ENG4510 – Thesis Writing for American and British Studies

Schedule, syllabus and examination date

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

Teaching

Seminars, 2 hours per week for 10 weeks. 20 hours total.

Obligatory activities:

  • 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