Dissertation (ALLT/ELT)

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• use information technology appropriately to support and present your research
• compose under deadline conditions an extended piece of writing which is logically structured, coherently argued, and clearly written, supported by a detailed bibliography;
• demonstrate specific, as well as general, research skills, such as information retrieval and library searches and the use of a range of empirical fieldwork techniques;

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• the topic you have selected in your chosen field of study;
• research design and techniques appropriate for your topic;
• relevant theoretical approaches applicable to your topic;
• scholarly and policy debates relating to your topic.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• demonstrate originality of thought and approach which moves beyond a simple synthesis of secondary materials.
• develop a sustained argument over an extended piece of work;
• design, implement and evaluate a small scale empirical research project in applied linguistics;
• critically assess some previous work on your chosen subject;

The dissertation is an extended piece of work of 12,000 words, which results from independent research on an applied linguistics/ language teaching topic. The dissertation gives you the opportunity to explore a topic of particular interest to you in greater depth than is possible within the scope of a taught module.

You learn primarily through research and independent study, accompanied by individual tutorials with your dissertation supervisor. In the early individual supervisions the scope of the project and design and methodology for investigation of the topic are agreed, and the structure of the finished dissertation is discussed. Later meetings require you to have prepared a section of the work and may focus on supervisor's feedback on draft sections of the dissertation.

The tutorial supervision provides you with general and specific guidance and feedback on your theoretical framework, research design and fieldwork skills. In the written dissertation you will be expected to demonstrate the research skills and the intellectual ability required by the project.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.