three should be selected for identification and analysis. Three questions should be answered. All questions attract equal marks.

Paper 8: Selected Egyptian Artefacts

This paper is in two parts. In Part 1, four artefacts should be selected from a larger number presented. The objects should be identified and described, points of interest and significance should be indicated, and where possible they should be dated, with supporting argument where appropriate. Part 2 consists of five or six essay questions on aspects of Egyptian material culture, of which two should be attempted. Both parts attract equal marks.


Paper 9: General Paper (Egyptology)

Seven or eight questions will be set, of which three should be attempted. All questions attract equal marks.

Paper 10: Dissertation

Dissertations should be submitted to the Clerk of the Schools at the Examination Schools, not later than 12 noon on Tuesday of 11th week of Hilary Term. Dissertations should not exceed 15,000 words, including footnotes, but excluding the bibliography and any appendices. If possible, candidates should submit a copy of their dissertation on a CD or flash drive (memory stick) in pdf format together with the two hard copies. They must remember to write their candidate number and not their name on the dissertation. For submission and formatting instructions, please refer to paragraph 3 and 4 above.

Chairman of Examiners: Professor James Benson

Examiners: Professor Richard Parkinson, Robert Simpson, Andreas Winkler; Hratch Papazian (Cambridge), Mark Weeden (SOAS)

Candidates must not under any circumstances contact examiners directly

Michaelmas Term 2016

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