INSTRUCTIONS FOR EXAMS

INFORMATION, RULES & ADVICE regarding 

ENGLISH LETTORATO EXAMINATIONS

1) Do not listen to student gossip about the exams but ask the teachers responsible (Hillan & Wilson) directly. Then you will not be misinformed.

2) The examination will be set according to the bibliography published both on our blogs and in the department at the beginning of the academic year. The examining commission will mark it according to the same criteria.

3) With the exception of Italian/mother-tongue bilingual dictionaries which may be used by non-Italian native speakers - not including English native speakers, NO DICTIONARIES may be used during the first GRAMMAR section of the exam. Monolingual ENGLISH DICTIONARIES may be used for the COMPOSITION PAPER. These dictionaries, brought by the students, MUST BE CLEAN (with no notes written in them, nor hiding any papers) and they will be checked during the examination (the "borrowed from a friend syndrome" is no excuse). Cheating in university exams is an offence.

4) Candidates for the examination MUST HAVE PASSED THE 2nd year examination and BRING PROOF (the yellow card if possible, or the verbalino) that they have done so. They should also bring proof of identity and their matriculation number.

5) NO PENCILS are allowed. ANYTHING WRITTEN IN PENCIL WILL BE INVALID. We suggest that candidates write on alternate lines to give them space for corrections and alterations in their text. Clarity is important, not tidiness.

6) NO MOBILE PHONES or other electronic gadgets are allowed during the examination. BRING A WRIST OR POCKET WATCH so that you can keep an eye on the time and organise your work properly (see point 7).

7) Give yourselves enough time to read through and make alterations at the end. In other words, PLAN your work. When the time has finished it is finished and "STOP WRITING" means stop.

8) READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS.

9) Remember that this is the III and Final written English language examination before graduating in languages. It is at University Degree level. Whatever you choose to write, it must be in good and comprehensible English and must answer the questions on the examination papers (i.e. not be prepared in advance on general topics).

10) Remember that your examiners want you to show the best you can do and they want you to pass the examination with a high mark. Therefore it is a good idea only to take the examination when you feel you are ready to do so and not as if it were a lottery.
Remember, it is the candidate who passes an exam or the candidate who fails an exam, not the examiner, who simply checks what has been written.

BIBLIOGRAPHY, WRITTEN & ORAL EXAMS

BIBLIOGRAPHY III year &c.

PROGRAMME: The course aims to  further develop the four skills to  C1 level  with  particular emphasis on writing, the comparative  analysis of the  Italian  and English grammar systems and discourse analysis being its main components. At the end of the course students are expected  to be able  to apply their grammar knowledge to producing  correct English  versions of  Italian  texts, completing cloze texts and structural  transformation exercises. They will also write a brief essay based on the linguistic analysis of an  advertisement. Sixteen hours of  self-study listening tasks in the language laboratory  are compulsory. Students  are expected to   do aconsiderable amount of work as preparation for  lessons. Every two-hour lesson requires at least two hours of preparation as private study. Students  will also be required  to complete 2 assignments, one in the first and one in the second semester. To  be eligible for the exemption test  75%of lessons must be attended. Please consult blogs for a more detailed description of the course and  the  exam format.

Mastering Advanced English  Language, Sara Thorne. Palgrave. ( selected chapters)

Practical English Usage, Third Edition,  Michael Swan. O.U.P.

Grammar Scan,  Swan &  Baker. O.U.P.

Oxford Word Skills, Advanced, Ruth Gairns and Stuart Redman. O.U.P. (selected chapters)

DictionariesA good dictionary is a basic study aid. The texts below are recommended :
Collins Cobuild Advanced Dictionary, Collins. Glasgow
Concise Oxford Dictionary , Oxford. O.U.P.

Further material will  be distributed during lessons.

A hand-out containing past exam papers for practice is available on request at the department/photocopy centre for those students who  do  not attend lessons. These students are strongly advised to  follow the blogs on a regular basis to have further information about the bibliography and exam  format.

ORAL part of the exam.

LLM ,LCMM and those MLC students who enrolled at university before 2007. Do an oral exam with a lettore as part of lettorato . You should choose a news story taken from the English newspapers in the 7 days before the exam, and bring an article on it taken from both a quality broadsheet newspaper and a popular tabloid for purposes of comparative discussion. Please bring the newspaper articles themselves as well as a photocopy of them. Do not download the articles from the internet.

L.L.M. students ( NOT M.L.C.) may choose one of the novels from the list below to read and comment on as preparation for  their oral exam :

 The Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes

The Secret Scriptures, Sebastian Barry

The Uncommon Reader, Alan  Bennett

Ordinary Thunderstorms, William Boyd

Chesil Beach, Ian McEwan

Brooklyn, Colm Toibin
THOSE STUDENTS WHO CHOOSE THIS KIND OF EXAMINATION MUST BRING THE NOVEL TO THE EXAM.