PdF:AJ1210 Guidelines and Methods for Wri - Course Information

AJ1210 Guidelines and Methods for Writing a Bachelor Thesis

Extent and Intensity

0/2/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).

Teacher(s)

Mgr. Radek Vogel, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)

Guaranteed by

Mgr. Radek Vogel, Ph.D.
Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Contact Person: Jana Popelková
Supplier department: Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education

Timetable of Seminar Groups

AJ1210/Kombi01: Fri 14. 2. 18:00–19:50 učebna 10, Fri 28. 2. 18:00–19:50 učebna 10, Fri 13. 3. 18:00–19:50 učebna 10, Fri 27. 3. 18:00–19:50 učebna 10, Fri 17. 4. 18:00–19:50 učebna 10, R. Vogel
AJ1210/Prez01: Wed 16:00–17:50 učebna 63, R. Vogel

Prerequisites (in Czech)

( AJ1102 Practical Language 1B )

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

there are 12 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

At the end of the course, the students will have:
prepared for the process of writing their bachelor theses; familiarised themselves with their parameters and suitable procedures;
been presented and practised the principal means of the English professional and academic styles;
got acquainted with the methods of research and science;
learnt to analyse and present appropriately their research outcomes and opinions;
managed to use sources, to quote and paraphrase properly, and to create notes.

Learning outcomes

The student
• is able to utilise the presented procedures, language means and structures in writing his/her own Bachelor´s thesis;
• is able to choose the appropriate research method, as well as to analyse and interpret research results;
• works adequately with sources and makes reference to them;
• submits three individual assignments – namely parts of his/her Bachelor´s thesis (an abstract, a list of references, a chapter or its part) and one group assignment (a formally complete paper).

Syllabus

• 1. Introduction. Bachelor thesis – purpose, choice of a topic and a supervisor, format, structure, procedure. Working with the Bachelor thesis project in the Information System of MU.
• 2. Academic and scientific style. Formal and impersonal register.
• 3. Abstract – structure, appropriate language devices.
• 4. Identification of a research gap. Formulation of a research problem, research questions, hypotheses.
• 5. Methodology of scientific work.
• 6. Cohesive devices – grammatical, lexical and structural cohesion. Pronominal reference, substitution, ellipsis, repetition, relexicalisation.
• 7. Connective devices. Syntax of complex and compound sentences. Word order problems. Syntactic condensation.
• 8. Working with sources. Citation styles. Direct citation, paraphrase. Avoiding plagiarism.
• 9. Block quotation, footnotes and endnotes. Bibliographic reference to the main types of sources.
• 10. Comparison – procedure, language devices.
• 11. Interpretation of research outcomes. Visual devices (graphs, diagrams, flowcharts, tables).
• 12. Writing a summary and a conclusion.

Literature

required literature
• MCCARTHY, Michael and Felicity O'DELL. Academic vocabulary in use. First published. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 176 stran. ISBN 9780521689397. 2008. info
• HAMP-LYONS, Liz and Ben HEASLEY. Study writing : a course in writing skills for academic purposes. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 213 s. ISBN 9780521534963. 2006. info

recommended literature
• CRASWELL, Gail. Writing for academic success : a postgraduate guide. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. xi, 248. ISBN 9780857029287. 2012. info
• GIBALDI, Joseph. MLA handbook for writers of research papers. 6th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America. xviii, 361. ISBN 0873529863. 2003. info
• URBANOVÁ, Ludmila and Andrew OAKLAND. Úvod do anglické stylistiky. 1. vyd. Brno: Barrister & Principal. 145 s. ISBN 8086598330. 2002. info

Teaching methods

Teaching methods:
- class explanation and discussion;
- controlled writing practice in seminars;
- home assignments (individual assignments: an abstract/summary, a list of references, a chapter from the Bachelor thesis; a group assignment: a research paper);
- individual consultations.

Assessment methods

Completion prerequisites:
Students are required to attend at least 75% of classes. The course is based on continuous assessment and students are expected to submit 3 individual assignments (an abstract, a list of references, a chapter of bachelor thesis) and 1 group assignment (a paper).
The pass mark is 70% in each assignment and students have to pass all the parts of continuous assessment to obtain the credits for the course.

Language of instruction

English

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: kombinované studium: výuka v blocích.

Teacher's information

http://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=2923 (full-time study), http://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=2924 (combined study),
Check the dates of submission of three individual assignments and the final group assignment in appropriate Moodlinka courses: http://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=2923 (full-time study) http://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=2924 (combined study)

• Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2020, recent)
  
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