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Writing BA Thesis Seminar I
Fall 2024
Instructors:
Mgr. Martina Horáková, Ph.D. (literary and cultural studies, seminar group 01, Wed 16:00- 17:40, G22; seminar group 03, Mon 12:00-13:40, G31) Mgr. Jana Pelclová, Ph.D. (linguistics and translation, seminar group 02, Wed 16:00-17:40, G22)
Course description:
This course prepares students for writing their final BA theses. It involves four general sessions focusing on the ways of doing scholarly research and starting writing, and then follows with bi-weekly sessions with a hands-on approach (choosing a topic, choosing a supervisor, how to start research, how to work with and evaluate sources, how to write an outline and bibliography, etc.). At the end of the course, students will submit a short BA thesis proposal, consisting of a tentative title, supervisor, topic description, research question, brief outline, and preliminary bibliography of primary and secondary sources.
Course organization:
The course is co-taught by Martina Horáková and Jana Pelclová. The first 4 classes will be dedicated to general topics for the whole group. After that, we will break into 2 groups according to whether students choose a linguistic/translation topic for their thesis or a literary/cultural studies one. These 2 groups will take turns and meet once in two weeks, discussing specific issues related to the particular field.
Syllabus:
Week 1, Sept 16 – joint class, G24, 12:00-13:40: Introduction of the course structure and syllabus
BA Thesis requirements, deadlines, supervision, the process of submission and defense
What is BA Thesis research How to choose a topic, supervisor, what to expect from a supervision Timeline and how to plan thesis writing
Assignment for next meeting: 1. Think about your potential topic or at least an area. 2. Get familiar with potential supervisors’ areas of expertise and note down a potential supervisor for your project. 3. Read Chapter 5 from Lipson, “What is Good Thesis Research?” and make notes.
Week 2, Sept 23 – joint class, G24, 12:00-13:40: Doing research I: Primary and secondary sources, citation norms, avoiding plagiarism, using AI
Primary and secondary sources
Citation norms and stylesheets How to avoid plagiarism and use AI Lipson, “What is Good Thesis Research”? - discussion
Assignment for next meeting: Prepare for the workshop – bring your own laptop, if you need to lend one, pls contact the Central Library. Revise your strategies of looking up sources and taking notes. Week 3, Sept 30 – joint class, G24, 12:00-13:40: Doing research II: Workshop by Lucie Racyn from the Central Library
Assignment for next meeting: 1. Watch the short video and other materials in ELF about preparing a research question and make notes 2. Look up a BA Thesis in your field in IS and the two reports and be prepared to summarize the better and worse aspects of it.
Thesis structure (introduction, body, conclusion) Methodology Narrowing down and refining the thesis topic
Assignment before next meeting: Fill in the registration form until October 13 in the IS.
Since week 5, bi-weekly sessions of ling/trans and lit/cult groups start:
Week 5, Oct 16 – group B (linguistics and translation)
In-text citations and references – basic rules
Research strategy – working with primary sources Thesis topic discussion
Week 6, Oct 21/23 – group A (literature and cultural studies)
Narrowing down and refining the thesis topic
Preparing an argument, difference argument vs. focus/topic description Overview of citation norms, basic rules (MLA/Chicago)
Week 7, Oct 30 – group B (linguistics and translation)
Reading for your research
Argumentation
Week 8, Nov 4/6 – group A (literature and cultural studies)
Structure, effective introduction and conclusion
Preparing a bibliography Sample BA papers – analysis of good and bad aspects
Week 9, Nov 13 – group B (linguistics and translation)
Writing your best – opening and closing sections
Cohesion
Week 10, Nov 18 – Reading Week – No Class!
Week 11, Nov 25/27 – group A (literature and cultural studies)
Paragraph development Citing vs. paraphrasing, introducing citations Mechanics of writing
Week 12, Dec 4 – group B (linguistics and translation)
Preparing the thesis proposal
Week 13, Dec 9/11 – group A (literature and cultural studies)
Preparing the thesis proposal
Week 14, Dec 16 – Feedback and Individual Consultations
Evaluation:
Students will be evaluated and will be given the credit on the basis of their final Thesis Proposal which they will submit into ELF. Thesis proposal must contain the following parts:
1. preliminary title, supervisor
2. topic description (250-300 words) 3. research question(s) 4. brief outline (chapters with a short description what the chapter will focus on) 5. preliminary bibliography of primary and secondary sources, formatted consistently according to the appropriate citation style
Levinson, S. (2006) - On The Human "Interaction Engine". en Roots of Human Sociality, Culture, Cognition and Interaction. J. Enfield y S. Levinson (Eds.)
