Analytic essay
Rationale: One of the key themes of this module is that communication is never a simple, straightforward process of transmitting information from the author’s mind to the audience’s. Rather, it is a complex process in which audiences actively construct a meaning based on the contents of the message, their prior knowledge of the world, their expectations for the communicative situation and their best guesses as to the intention of the author. Most of the examples we will discuss in class focus on instances of linguistic communication. This essay seeks to test your understanding of the key concepts of the module by asking you to apply them to analyse forms of communication that do not primarily involve language.
Brief: For this assessment, you will write a 2000-word essay on one of the three topics set by the tutor; the topics for this year, as well as specific guidance on the format and expectations of the essay, are available on a separate booklet from the Moodle page for the module. The essay should not only demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the issues, concepts and theories we have discussed in class, but also show your ability to apply them to analyse how a specific semiotic ‘text’ conveys a certain meaning. Your essay should advance a clearly-defined answer to the set question, and explicitly explain the relevance of each of the ideas you introduce to the overall argument. It should also show your ability to convey your ideas in writing that follows the conventions of academic prose, by drawing on relevant scholarly sources, citing them according to the standards of the discipline, maintaining a balanced and critical tone, and editing the spelling, grammar and style of your writing as carefully as in published work.
Advice: You cannot write this essay off the top of your head or by drawing on knowledge drawn from popular sources. You will need to provide evidence that you have engaged with the relevant scholarship. The best thing to do is to start with the readings suggested for your question, and to then follow up on the references they provide. Do not hesitate to contact the Academic Liaison Librarian if you need help finding sources, or the Upgrade Study Advice service if you think you can benefit from help with the research and writing process.
