Aims

By the end of the course, students should be able to
- comprehend a set of literary or cultural problems (in the broad sense), contextualise it, and specify its issues; bring together elements of information in view of elaborating a coherent and pertinent position with regard to these problems;
- organise these elements into a communicable form; verbalise reflection, and present a coherent, cohesive, and progressive text;
- make use of stylistic and rhetorical means adapted to the situation.

Main themes

- elements of textual grammar (cohesion, coherence, progression);
- well-argued discourse: the implication of the writer, the arguments (construction of their object), polyphony, values, relationship with the situation;
- reading: textual, rhetorical, and argument identification; depiction of the situation, of the writer, of the reader;
- writing: method of elaborating an unfamiliar writing style; the pragmatic functions of different textual moments.

Content and teaching methods

This course aims to improve the writing capabilities of Romance study students and to provide them with tools allowing for different situations of argument in writing. 15 hours are devoted to theoretical presentation and broach the general methodological aspects of this kind of writing. Tutorials in limited groups cover the different aspects in the production of various types of text. Assignments to be done at home provide a personalised follow-up. Individual meetings help to resolve particular problems.
Tutorials alternating between practice of problem solving (reading/writing, interaction with colleagues) and presentations.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Sufficient linguistic skills in order to be able to verbalise a fairly broad reflection.
Continuous assessment:
- papers written at home, commented on by the lecturer with specific (and personalised) propositions for improvement;
- individual meetings;
- tests carried out under examination conditions, with comments and propositions (cf. below);
Final assessment: writing of a well-argued text (of a similar style to those written during the year) on a literary or cultural question.