ENG4510 – Thesis Writing for American and British Studies
Course description
Course content
Taking its principal cues from?How To Write A Thesis?(1977), this course is a hands-on laboratory where you will develop, hone and practice your thesis writing skills. Combining lecturer-guided input and direction, peer-generated feedback and exchange, and self-directed research, this course will prepare you for conceptualizing, writing, and, ultimately, completing a master’s thesis in English-language area studies.
To this end, you will engage in discipline-specific research methods as well as composition strategies and skills. These include but are not limited to finding and evaluating source material, assessing personal preferences/interests as well as gained study experiences vis-à-vis potential research avenues, best practices for argumentative and critical writing, research and writing ethics, adherence to scholarly rigor, developing a thesis topic and argument, and writing a final thesis proposal.
Learning outcome
After completing this course, you will:
- have knowledge of key methods and practices involved in the writing of your M.A. thesis,
- know how to apply key methods in the discipline and scholarly rigor with a view to positioning yourself within existing knowledge traditions and relevant disciplinary practice(s),
- understand the scholarly expectations of an M.A. thesis in American and British Studies and the genre conventions of academic argument,
- have the skills to turn personal interests/predisposition and prior study experience into a worthwhile thesis project,
- understand best practices and ethical imperatives related to working with source materials and developing your own scholarship,
- know how to write a compelling proposal for your M.A. thesis.
Admission to the course
This course is only open for students who are admitted to the program European Languages, study option American and British Studies and Lektorprogrammet, masterspesialisering i engelsk.
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with ENG4000 – Thesis Writing for English Literature, American and British Studies.
Teaching
Seminars, 2 hours per week for 10 weeks. 20 hours total.
- Students will be required to contribute 1-2 in-class "performances" (e.g. elevator pitches, student-led text dissections, flipped classroom activities, research reports, thesis pitches, or similar) which may be tackled individually and/or in pairs.
- The in-class "performances" are, in part, tied to written deliverables (e.g. bibliographic work, an annotated bibliography, a research report/diary, a collation paper, a thesis proposal etc.) which, taken together, constitute the examination portfolio.?Read more here about rules concerning valid excuses and how to apply for postponements.
- It is obligatory to show up for a minimum of 60% of the teaching. In this course you must attend a minimum of 6 out of 10 seminars. The requirement is absolute.?
The allowed absence limit will cover all absences, including illness. You will not be granted valid absences with documentation, even when the absence is due to something beyond your control.
If the course has in-person teaching, and you are signed up for an in-person seminar group, you are to attend the teaching in the location found in the schedule.
If the course has digital teaching, and you are signed up for a digital seminar group, you must attend via Zoom with your camera on.
In certain circumstances, such as disabilities and serious or chronic illness, you can apply for?special needs accommodations.
The tasks/work packages that constitute the individual components of the examination portfolio will be specified in the course syllabus. The syllabus and course pragmatics will be clearly communicated and explained in the first regular session.
Fulfilled course requirements are only valid the semester you attend the course.
Examination
The exam format is a multi-part portfolio of approx. 12-14 pages (+/- 10%; note: a standard page consists of 2,300 characters). Any extant references and bibliography do not count toward the overall scope of the portfolio.
The specific topics/scope of the deliverables that make up the examination portfolio are to be developed by students themselves in consultation with the course lecturer.
Students are required to successfully complete the obligatory in-class performances in order to qualify for the final written component of the portfolio (i.e. the finalized thesis proposal).
Language of examination
The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about?the grading system.
Resit an examination
A porfolio or equivalent that is passed may not be resubmitted in revised form.
If you?withdraw from the exam?after the deadline, this will be counted as an examination attempt.
Since this exam is a portfolio, you must follow the classes and write new papers in order to qualify.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.