To give students the opportunity to carry out independent research at an advanced level, with appropriate support, into a cultural, literary or linguistic topic of interest to them;

To draw on and extend the skills and knowledge of relevant cultural, literary or linguistic issues and theoretical debates students have acquired in their taught modules;

To produce a piece of individual research which presents an argument developed over 10,000 words, usually divided into Introduction, three chapters, and Conclusion.

(LO1) Utilise a variety of bibliographical tools to locate a range of primary and secondary sources on which to base a research project.

(LO2) Construct, focus and structure an independent project, in discussion with a personal supervisor working in that subject area.

(LO3) Analyse source materials, and develop coherent and original arguments on the basis of research.

(LO4) Engage critically with relevant cultural, literary or linguistic and / or theoretical debates on the topic.

(LO5) Manage time effectively and efficiently and plan a long-term process of research, reading and writing.

(LO6) Present a confident and coherent argument in clear written prose, following scholarly conventions of referencing and bibliography.

(S1) Personal attributes and qualities - initiative

(S2) Information skills - information accessing: locating relevant information. Identifying and evaluating information sources

(S3) Information skills - critical reading

(S4) Communication (oral, written and visual) - influencing skills – argumentation

(S5) Communication (oral, written and visual) - academic writing (including referencing skills)

(S6) Time and project management - personal organisation

(S7) Time and project management - project planning

(S8) Time and project management - project management

(S9) Critical thinking and problem solving - critical analysis

(S10) Research skills - all information skills

Teaching method 1 - tutorial.
The dissertation is an independent piece of work in which students are expected to take the initiative in planning, researching and writing. Students will usually be supervised by a member of staff from the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures (although joint honours and combined honours may have a supervisor from another department).

Students  who choose to do the dissertation will receive guidance from their respective supervisors during the first four weeks of Semester 1. Subsequently, students will meet their supervisor five times across both semesters. This ensures that all students receive an equal amount of supervision over the course of the year, and means that, after week 4, students should meet with their supervisor once a month.  A dissertation is an extended piece of research (10,000 words) that develops an original argument about a particular cultural, literary or linguistic issue of students' own choice. This originality will usually come from their own analysis of primary sources, allowing them to test the conclusions of scholars in their field. Students can also treat the writings of scholars as a primary source, by exploring the changing ways in which they have approached a given topic. Alternatively, dissertations may take the form of an in-depth critical evaluation of a particula r academic controversy, or a particular scholar's work. All dissertations are expected to incorporate this kind of original research or argument. Students will submit a formative research proposal by the end of Week six. The submission deadline for the dissertation is the Monday of Week 11, Semester two.