Two-Subject Moderatorship French

Trinity College Dublin

Two-Subject Moderatorship French

Senior Sophister

School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies

Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

2012/13

Please note that a word version of this document is available from the Department webpage.

This Handbook should be read in conjunction with relevant entries in the University Calendar. In case of any conflict between the Handbook and the Calendar, the provisions of the Calendar shall apply.Copies of the University Calendar can be purchased, consulted in the Library, or on the web:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

General Information ………………………………………………………………..Page 3

Senior Sophister Requirements and Assessment Procedures ………………..Page 5

Overall Assessment…………………………………………………………………Page 6

ECTS……………. ………………………………………………………………….Page 7

Examination Procedures ……………………………………………………………Page 8

Essay Writing & Writing in French …………………………………………….….Page 10

Books…………………………………………………………………………………Page 12

Senior SophisterModules:

Language ……………….…………………………………………………….Page 13

Topics …………………………………………………………………………Page 14

Special Subjects (Dissertation)…………………………………………..Page 22

Plagiarism ……………………………………………………………………………Page 23

Important Calendar Regulations…………………………………………………... Page 24

GENERAL INFORMATION

This handbook applies to all students taking Senior Sophister Two-Subject Moderatorship French. It provides a guide to what is expected of you on this programme, and the academic and personal support available to you. Please retain for future reference.

The information provided in this handbook is accurate at time of preparation. Any necessary revisions will be notified to students via College e-mail and the Department notice board: be sure to consult both regularly. Please note that, in the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the General Regulations published in the University Calendar and information contained in course handbooks, the provisions of the General Regulations will prevail.

The Department of French is part of the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural studies. Trinity College College has the world's oldest tradition of modern language studies, with chairs dating back to 1776. Today the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies combines the strengths of this tradition in a group of established Departments which between them teach almost a dozen languages at undergraduate and postgraduate level. The School's research in literary, language and cultural studies ranges from the medieval to the very contemporary. The Head of School is Professor David Scott and the School is part of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. For further information, consult: .

LECTURING STAFF

Individual telephones can be accessed from outside College by pre-fixing (01) 896.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Department of French Staff 2012-2013

Language Assistants

Deleuze, Marjorie

Garnavault, Floriane

Mniai, Soukayna

Vaudour, Matthieu

Wible, Zoé

Kilroy, Robert

Departmental Offices

SENIOR SOPHISTER REQUIREMENTS AND ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES

Please keep this document for reference

French Senior Sophister Year Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the programme, students will be able to:

• communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing, in English and French, with native speakers in academic, professional and social settings,
• organize and present ideas in English and French, within the framework of a structured and reasoned argument, oral or written,
• demonstrate a broad knowledge of the historical, social and cultural development of France and French speaking countries,
• analyze critically and independently, in English and French, a variety of texts and documents from different periods and sources,
• demonstrate an ability to use specific disciplines such as linguistics, literature, ideas and culture to analyze and contextualize texts, other documents, concepts and theories,
• translate a range of texts to and from French, with accuracy, consistency and appropriateness of register and expression,
• identify original research questions in one of the fields of linguistics, literature, ideas and culture and select and use appropriate methodologies and relevant resources, leading to the writing of a dissertation
• mobilize the knowledge, strategies and skills needed for further intellectual development and independent, life-long learning as well as for undertaking further,autonomous study.

The requirements for Senior Sophister students in TSM French in 2012-13 are as follows:

1. Language: All students are required to attend language classes, and submit regular written work.

2. Topics: Students selecttwo Topics from the range offered. All choices are subject to availability, to timetable constraints and to the approval of the Head of Department. For details of courses, see list below. One assessment essay counting toward the overall final mark must be submitted in respect of each topic.

Length: 2,500 words

Submission dates:

Essay 1: by 12pm on first day of HT (Monday 14 January 2013)

Essay 2: by 12pm on Friday 22 March 2013)

One essay shall be in English and the other in French. Each of the essays furnishes 25% of the overall mark for each topic.The examination furnishes the remaining 50%.

3. Special Subject Dissertation: Each student selects a special subject of his or her own choice, in consultation with an appropriate member of staff. Please note that members of staff are instructed not to accept more than their quota of supervises, and the fact that a student wishes to be supervised by a member of staff does not guarantee that the member of staff will be able or willing to act. It would obviously be prudent to consult with the supervisor of your choice at an early stage. The candidate's work on this special subject is to be embodied in a dissertation of 9,000 to 12,000 words, to be written in English or French, or in an alternative piece of submitted work of a different nature but of comparable substance, to be submitted in either case by Dissertation: by 12pm4 March 2013). A computer-generated word-count must be included on the title page of your submitted dissertation. Please note that, if you exceed the set word-limit, your dissertation will be returned with an instruction to reduce the length appropriately. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure (s)he maintains adequate contact with her/his supervisor, who will provide guidance on how to improve content. Students should also ensure that they receive a copy of the Departmental document which provides essential notes on preparation and presentation of dissertations.

4. Residence Abroad Requirements[1]:

Students taking one or more modern languages other than English must spend not less than two months in the country of each language in order to fulfill the requirements of their course; students of Irish must spend at least the same amount of time in the Gaeltacht. The residence required for each language MUST BE COMPLETED before the moderatorship examination in that language.Students who fail to meet this requirement will have their Moderatorship exam results witheld. This requirement can be waived only in exceptional circumstances and with the prior approval of the schools or departments concerned.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

The assessment for Moderatorship Part II for 2012-13 is set out below. The value of each component (1–6) in respect of calculating the overall mark for the SS year is proportionate to its ECTS weighting (i.e.each block of 10 ECTS provides one sixth of the marks making up the overall mark for the SS year).

1. Language paper I = 10 ECTS (Translation into French + résumé, with each element valued equally)

2. Language paper II = 10 ECTS (Translation from French + essay in French, with each element valued equally)

3. Topic I = 10 ECTS (with assessment essay and examination marks valued equally)

4. Topic II = 10 ECTS (with assessment essay and examination marks valued equally)

5. Special subject = 10 ECTS (dissertation or equivalent work to be submitted in French or English

6. Oral examination = 10 ECTS

Please note that, for purposes of the examination, the Written Language elements spread across FR4032 and FR4034 are re-distributed, with essay, résumé, translation into French and translation from French each worth 25% of the overall mark for the two examinations. Given that regular practice in each element enhances the student’s overall Written Language skills, this is entirely justifiable.

Finally, the overall percentage mark for the SS year (Mod Part II) is then combined with the overall percentage mark carried forward from the JS French year (Mod Part I) examination to produce a final mark out of 650/1000 (the remaining 350/1000 being allotted to the Minor subject). This final mark is composed of a mark out of 500 representing the percentage value achieved in Mod Part II and a mark out of 150 representing the percentage value achieved in Mod Part I.

Candidates are reminded that they must satisfy the examiners in respect of the language assessment as a whole (components 1,2 and 6 above) by achieving an average of 40/100 (or better).

The oral examination takes place in the presence of an extern examiner. As part of this examination, candidates will be required to deliver an oral exposé on one of two subjects chosen by the candidate, and approved in advance. The examination is followed immediately by discussion, also in French, of the candidate’s dissertation, which may result in a modification of the provisional mark given.

Students are required to submit two term essays during the year, one per topic and one of which must be written in French. Students may decide which topic their essay may be written on for each term (e.g. a student may submit a MT essay for Topic 1 in French and a HT essay for Topic 2 in English.)

Candidates should note that, following comments from extern examiners concerning an unduly narrow focus of study in some instances, all ‘Topic’ papers will carry the rubric that candidates should avoid substantial overlap with (a) answers on the same paper and (b) dissertation subjects.

WHAT IS ECTS?

The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is an academic credit system based on the estimated student workload required to achieve the objectives of a module or programme of study. It is designed to enable academic recognition for periods of study, to facilitate student mobility and credit accumulation and transfer. The ECTS is the recommended credit system for higher education in Ireland and across the European Higher Education Area.

The ECTS weighting for a module is a measure of the student input or workload required for that module, based on factors such as the number of contact hours, the number and length of written or verbally presented assessment exercises, class preparation and private study time, laboratory classes, examinations, clinical attendance, professional training placements, and so on as appropriate. There is no intrinsic relationship between the credit volume of a module and its level of difficulty.

The European norm for full-time study over one academic year is 60 credits. The Trinity academic year is 40 weeks from the start of Michaelmas Term to the end of the annual examination period. 1 ECTS credit represents 20-25 hours estimated student input, so a 10-credit module will be designed to require 200-250 hours of student input including class contact time and assessments.

ECTS credits are awarded to a student only upon successful completion of the course year. Progression from one year to the next is determined by the course regulations. Students who fail a year of their course will not obtain credit for that year even if they have passed certain component courses. Exceptions to this rule are one-year and part-year visiting students, who are awarded credit for individual modules successfully completed.

EXAMINATION PROCEDURES

1)Examination papers and assessment essays will be set and marked according to the agreed procedures of the Department. In the case of Moderatorship (or degree) examinations, papers will be submitted to extern examiners for comment prior to submission to the Senior Lecturer’s office.

2)Sophister language papers and all Moderatorship part II papers will be double-marked.

3)For each year or course, a Chief Examiner will be appointed to co-ordinate the running of the examinations, return marks, and provide relevant information to candidates. The Chief Examiner shall, in agreement with the Head of Department, convene an examiners’ meeting to review and finalize marks, in the presence of extern examiners where a Moderatorship examination is concerned. In the case of interdisciplinary courses (ES, CSLL) the only function of the French Department meeting is to return a mark to the relevant course co-ordinating committee.

4)The criteria according to which papers will be assessed will be included in the Department’s Handbooks and circulated to students.

5) In the first instance, calculations of results will be mathematical based on the university’s general scheme (or reductions or multiples thereof):

Fail 2extremely weak0 - 29%

Fail 1weak30 - 39%

Third adequate40 - 49%

Lower Secondquite good50 - 59%

Upper Secondgood 60 - 69%

Firstexcellent70 - 100%

Where, in the case of an individual course, a scheme other than the one outlined above is in use, the Department will make returns according to that convention. Where the course requires a mark out of more than 100 to be returned, the Department will use that convention to make a return. The Department will ensure through its Handbooks or otherwise that candidates for examinations are aware of the weighting of the respective components, and where questions on a given paper are not equally weighted, the rubric shall indicate the weighting of the components within the paper.

6)In particular, language examinations are subject to the rule set forth in the University Calendar, as interpreted in the Department’s Handbooks. Where a student fails to demonstrate proficiency in the language, the mark returned shall be either the actual mark obtained by the student in the relevant language components of the examination, or 38, whichever is the lower, this mark being scaled up where the conventions for return of marks require.

7)When the Department examiners’ meeting has had an opportunity to take cognisance of the mathematically derived marks, it may consider the spread of marks, the balance between marks of different classes (see 5 above) and take into account the possible implications of a given return. It may moderate individual marks. It will pay particular attention to marks close to a class border (i.e. marks where a slightly higher mark would result in the student being returned in another class). It shall pay special attention to ensuring that the moderation of an individual mark or overall return does not create inequalities or anomalies by promoting a student with a lower mathematically derived mark above a student who had achieved a higher mathematically derived mark, except where the spread of marks provides a justification for so doing.

8)In conformity to general university practice, the Department shall appoint one or several extern examiners. The extern examiner may see or review any marking within the Department, which may form part of a Moderatorship assessment. In practice, this means examination papers, dissertations and assessment essays counting towards overall assessment. In all normal circumstances, the recommendations of the extern examiner will be acted upon. In practice, extern examiners regularly have sight of the final year dissertations, and chief examiners or the Head of Department may refer any paper or piece of work for an opinion, especially where a class difference may potentially be involved. Students have the right to consult the Head of Department on any matter of concern to them. Where the concerns expressed relate to assessment marking, the Head of Department will normally inform the person whose marks are being referred for further examination, while safeguarding the confidentiality of students.

9)The extern examiner will endeavour to ensure that standards are broadly comparable with those applied elsewhere in these islands and that the Department’s own procedures are applied equitably to all students.

10)Students will, have access to their marks on the College’s website. They may seek further information from the Chief Examiner for the year or the Head of Department, of individual marks. The commitment to the provision of full information to students does not mean that this information will always be available outside the times prescribed by the Department.

11)The Department will not normally take into account medical evidence, except insofar as granting an extension to submission deadlines is concerned. Medical cases should be channelled through tutors to form the substance of an appeal.

12)Where a piece of assessed work counting towards an examination is not submitted and signed into the Department office by the published due-date, and an extension has not been granted by the Head of Department, prior to the published due-date, a return of 0 will normally be made.

13)Where a student is absent from a part of the examination only, or fails to submit required written work for assessment, and nevertheless achieves an overall pass mark, the Department will return a pass mark. Where a student is absent from a part of the examination only, and fails to achieve an overall pass mark, the Department will make a return indicating partial absence.

14)Where a student fails to complete the number of questions stipulated by the rubric in an examination, and nevertheless, some indication of an attempted answer, draft or plan, is available, credit for the assessable work will be given. In the absence of any such assessable material, a mark of 0 will be returned.

15)The Department reserves the right to give reduced credit to students who have failed to comply with the examination rubric.

16)Where a student at a Junior or Senior Sophister examination receives a mark of 70 or more (or its equivalent scaled up of down) in the oral examination, (s) he will be recommended for a distinction in the use of spoken French.

ESSAY WRITING & WRITING IN FRENCH

Essay Writing

The following criteria for are drawn to the attention of markers:

First class

Shows an intelligent awareness of the question’s implications, thorough knowledge of text /topic, sophisticated use of secondary sources, and of theoretical issues where appropriate. The argument clearly focuses on the question, and points are supported by relevant quotation. Original and imaginative response, sure grasp of subject, which may challenge received critical opinion.