AJ1210 Guidelines and Methods for Writing a Bachelor Thesis

Faculty of Education
Spring 2019
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
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
AJ1210/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
AJ1210/Prez01: Wed 17:00–18:50 učebna 58, R. Vogel
Prerequisites (in Czech)
( AJ1102 Practical Language 1B && AJ1204 Grammar B && AJ1202 Phonetics and Phonology B )
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
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
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
  • 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, 2008, 176 stran. ISBN 9780521689397. info
  • 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
  • CRASWELL, Gail. Writing for academic success : a postgraduate guide. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2012, xi, 248. ISBN 9780857029287. info
  • GIBALDI, Joseph. MLA handbook for writers of research papers. 6th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2003, xviii, 361. ISBN 0873529863. info
  • URBANOVÁ, Ludmila and Andrew OAKLAND. Úvod do anglické stylistiky. 1. vyd. Brno: Barrister & Principal, 2002, 145 s. ISBN 8086598330. 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)
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=2841
Combined (Friday) students: http://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=2841 Full-time (Wednesday) students: http://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=2842
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2018, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Autumn 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2019, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/spring2019/AJ1210