LING-1018 Dissertation Module Handbook | University Of Greenwich

1 Welcome message from your Module Leader

Welcome to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences which is part of the Faculty of Liberal  Arts and Sciences. The School is based in King William Court on the Greenwich Campus.  Members of the programme team are also part of the Centre for Research and Enterprise  (CREL). CREL fosters a multidisciplinary environment for research about language. Its purpose  is to bring scholars from the areas of linguistics, applied linguistics, translation, psychology,  speech therapy, computing, mathematical sciences, education and sociology together to work  in collaboration. CREL is the home to courses and activities that are of interest to those  studying different aspects of language. Students are welcome and indeed encouraged to  attend and participate in events organised by CREL.

This dissertation module provides students with the opportunity to carry out an original and  substantial piece of work on an individual research topic of their own choosing (with  supervisor guidance), relating to the overarching themes of Applied Linguistics, second  language learning and teaching and TESOL. It enables students to manage their work  effectively, with a high level of autonomy. They are able to choose between an empirically focussed dissertation, a theoretically-focussed dissertation / systematic review-focussed  dissertation.
  
This handbook provides essential information about this module including the aims and  learning outcomes, the schedule of teaching and learning activities, assessment tasks, reading  recommendations and, if applicable, any additional resources that you will need. I wish you  every success in your study and hope you find this handbook useful.

LING-1018 Module details and learning outcomes

• Host Faculty: Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences 
• Host School: School of Humanities and Social Sciences  
• Number of Credits: 60 credits 
• Term of delivery: Terms 1 - 3 
• Site of delivery: Greenwich Maritime site 
• Pre-requisites/Co-requisites: None

Aims:

To provide students with the opportunity to carry out an original and substantial piece of  work on an individual research topic of their own choosing (with supervisor approval),  relating to the overarching themes of either applied linguistics or TESOL;  

• To enable students to manage their work effectively, with a high level of autonomy;  
• To enable students to carry out a rigorous literature review, and analyse data;  
• To enable students to present research findings in an appropriate manner;  
• To provide students with an understanding of issues related to ethical considerations in  research.  

Learning Outcomes of LING-1018:

On successful completion of this course a student will be able to:  

1. Identify and develop a series of original research questions based on a review of  existing literature and the content covered in the programme.  
2. Develop systematic strategies for accessing primary and secondary research material. 
3. Critically analyse and evaluate theoretical and secondary source material in relation to  primary texts.  
4. Work independently in a self-directed and reflective manner to develop original  applications of concepts and ideas.  
5. Formulate an appropriate strategy for approaching an extended research project.  6. Complete an original dissertation of 15000 words, with suitable argumentation and  structure, demonstrating conceptual understanding of the topic.

Glossary: • A pre-requisite module is one that must have been completed successfully before  taking this module. 

• A co-requisite module is one that must be taken alongside this module.  
• A learning outcome is a subject-specific statement that defines the learning to be  achieved through completing this module.

Employability 

All modules you study on the MA Applied Linguistics programme are designed to  complement each other by exploring a wide range of topics, issues and  perspectives within the field, culminating in the production of a dissertation. You  will also acquire a range of employability skills. For example, you will develop  analytical skills, as well as the ability to research and make use of information  from a variety of sources in the construction and manipulation of arguments and  the evaluation of data sets. 

Almost all job descriptions, no matter what the role, require computer literacy,  often involving Microsoft Office. This module requires that you undertake written  work in Word (or equivalent). Working with MS Office might be second nature to  you – but this is not the case for everyone.  

Just as it is quite hard to do well in an assessment without reading around the  subject, it is also very hard to get a job in any industry without an understanding  of how it functions, and of the relevant pathways in. In tutorials you have the  opportunity to discuss the field you are interested in working in with your Tutor,  or ECS members of staff, who can help you to research and develop your  understanding of career paths.  

How does the course contribute to Greenwich Graduate attributes? The skills  listed above are important attributes employers seek. They are developed over  the course of the degree through many different courses, types of instruction and  forms of assessment. The list should prove helpful to students preparing for job  interviews as it helps students to provide concrete examples of skills they have  acquired and how they were nurtured through different activities at university.  Demonstrating skills to employers and explaining their transferability is an  important skill in its own right. It is key to the art of good application writing and  interviewing. The Greenwich Employability Passport is itself a means to illustrating  transferable skills acquired outside of the classroom.

LING-1018 Structure Dissertation:

• Title page 
• Abstract (summary between 300-500 words) 
• Acknowledgments (if any) 
• Table of contents 
• Introduction (Chapter 1) 
• Main body of the text – Chapters 2, 3, 4 etc. presenting the literature review,  methods, findings, discussion 
• Final chapter (conclusions, further research, recommendations etc.) • References list 
• Appendices 

Formative assessments:

In addition to summative assessment where you receive a grade, your progress will also  be monitored through formative assessment which includes intentional questioning,  workshop discussions, activities and presentations. Students will have the opportunity to  present their projects to the class and receive peer and lecturer feedback in a class  discussion after the presentation (LOs 1,4,5), which will feed into the final dissertation (LO  6).

Feedback for summative coursework:

Individual feedback will be provided and the opportunity to meet with your  supervisor will be offered.  

LING-1018 University of Greenwich – Level 7 Generic Marking Rubric