Master's Degree Dissertation
Code: 42292 ECTS Credits: 12| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4313157 Advanced English Studies | OB | 0 | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Julio Miguel Cebrian Puyuelo
- Email:
- juli.cebrian@uab.cat
Teaching groups languages
You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject. Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2023.
Prerequisites
Students must have passed the elective modules of the master’s programme before they can defend their master’s thesis.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The objectives of the master’s thesis module are:
(a) Helping students decide on a research topic and supervisor according to academic strengths and preferences.
(b) Providing students with the guidance needed to undertake graduate-level research on English literature, linguistics, language acquisition and language use, with a special focus on multilingual contexts.
(c) Training students to work autonomously following their supervisor’s guidance.
Competences
- Analyse and synthesise information at an advanced level.
- Analyse the relationship between factors, processes or phenomena in the acquisition of English as a second language, its learning and teaching methods, and its literature, history and culture.
- Apply methodological knowledge of statistical analysis and data generation, treatment and codification of multilingual databases, analysis of literary texts, etc. to research.
- Communicate the knowledge acquired and the contributions of one's research correctly, accurately and clearly both orally and in writing.
- Critically argue, issue judgements and present ideas on the basis of the analysis of information originating from scientific production in these areas.
- Develop autonomous learning skills applicable to the research process.
- Distinguish and contrast between the different methodological and theoretical models applied to the academic study of the acquisition, teaching and use of English as a second language in multilingual and multicultural contexts, literary studies and cultural studies.
- Resolve problems in multicultural academic and/or professional environments associated with the studies of the acquisition, teaching and use of English as a second language in multilingual and multicultural contexts, and the literature and culture of this language.
- Show respect towards the opinions, values, behaviours and/or practices of others.
- Use new technologies for capturing and organising information relevant to lifelong learning and problem-solving in professional activities.
- Use the English language for academic and professional purposes related to research into the acquisition, teaching and use of English as a second language in multilingual and multicultural contexts, literary studies and cultural studies.
Learning Outcomes
- Analyse and interpret at an advanced level literary texts and critical texts concerning English Philology, extracting relevant citations and making content summaries.
- Analyse and synthesise information at an advanced level.
- Apply an autonomous methodology to research, based on the application of scientific currents in relation to English Philology.
- Carry out statistical analyses, generate, treat and codify data for multilingual databases, analyse literary texts, etc. following the appropriate research methodology.
- Communicate the knowledge acquired and the contributions of one's research correctly, accurately and clearly both orally and in writing.
- Develop autonomous learning skills applicable to the research process.
- Distinguish and contrast the different theoretical and methodological models applied to the academic study of English Philology.
- Make an oral presentation in English to an examining board on a subject related to advanced research into English Philology.
- Show respect towards the opinions, values, behaviours and/or practices of others.
- Use new technologies for capturing and organising information relevant to lifelong learning and problem-solving in professional activities.
- Use secondary sources related to English Philology.
- Write up one's own research study in relation to an aspect of English Philology, applying secondary sources to the critical argumentation.
Content
Students will have to submit a 45-60 page original research dissertation citing a minimum of 20 secondary sources. The dissertation can be on a topic that relates to any of the subjects included in the master’s programme and/or within the area of expertise of professors in the programme.
Students in the Language specialization can choose to carry out an empirically-oriented dissertation (an experimental or ethnographic study with a final written report) or a theoretically-oriented dissertation (for instance, a critical essay on the state-of-the-art that could include descriptive data and linguistic argumentation). Students in the Literature specialization will carry out a dissertation on a topic within their area (for example, history of English and American literature, and critical or cultural studies).
A list of possible master's thesis titles for students to choose from will be provided at the beginning of the academic year. There will be guidance for the selection of master's thesis topics and supervisors.
Methodology
The Master's Thesis must follow the Departament of English Style Sheet for writing Research Papers.
CALENDAR
October: General meeting with the MA Theses Coordinator.
November-December: Supervisor assignment.
January-February: Proposal.
March-April: 5-page slice (Literature track) and Workplan (Language track).
May-June: Final draft submission.
End of June: Official submission of MA Theses.
July: Oral Defence by mid July.
Sudents will have regular meetings with their supervisor -at least once a month- to discuss and assess the progress of their master’s thesis. This involves active preparation for supervision sessions and a great deal of autonomous work in data collection, data analysis and writing up.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Master's Thesis preparation, writing and defence | 300 | 12 | 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 6, 7, 11, 4, 8, 12, 10 |
Assessment
The master’s thesis will have to be defended orally before a committee of two members. Students will be assessed on the basis of both the written thesis and the oral presentation. Assessment will take place with an assessment rubric specific to the chosen track (Language / Literature).
The written part of the TFM is worth 80% of the final mark, whereas the oral presentation (defence) is worth 20%.
The TFM coordinator is the person you should contact if you experience any problems with your supervisor or to find out about relevant deadlines.
Supervisors have to approve a thesis before it is submitted for its defense.
Students are required to employ non-sexist language in their written and oral productions. For guidelines on how to do this, they are advised to check the website of the Linguistic Society of America (LSA).
Students will obtain a “Not assessed/Not submitted” course grade unless they have submitted more than 30% of the assessment items.
TFM submissions are on a single-call basis, and TFMs cannot be reassessed.
In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject. Irregularities refer, for instance, to copying in an exam, copying from sources without indiacting authorship, or a misuse of AI such as presenting work as original that has been generated by an AI tool or programme. These evaluation activities will not be re-assessed.
Total or partial plagiarism of any of the exercises will automatically be considered “fail” (0) for the plagiarized item. Plagiarism is copying one or more sentences from unidentified sources, presenting itas original work (THIS INCLUDES COPYING PHRASES OR FRAGMENTS FROM THE INTERNET AND ADDING THEM WITHOUT MODIFICATION TO A TEXT WHICH IS PRESENTED AS ORIGINAL). Plagiarism is a serious offense. Students must learn to respect the intellectual property of others, identifying any source they may use, and take responsibility for the originality and authenticity of the texts they produce.
For archival purposes, and for the sake of a responsible use of resources and respect towards the environment, TFMs will be submitted in digital form (PDF file), unless any reader or examiner asks explicitly to receive also a printed version of the TFM. The submission of both the digital and -if requested- the printed versions would have to be on the same day.
This subject/module does not incorporate single assessment.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Master's Thesis | 100% | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 6, 7, 11, 4, 8, 12, 10 |
Bibliography
Bailey, Stephen. 2021. Academic Writing for University Students. London: Routledge.
Bell, Judith. 2010. Doing your research project. A guide for first-time researchers in education, health and social science. London: Open University Press (5th Edition).
Galvan, Jose L. and Galvan, Melisa C. 2017. Writing Literature Reviews. A guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. London: Routledge (7th Edition).
Hayot, Eric. 2014. The Elements of Academic Style. New York: Columbia University Press.
Hyland, Ken. 2008. English for Academic Purposes. An advanced resource book. New York: Routledge.
Swales, John and Christine Feak. 2000. English in Today’s Research World. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
The Writing Center: Academic Writing Resources. Amherst College <https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/support/writingcenter/resourcesforwriters>
Van Geyte, Els. 2013. Writing: Learn to write better academic essays. Academic Skills Series. London: Collins EAP.
Williams, Anneli. 2013. Research: Improve your reading and referencing skills. Academic Skills Series. London: Collins EAP.
Wray, Alison and Aileen Bloomer. 2006. Projects in Linguistics. A practical guide to researching Language. London: Hodder Education (2nd Edition).
Software
The TFM module does not require specific computer equipment.