Text Interpretation of Modern Fiction

2025/2026

Type: Mago-Lego

Delivered by: School of Foreign Languages

When: 1, 2 module

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Elena Styrina

Language: English

Contact hours: 20

Full Syllabus Ask Question

Abstract

The course will offer slow and thoughtful reading of The Star’s Tennis Balls by Stephen Fry. The novel is a psychological thriller, first released in 2000. The novel is a modern reimagining of Alexandre Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo, transposed to late 20th-century England and suffused with Fry's characteristic wit and social satire. The students will master their discussion skills, text interpretation skills, and upgrade their vocabulary. The course will open with basics of stylistic analysis. The entry English language level is B2 and above. Important: the novel contains scenes of violence; thus, it is not recommended to sensitive students, neither to the students who have already read the book.

Learning Objectives

The students will master their discussion skills and upgrade their vocabulary.
The students will master fiction text interpretation skills.

Expected Learning Outcomes

Student demonstrates literary and stylistic analysis of the text.
Sudent demonstrates the knowledge of thematic vocabulary.
Student demonstrates knowledge of thematic vocabulary.
Student demonstrates the knowledge of the basics of text interpretation.

Course Contents

Basics of Text Interpretation and Stylistic Analysis
Home Reading Part 1
Home Reading Part 2

Assessment Elements

Quiz
A vocabulary quiz
Quiz
Class participation
Class participation includes discussions, minor quizzes on the knowledge of vocabulary and content. The average number of points per class is 3. Students can get maximum points for the class only if they participate with their cameras on or work offline.
Final discussion
The examination is held as an oral answer. Students are given random questions out of the given set.

Interim Assessment

2025/2026 2nd module
0.2 * Class participation + 0.2 * Class participation + 0.3 * Final discussion + 0.15 * Quiz + 0.15 * Quiz

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

A dictionary of stylistics, Wales, K., 2001
Contemporary stylistics, , 2010
English stylistics. Стилистика английского языка : учеб. пособие, Гуревич, В. В., 2011
Key terms in stylistics, Norgaard, N., 2010
Stylistics in use, , 2016
Text Interpretation=интерпретация текста : учебно-методическое пособие / О. И. Василенко, С. О. Макеева, В. П. Пылайкина, Н. Г. Шехтман. — Екатеринбург : УрГПУ, 2018. — 127 с. — ISBN 978-5-7186-1107-6. — Текст : электронный // Лань : электронно-библиотечная система. — URL: https://e.lanbook.com/book/253949 (дата обращения: 00.00.0000). — Режим доступа: для авториз. пользователей.
Александрович, Н. В. Stylistic analysis of a literary text : Theory and practice. Стилистический анализ художественного текста : Теория и практика : учебное пособие / Н. В. Александрович. — 3-е изд., стер. — Москва : ФЛИНТА, 2018. — 109 с. — ISBN 978-5-9765-1974-9. — Текст : электронный // Лань : электронно-библиотечная система. — URL: https://e.lanbook.com/book/125309 (дата обращения: 00.00.0000). — Режим доступа: для авториз. пользователей.
Совершенствуйте навыки работы с текстом: готовимся к государственному экзамену. Brush up your text skills: Getting prepared for the state exam : учеб.-методич. пособие - 978-5-7042-2508-9 - Степанова С.Ю. - 2014 - Москва: Прометей - https://ibooks.ru/bookshelf/351056 - 351056 - iBOOKS
Степанова, С. Ю. Осознанное чтение: тексты и задания = Mindful Reading: Texts and Tasks : учебное пособие / С. Ю. Степанова. - Москва : МПГУ, 2023. - 148 с. - ISBN 978-5-4263-1278-4. - Текст : электронный. - URL: https://znanium.ru/catalog/product/2157547

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Совершенствуйте навыки работы с текстом: готовимся к государственному экзамену. Brush up your text skills: Getting prepared for the state exam: Учеб.-методич. пособие - 978-5-907244-13-9 - Степанова С. Ю. - 2020 - Москва: Прометей - https://ibooks.ru/bookshelf/395170 - 395170 - iBOOKS
Стилистика английского языка - Prometey_01_2010 - Степанова С. Ю., Теркулова Д. Р. - 2010 - Москва: Прометей - https://ibooks.ru/bookshelf/26879 - 26879 - iBOOKS

Authors

STYRINA ELENA VYACHESLAVOVNA

Course Syllabus