Module GERM3191: DISSERTATION IN GERMAN (ENGLISH)

Department: Modern Language and Cultures (German)

GERM3191: DISSERTATION IN GERMAN (ENGLISH)

Prerequisites

• German Language 2 or German Language 2 and Year Abroad

Corequisites

• GERM3071 German Language 4 and one final-year option in German other than GERM3041 Interpreting. The subject of the dissertation will be related to this optional module.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• Student may take a Dissertation module in only one of the languages they are studying as part of their Modern European Languages programme. Joint Honours students may not take this module if they are taking a dissertation module in (one of) their other subject(s).

Aims

• To provide those students who have opted for greated depth by studying one or two languages the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge of one aspect of their studies by researching and writing an extensive piece of work in an area relevant to one of the optional modules that they are taking at final year level.
• Writing the dissertation will provide experience in planning, documenting and writing an extended piece of work (8000 words). It will also increase their facility in expressing themselves at a suitable academic level and in presenting and referencing their work according to the conventions of academic writing. It will provide invaluable practice for those wishing to progress to postgraduate study.
• The dissertation also aims to develop independent learning, a genuine commitment to research, the ability to organise and manage a longer project, and to write fluently and in a scholarly fashion.

Content

• The dissertation involves researching and writing an extended piece of work on a subject relevant to one of the optional modules that the student is taking at level 3. The syllabus will not overlap with the content of this module, but will be such that studying the module will support the dissertation by providing background and/or suggesting suitable critical and theoretical approaches. Its precise contents are to be determined by negotiation with the relevant lecturer, subject to approval by TLC.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the module, the student will have greatly enhanced knowledge of a specialised subject linked to one of his or her level 3 modules. S/he will be familiar with both primary and secondary sources, and with the wider debates surrounding the texts, films, or other artefacts that form the main subject of the dissertation.

• The student will have further developed their ability to express complex ideas in a suitable register.

• The student will have acquired skill and practice in researching a subject using primary and secondary sources, planning a coherent argument with the evidence to support it, presenting these arguments clearly and cogently in a sustained piece of writing, conforming to the norms of academic referencing.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The topic of the dissertation will be chosen by the student in conjunction with a supervisor, normally (one of) the teacher(s) of the level 3 module to which the dissertation is attached. The syllabus will not overlap with the content of this module, but will be such that studying the module will support the dissertation by providing background and/or suggesting suitable critical and theoretical approaches. Its precise contents are to be determined by negotiation with the relevant lecturer, subject to approval by TLC.
• In the Michaelmas term, the student will submit to the supervisor a 300-word discursive plan of the dissertation, and in the Epiphany term a 1000-word extract. These will be discussed in tutorials, and further advice given.
• Assessment by dissertation will test the student’s ability to assimilate, understand, and analyse critically the primary and secondary sources related to his/her topic. It will test his/her ability to present a sustained argument, backing the argument up with suitable evidence. It will also test his/her ability to write fluently and accurately, paying due attention to the conventions of academic writing.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

300-word summary in English to be submitted by the end of Michaelmas term; 1000-word extract in English to be submitted during Epiphany term.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University