Student and tutor module reviews

I really enjoyed this module, I had already completed A230, which was an excellent warm-up to literary analysis, which I happen to love. The fairy tales, techniques, styles, common features were fascinating. I absolutely loved Sir Gawain and the Greene Knight, what an incredible piece of writing. I discovered WW1 literature and this has developed into a deep interest in WW1 literature, one that I may explore further in research degree. Blunden and Sassoon's writing is absolutely beautiful. I found this module easier than A230 as less tutor-marked assignments, my tutor was fabulous, my motivation was high, I love reading, I love analysis. I obtained some high scores which was very inspiring to me. I was super organised in terms of keeping up with the weekly planner, looking ahead to link it up, although I didn't read any texts in advance of the course starting! Of course, you will be at an advantage if you do, but I think I prefer to have a text fresh in my mind, jotting down ideas and annotating as I go. I highly recommend this module if you have a love of literature, literary techniques, devices etc.

Sara Bull

Course starting: October 2021

Review posted: January 2023

I found this module very well structured with the tutorials and study planner complementing each other well.

The online tutorials, some with my own tutor and some with other tutors were of high quality and extremely helpful.

I would recommend reading as many of the set texts as possible in advance as the workload is extensive but enjoyable. Many of the books would not have been on my personal reading list, but I found I connected with them and appreciated the diversity.

I feel I learned so much throughout this module, not least because of an amazing tutor!

Course starting: October 2021

Review posted: July 2022

The split between studying Realism and The Fantastic worked well for this module and the reading materials were varied and interesting.

Despite there only being five tutor-marked assignments the reading takes a lot of time and goes into some depth. Get a head start on the course reading before the module starts and try to have read at least the first 3/4 books before the start date.

I enjoyed this module more than I expected to. The pace was quite fast which kept things interesting and the topics covered by the course material felt relevant and engaging. There's forum based work which it pays to engage with too.

Course starting: October 2021

Review posted: July 2022

This was a joy to study. When given a choice of literature to study, you want to read everything; such is the quality of the experience. I have consolidated my love for the fantastic and found a new true love in fairy tales. The material is so engaging that even with little time to study, I gained an OU distinction through pure passion for what I was reading and studying.

James Payling

Course starting: October 2020

Review posted: September 2021

I'd recommend this module only if you enjoy literary analysis so much that you'd do it in your spare time. English studies was always my best subject in school and being an avid reader and writer, I assumed an English degree was the most obvious path. About halfway through this module (and two-thirds of the way through my degree), I realised this wasn't at all what I'd imagined. I didn't feel as if I were learning anything at all but rather regurgitating the assigned texts to reach a word count and submit my TMAs. The amorphous nature of the TMA prompts was especially stressing, as no matter how hard you work you may never get close to the answer the tutor is looking for, as it's all open to interpretation. It left me incredibly demotivated and eventually led to a complete change of degree, which was an enormous relief. I don't regret taking the module as it was what I needed to see that English lit wasn't the right fit, and I'm glad to be past it now. In my opinion, you need to be absolutely fascinated by analysing and dissecting published works to get through this module with success - if this isn't you, I'd think carefully about signing up.

Course starting: October 2020

Review posted: August 2021

I really enjoyed this module. The materials were excellent and the book choices varied. I loved studying Far from the Madding Crowd and was pleasantly surprised when I started to read more and more on the war after reading Undertones of War and Memoirs of an Infantry Officer. The audio materials were so helpful and the tutors and forums were of the highest quality. Fairy tales were a joy,as was Sir Gawain but Hotel World was not my cup of tea at all. This is what I love about the literature modules, there is something for everyone. I highly recommend this module.

Sheila June South

Course starting: October 2019

Review posted: October 2020