A2BK_ZPBP Guidelines and Methods for Writing a Bachelor Thesis

Faculty of Education
Spring 2019
Extent and Intensity
0/0/1. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Radek Vogel, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Olga Dontcheva-Navrátilová, 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
A2BK_ZPBP/Kombi01: Fri 15. 2. 15:00–15:50 učebna 58, Fri 1. 3. 15:00–15:50 učebna 58, Fri 15. 3. 15:00–15:50 učebna 58, Fri 29. 3. 15:00–15:50 učebna 58, Fri 12. 4. 15:00–15:50 učebna 58, Fri 3. 5. 15:00–15:50 učebna 58, R. Vogel
A2BK_ZPBP/Prez01: Wed 17:00–18:50 učebna 58, R. Vogel
Prerequisites (in Czech)
( A2BK_PJ1B Practical Language 1B && A2BK_GR1B Grammar B && A2BK_SFFB Phonetics Seminar B ) || A2BK_SOZK Complex Exam
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
Course objectives
The course is designed to prepare students for writing their bachelor theses. The course is taught once in two weeks and it is also run on-line on Moodlinka. Students are required to attend at least 3/4 of all classes held during the semester. In class students will practice the skills that they will need for writing their theses and completing the course successfully. In class students will also have an opportunity to clarify anything that they find difficult or misleading when working on their assignments.
At the end of this course, students should be able to write their Bachelor theses on the topics of their own choice in the appropriate style, use the relevant research methods, and quote from and refer to the sources according to some respected styles.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, students will be able to:
utilise the presented procedures, language devices and structures in writing their own bachelor theses;
select a suitable research method, as well as to analyse and interpret appropriately the results of their research;
work correctly with primary and secondary sources and make references.
Students will have submitted three individual assignments - parts of a bachelor thesis (an abstract, a list of references, a chapter or its part) and a group assignment (a complete academic paper on a chosen topic).
Syllabus
  • The course will cover the following topics:
  • 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 conclusion.
Literature
    required literature
  • HAMP-LYONS, Liz and Ben HEASLEY. Study writing : a course in writing skills for academic purposes. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006, 213 s. ISBN 9780521534963. info
    recommended literature
  • MCCARTHY, Michael and Felicity O'DELL. Academic vocabulary in use. First published. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008, 176 stran. ISBN 9780521689397. info
    not specified
  • Gibaldi, J. MLA handbook for writers of research papers. 6th ed. New York : Modern Language Association of America, 2003.
  • Craswell, G. Writing for academic success: a postgraduate guide. London : SAGE Publications, 2005.
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 and 1 group assignment.
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)
The course is taught annually.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: 12 hodin.
Teacher's information
http://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=2525
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2019, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/spring2019/A2BK_ZPBP