UGC NET English June 2025: Solved Literary Research Aptitude Questions

Analytical bibliography is the detailed physical examination of individual books to reconstruct the printing and production process. It uses knowledge of historical methods (typesetting, presswork) to identify errors, variations, and the chronological sequence of editions, thus aiding in textual criticism.

Experimental research involves controlled experiments, manipulation of variables, and statistical analysis, making it characteristic of scientific disciplines. Literary research uses qualitative methods like interpretive analysis, biographical study, and textual criticism, which focus on meaning, context, and textual authenticity, not empirical testing.

Derrida's Archive Fever is a philosophical inquiry into the concept of the archive, examining it as a symbolic and psychological structure related to memory, power, technology, and the compulsion to preserve. It critiques and explores the nature of the archival method itself through a psychoanalytic lens (referencing Freud).

Graham Dawson and Al Thomson are credited with developing the cultural circuit concept in the context of Oral History. This framework analyzes how individual memories and personal narratives are constructed, shaped, and influenced by broader cultural scripts, power dynamics, and social institutions.

Margaret Wetherell et al. identify Discursive Psychology, Bakhtinian, and Foucauldian approaches as major traditions in Discourse Analysis (DA). Saussurean research focuses on langue (the abstract system of language structure) and is considered a structuralist foundation, not a distinct methodology for analyzing discourse as a social and power-laden practice, which is the core concern of DA.

📘 Explanation of Each Element in Order (MLA 9th Edition):

C. Author ➤ Always comes first in an MLA citation. Written as: Last Name, First Name.

B. Title of Source ➤ This is the main title of the book, article, or webpage being cited. It is italicized if it's a standalone work and placed in quotation marks if it's part of a container.

D. Title of Container ➤ If the source is part of a larger collection or website, the container is that larger whole. For example, a short story in an anthology.

A. Publisher ➤ The organization or company responsible for making the source available.

E. Publication Date ➤ Usually appears at the end of the entry, indicating when the work was published.

📘 In The Handbook to Literary Research, Correa and Owens propose a hierarchical strategy for effective material collection, especially for postgraduate and PhD-level literary research. Here's the order:

D. Visit your nearest major research library – Start from a high-resource hub with access to comprehensive archives, rare holdings, and extensive inter-library links. Direct engagement often reveals more than digital access.

A. Identify your nearest major research library – While this might logically seem first, in their context, visiting assumes identification has already been done during the planning phase. The emphasis is on access and utilization.

C. Identify what is available online – Explore digital databases, online journals (like JSTOR or Project MUSE), digitized manuscripts, and e-books. This supports and supplements the physical search.

B. Visit your own university library – Surprisingly, this comes last because it's often limited in rare or extensive research material. However, it remains essential for standard texts, referencing help, and interlibrary requests.

📘 Let's evaluate each statement:

A. When using the month-day-year style in prose, a comma must be placed after the year unless another punctuation mark follows it.
✅ Correct – Example: On July 4, 1776, the Declaration was signed. The comma after the year is required unless a period or other punctuation follows.

B. Use a comma between month and year or between season and year.
❌ Incorrect – No comma is used between the month and year or season and year when no specific day is mentioned. Example: He was born in July 1990. (no comma)

C. Decades can be written out or expressed in numerals.
✅ Correct – Both "the eighties" and "the 1980s" are acceptable, as long as the style is consistent.

D. Spell out centuries in uppercase letters.
❌ Incorrect – Centuries should be spelled out using lowercase letters. Correct example: the nineteenth century, not Nineteenth Century.

E. Numerals are used for most times of the day. Generally, use the twelve-hour clock system in prose.
✅ Correct – Example: He arrived at 4:00 p.m. is acceptable in prose. Times are usually written in numerals using the twelve-hour clock.

✅ Final Answer: A, C and E Only

📘 Matching Latin Abbreviations with Their Meanings:

A. et sq. – IV. and the following
Abbreviation of et sequens or et sequentes; used to refer to a passage and the following pages or sections.

B. idem – I. the same
Latin for "the same"; used when referring to the same author previously cited.

C. loc. cit. – II. in the place cited
Abbreviation of loco citato; used to refer back to the same place in a previously cited work.

D. passim – III. everywhere
Used to indicate that something (like a theme or reference) appears frequently or throughout a text.