Second Year Step Up Day September 2017 Department of English Second Year Step Up Day September 2017

Welcome Back!

Outline of today’s session Welcome by Director of Student Experience, Dr. Prudence Bussey-Chamberlain Facing the demands of the 2nd year ‘Things I wish I had known in my second year…’ Q and A

You asked… we did You asked for fewer e-mails, so we now aggregate all of our information into a weekly e-mail sent out every Friday.   You asked for more contact time, so we extended dissertation provision and ran voluntary reading groups in the summer term. You asked for meetings with alumni, so we ran our Southbank Day for a second year in a row. You asked for your assessed essay questions earlier, so we released all third-year final essay questions in February to ensure maximum preparation time before the deadlines in May. You asked for further help with reading loads, so we have been running Reading Labs to help improve your reading habits and offer practical advice on how to keep focused. You asked for a wider range of courses, so we introduced: The American Gothic, Frankenstein, Writing the American City: Literature of Chicago, The 1930s: British Fiction and the Road to War, The First Person and The Other Side of Enlightenment. We try to be responsive to your needs We have a staff student committee: each course group, including joint honours, have a representative who meets with staff student committee every term We want to make sure that you know your representative and have ample opportunity to feedback to us In your 3rd year you fill out NSS and we ask you to fill out feedback at the end of every course We are introducing an anonymous comments box outside the English office I am working as Director of Student Experience, and will be opening my office for students to come in to discuss work, the course, the campus, classes, any issues within the department that they would like to raise ‘you asked, we did’: we take our student feedback and working community seriously

Penalties for over-length work: 13 (5) of the College Regulations:  (5) Work which exceeds the upper word limit set will be penalised as follows:   for work which exceeds the upper word limit by up to 10%, the mark will be reduced by ten percent of the mark initially awarded;   (b) for work which exceeds the upper word limit by more than 10% but less than 20%, the mark will be reduced by twenty percent of the mark initially awarded;  (c) for work which exceeds the upper word limit by more than 20%, the mark will be reduced by thirty percent of the mark initially awarded.

Facing the demands of the second year Thinking ahead to: course choices dissertation topics year abroad careers and skills development Greater engagement with critics Developing independence – intellectual and personal Possible Topics: thinking ahead to course choices and dissertation topics, year abroad, NSS, work placement scheme and careers events,   Reminders: Foundation Programme webapages, penalties for late work, turn off clutter folder

Where to find help: The Foundation Programme Foundation Studies Academic Skills Resources CeDAS Essay Skills Writing Tutor: Dr. Emilia Borowska MHRA Guidance Pastoral Support Your Future Placements Scheme Careers and Employability Service   All the information can be found on the English Department Home Page: https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/english/foundationprogramme/home.aspx Access these services, CeDAS and Emilia are really useful for develop writing skills Pastoral support: your personal tutor. Building on your relationship of tutorials for past year Start to look towards our placements and career services

Where to find help: Staff Members Dr. Betty Jay Senior Tutor B.Jay@rhul.ac.uk IN220 Dr. Prudence Bussey-Chamberlain Director of Student Experience Prudence.Chamberlain@rhul.ac.uk IN256 Betty Jay as Senior Tutor: Dealing with any problems to do with health, capacity to work Any mental health issues or phsyical health problems, she will liaise with health services and dyslexia and disability Prudence Bussey Chamberlain as Director of Student Experience Interested in student relationship with course and campus Any aspects of experience that are especially strong Any improvements that you might want

Transferable skills What do you think are the skills you are acquiring on your degree? Independent working Time management and organisation Articulating knowledge and writing coherently Team work The UG Handbook lists the skills we think you are developing. You can use these when writing your CV or covering letter.

‘Things I wish I had known in my second year …’ It’s never to late to join a club or take up an activity But don’t get so sucked into your social life that you forget about your studies Plan ahead – work out all your deadlines to avoid an essay crisis Take advantage of all the help that the department and college offers Hand over to third years to reflect on the two years

Reflective exercise Make a note of five points about your personal development last year Make a note of three big academic challenges you need to improve Make a note of three things that you want for yourself this year: A first? Camp America? Placements? Turn and talk to the person next to you

Q and A