The aim of this module is for students to set out the main lines of a research enquiry, its divisions and possible resources, and to undertake independent research to identify and evaluate key reading and critical contexts for the proposed topic. The object at this stage is not to try to 'solve' or 'conclude' or 'cover' the proposed topic: a much more thorough-going examination of the topic will be proper to the dissertation itself. The module also aims to help students develop public speaking skills and digital skills through the creation of an audio-visual recording. In order to qualify for a degree in a named pathway (Renaissance and Eighteenth-Century, Victorian, Modern and Contemporary or Science Fiction), the subject of their assignment for this module must be on a relevant author(s).

(LO1) Students will gain the ability to read, analyse, interpret and compare with competence and independence a wide variety of literary texts

(LO2) Students will gain an advanced knowledge and systematic understanding of the political and ideological aspects of literary texts and how they can be situated within appropriate cultural and social contexts.

(LO3) Students will gain a critical appreciation of the ways in which texts can be situated within literary history, including issues of genre, influence, and creation and reception.

(LO4) Students will gain the ability to work with a supervisor to identify as well as autonomously plan and implement an independent, dissertation-length research project.

(LO5) Students will gain a systematic knowledge and critical awareness of current debates and new insights within the field of literature and its contexts.

(LO6) Students will gain advanced critical and analytical skills in relation to diverse forms of discourse.

(LO7) Students will gain advanced literacy, interpersonal and communications skills, and the ability to present sustained and persuasive written and oral arguments to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

(LO8) Students will gain advanced literacy, interpersonal and communications skills, and the ability to present sustained and persuasive written and oral arguments to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

(S1) Students will gain a systematic knowledge and critical awareness of current debates and new insights within the field of literature and its contexts

(S2) Students will gain an advanced critical and analytical skills in relation to diverse forms of discourse

(S3) Students will gain advanced literacy, interpersonal and communications skills, and the ability to present sustained and persuasive written and oral arguments to specialist and non-specialist audiences

(S4) Students will gain the ability to autonomously design and self-direct an extended research project

(S5) Students will gain the ability to comprehensively understand and apply a variety of theoretical approaches to literature

(S6) Students will gain the ability to handle complex information and argument in a critical, creative and self-reflective manner

(S7) Students will gain the ability to use IT and other relevant tools and resources to present written and oral work to a professional, scholarly standard

(S8) Students will gain advanced skills and experience in selecting and using electronic and/or archival resources for planning and undertaking research and writing

(S9) Students will gain organisational skills in managing time and workloads, and in meeting deadlines

(S10) Students will gain the ability to work with a supervisor to identify as well as autonomously plan and implement an independent, dissertation-length research project.

As this is a project, students direct their own subject-specific reading, but reading material will be made available for tutorial and/or seminar discussion on aspects of designing and planning a dissertation, such as how to find a research topic, formulating a research question, searching and reviewing existing scholarship, writing style and process, structuring the dissertation and editing.

Learning and teaching methods consist of (a) seminars (b) tutorials (c) a mini-conference, wherein students will deliver the oral presentation that comprises the formative assessment for this module (duration of the mini-conference will vary according to student numbers) and (d) self-directed learning hours, in which students conduct initial primary and secondary research to choose and then develop a research project and prepare for the assessments.