CS831-6-SP-CO:
Final Year Dissertation
2020/21
Interdisciplinary Studies Centre (ISC)
Colchester Campus
Spring
Undergraduate: Level 6
Current
Sunday 17 January 2021
Friday 26 March 2021
15
15 May 2020
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
BA T700 American Studies (United States),
BA T7P3 American Studies (United States) with Film,
BA MT2R Criminology and American Studies,
BA L400 Social Change,
BA L401 Social Change (Including Foundation Year),
BA L402 Social Change (including Placement Year),
BA L403 Social Change (including Year Abroad)
CS831-6-SP is specifically designed for students who spend a semester abroad in the autumn of their final year and for Global Studies students who are taking CS315 Global Challenges in the Autumn term. If you are thinking of doing a dissertation, then you need to contact the dissertation seminar co-ordinator, Dr Jane Hindley/ or the Global Studies Director Lisa Blackmore, with your preliminary dissertation ideas in November or early December. Jane or Lisa will give you feedback and help you turn these ideas into a feasible research project. In the Spring term, if your proposal is approved, you will attend the dissertation seminar along with students doing the full year version of this module. The CS831 seminar provides support on dissertation research and writing. It offers help and guidance on issues relating to processing data and materials, style and composition, and how to structure an argument. The seminar is a constructive forum where students present their research findings and benefit from the comments of the group before writing the full dissertation. The seminar is structured so that students are well prepared for writing their 5-6,000 word dissertation, which is submitted on the second Friday of the Summer term.
All students enrolled to do the final year dissertation attend the weekly seminar in the Spring term. The schedule for presentations and draft chapters will be agreed in Week 16.
Pre-Requisites for doing the dissertation (for details and guidance see Dissertation Handbook):
All students must obtain approval for doing a dissertation from the module supervisor.
To obtain approval, students must submit a 250-word dissertation research proposal by Monday of Week16 and if necessary revise the proposal according to feedback. Any student who does not submit a satisfactory proposal will be required to change to a 15 credit module or CS301-6-SP The Manifesto.
The aims of this module are:
To enable students who are doing a term abroad or Global Studies in their final year, to do a final year dissertation module as a spring term only module
To support students in processing data and writing their dissertations following the completion of the main data collection phase
To provide a forum for students to discuss their research projects, and to present their main findings and draft chapters
To enable students to enhance their presentation and writing skills
To identify and address any weaknesses in students’ research and enable students to capitalise on strengths when writing their dissertation
By the end of this module the student should have:
An understanding of how to collect and process data in a systematic way
A grasp of the difference between the logic of investigation and the logic of presentation
Improved writing and composition skills and the confidence to write their dissertations in a creative and coherent way
An ability to reflect critically on their own research and writing and to give constructive feedback on the work of their peers
No additional information available.
This module is organised on a workshop basis. The two-hour sessions will include short presentations by the Course Tutor on key issues relating to data processing and writing, but most sessions are dedicated to student research presentations and discussions of draft chapters. The exact number of Spring term sessions will depend on the number of students who enrol. The final schedule for presentations and draft chapters will be agreed in the first session of the Spring term. Students are required to attend all sessions. Students will find that they learn a lot from discussions of other students' projects, so attendance and active participation is very important.
All teaching events will be accessible to students on and off campus either face-to-face or remotely through online teaching.
This module does not appear to have any essential texts. To see non-essential items, please refer to the module's reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Oral Presentation of Main Findings |
|
15% |
| Coursework |
Dissertation outline and Draft Chapter |
|
5% |
| Coursework |
Dissertation (6000 words) |
|
80% |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Jane Hindley, email: janeh@essex.ac.uk.
Jane Hindley janeh@essex.ac.uk
Interdisciplinary Studies Centre General Office - 6.130, email: istudies@essex.ac.uk
No
No
No
Dr James Scorer
University of Manchester
Senior Lecturer in Latin American Cultural Studies
Dr Jonathan Mitchell
University Of East Anglia
Senior Lecturer in American Studies
Dr Ross Wilson
University of Nottingham
Director of Liberal Arts
Dr Francisco Carballo
Goldsmiths, University of London
Lecturer in the Politics and Culture of Latin America
Available via Moodle
Of 677 hours, 0 (0%) hours available to students:
677 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
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