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Students

ENGX3031 – Popular Fiction

2026 – Session 1, Online-flexible

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor, lecturer, tutor
Louise D'Arcens
louise.darcens@mq.edu.au
Contact via louise.darcens@mq.edu.au
Room 544, Building B, 25 Wally's Walk
by appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
130cp at 1000 level or above
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Apart from being hugely entertaining, what does being popular mean? Cultural perceptions of what makes literaturefiction popular, rather than elite, serious or academic, constantly shift in response to changing historical circumstances. This unit looks at a wide variety of popular novels and short stories from different genres and different historical periods: Gothic novels, crime and detective fiction, romance,romance and fantasy.popular women's fiction, and fantasy and science fiction. This unit will explore how such texts differ from and challenge their "respectable"“respectable” counterparts, and consider issues of production, reception, audience engagement,engagement and fandom.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the historical development of concepts of popular fiction.
  • ULO2: Articulate links between literary texts and their cultural contexts.
  • ULO3: Exhibit skills in close textual analysis.
  • ULO4: Communicate arguments about literature, culture and aesthetic ideas in oral and written forms whilst engaging with other points of view.
  • ULO5: Deploy research skills in order to support arguments about literary texts.

General Assessment Information

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. This late penalty will apply to written reports and recordings only. Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs will be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application.

In this unit, unless notified otherwise in writing by the Unit Convenor, it is expected that the work you submit demonstrates your own understanding, analysis, research, reflection, critical thinking, and writing, and you will be marked on the basis of your demonstrated understanding of and engagement with the unit content and activities. This applies to all assessments, including online forums. If your teachers have concerns about whether a submission is your own work in a meaningful sense, you may be required to attend an interview with the Unit Convenor or other academic staff to discuss your work and demonstrate your attainment of unit and task learning outcomes.  Further information and advice about policies and expectations around the use of Generative AI will be given in iLearn. 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI assisted?
Case study/analysis 35% No 12 April 2026, 11.55pm Individual No Open AI
Portfolio 20% No 31 May 2026, 11.55pm Individual No Open AI
Research Essay 45% No 7 June 2026, 11.55pm Individual No Open AI

Case study/analysis

Assessment Type 1: Written Submission
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 12 April 2026, 11.55pm
Weighting: 35%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI assisted?: Open AI

Through a written task, students will demonstrate skills in textual analysis.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Exhibit skills in close textual analysis.
  • Communicate arguments about literature, culture and aesthetic ideas in oral and written forms whilst engaging with other points of view.
  • Deploy research skills in order to support arguments about literary texts.

Portfolio

Assessment Type 1: Portfolio
Indicative Time on Task 2: 26 hours
Due: 31 May 2026, 11.55pm
Weighting: 20%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI assisted?: Open AI

Students submit a portfolio of notes based on weekly unit activities throughout the semester.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the historical development of concepts of popular fiction.
  • Articulate links between literary texts and their cultural contexts.
  • Exhibit skills in close textual analysis.
  • Communicate arguments about literature, culture and aesthetic ideas in oral and written forms whilst engaging with other points of view.
  • Deploy research skills in order to support arguments about literary texts.

Research Essay

Assessment Type 1: Written Submission
Indicative Time on Task 2: 45 hours
Due: 7 June 2026, 11.55pm
Weighting: 45%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI assisted?: Open AI

Students will compose a research essay on a set topic.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the historical development of concepts of popular fiction.
  • Articulate links between literary texts and their cultural contexts.
  • Exhibit skills in close textual analysis.
  • Communicate arguments about literature, culture and aesthetic ideas in oral and written forms whilst engaging with other points of view.
  • Deploy research skills in order to support arguments about literary texts.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation.

3 An automatic short extension is available for some assessments. Apply through the Service Connect Portal.

Delivery and Resources

One lecture and one tutorial per week except Week 13; tutorials commence in Week 1. 

Texts to buy:

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca

Agatha Christie, The Body in the Library

Dorothy P. Hughes, In a Lonely Place

Martha Wells, All Systems Red

Ursula Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea

Nghi Vo, Empress of Salt and Fortune

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Academic Success

Academic Success provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes from Previous Offering

Some changes to text list

Tutorial in Week 1

Reading week replaced by tutorial

 

Unit information based on version 2026.02 of the Handbook