Ross Woods, 2015, '22
Assessment of each unit comprises one or more major essays that are also presented to a group as an oral presentation. You will be expected to answer all relevant questions from the group and the assessor. You will also be assessed on your questions and comments on the papers of other students.
Look for a suitable topic that fits the guidelines for the unit. Expect to do significant background reading to strengthen your proposal and to give you enough basis to write a satisfactory graduate paper. If you can discuss suitable topics in a seminar, you might get a better topic and sharpen it.
Propose a suitable topic to your supervisor. It should be sufficiently focussed, unitary (i.e. only one main issue), significant, and need inquiry. Express it as either one question that cannot yet be answered, or as a hypothesis. In particular, you will need to show that your topic is of significant practical benefit. Write it as a proposal of about 500-750 words.
Present your topic to the group as a proposal of about 500-750 words, and include notes of your reading or field observations to demonstrate that it is a suitable topic. Speak freely and engage your listeners. Be prepared to answer questions from the group.
The moderator will give you a limited time to speak, so you must be able to cover the whole proposal in that time.
When your topic has been approved, start researching the topic according to the guidelines for the particular unit. You will be able to use your proposal as the first draft of the introductory section of your paper.
Your tutor may suggest improvements and corrections as you go, so you can incorporate them into the final version of your paper. However, you are responsible for the quality of the final paper.
Most units require a literature review and you may also need to gather data in the field. If your paper is only a literature review, this will be the whole paper. If your paper, includes field research, it will become part of the draft “literature review” section of your paper.
Sort the main ideas into topics so you can cover them in a structured way. Sort them into a consistent whole and explore the relevance of any paradoxes and points that you cannot reconcile.
Your language needs to be precise and your writing needs to show that you have firmly understood:
You also are required to critique (i.e. assess) the range of opinion beliefs. To do so, you will need to identify the influences that affected the main writers and movements and write a suitable critique. Be careful to be fair, balanced, and firmly justified. Remember that “critique” can also mean identifying strengths and well as finding fault.
Finish the paper with a conclusion and bibliography. These should be quite brief and should not take long to write if you have done well so far. Then go through and edit your paper into its final form. All sources, whether using direct or indirect quotes, must be referenced according to the guidelines.
The moderator will give you a limited time to speak, so you must be able to cover the whole proposal in that time.
Give all group members a copy of your paper beforehand. Then present your paper to the group, but do not slavishly read it. Speak freely and engage your listeners, but do not preach a sermon. You will find it helpful to use visual aids. You need to show that you can communicate complex information in both written and spoken form.
The moderator will give group members opportunity to ask questions on your paper. You will be expected to answer them all well.