Modern Languages at The University of Essex

LA469 - Spanish Dissertation
Director: Ms Gladis Garcia-Soza Email: gladis [add @essex.ac.uk] Telephone: 01206 872186  Office: 4.320 For further details see http://courses.essex.ac.uk/la/

Module Description

 

This module is based on group and dissertation work and can only admit 5 students. It is a specialist language module for students who have passed LA440 or LA450 and have spent at least 16 weeks in a Spanish-speaking country or are heritage speakers (a student who has been educated in the UK whose mother or/and father are Spanish-speaking or a student who has been educated for a number of years in a Spanish-speaking country) or have similar qualifications. The group meets for 2 hours on weeks 2,6,10,16,20, and 24 only and is supported by email tutoring. The language used in meetings is Spanish.

 

Learning Outcomes

Written Component: Provided that students meet the requirements of the module, by the end of year students will be able to write their dissertation using a wide range of lexical and syntactical structures; will be able to analyse Spanish-speaking prose and/or poetry; and write drafts, reports, commentaries, exposes and the final dissertation.

Spoken Component: By the end of the module students will be able to use spoken Spanish to show a range of styles and registers in conversations, presentations, and seminars.

 

Dissertation Guidelines

  Structuring the Dissertation Example1 - Example2

The dissertation will be 6000 words in Spanish and can research a certain career-related topic or can investigate issues related to exploring translation of a certain form of literature. The research topics would normally be based on contemporary issues related to high and popular culture, contemporary media of the Spanish-speaking world and language use.

 

Learning & Teaching Methods

2 hrs Enquiry-Based Learning Approach group-work on Weeks 2, 6, 10, 16, 20, 24; distance tutoring through e-mail exchanges

 

Marking Criteria: What your marks mean and feedback to improve your performance

Glossary of Terms / Content of  Work /  Language of written work/ Oral Work  

Written Dissertation overall value within the module 30% : Language Skills ; Excellence ; Difficulty & Achievement ;  Structure ; Referencing ; Process

Oral Presentation overall value within the module 30%: Substance , Structure ; Presentation Skills; Condensation Materials; Pronunciation - Accentuation

Exams - NO exams

 

 

 

Work Calendar

FIRST TERM

Introduction

WEEK 3
Diagnostic & Self-Assessment - 1-2-3
Course induction to Dissertation-Based Learning - Structuring the Dissertation

 

WEEK 7
Group-work - Oral Participation mark - Structuring the Dissertation
Written draft; more elaborated ideas and possible title for discussion - 800+(send by email to me by Friday 4 o'clock previous to Monday meeting)
First list of resources to be used

WEEK 11
Group-work - Oral Participation mark - Structuring the Dissertation
Written provisional structure  - 1500 (send by email to me by Friday 4 o'clock previous to Monday meeting)
List of resources in use

SECOND TERM

WEEK 17
Group-work - Oral Participation mark - Structuring the Dissertation

Written first solid draft with some flesh and divided in parts - 2500 words (send by email to me by Friday 4 o'clock previous to Monday meeting)

Final resource list

 

WEEK 21

Group-work - Oral Participation mark - Structuring the Dissertation

Written second draft - 4000 words (send by email to me by Friday 4 o'clock previous to Monday meeting)
Tentative structure, findings

 

WEEK 25

Group-work - Oral Participation mark - Structuring the Dissertation

Written final draft -7000 words (send by email to me by Friday 4 o'clock previous to Monday meeting)
Structure, references and bibliography nearly completed

How to acknowledge references

THIRD TERM

WEEK 31

How to acknowledge references
Dissertation Delivery -Structuring the Dissertation- 7000 - Submit electronically on OCS and bring a watermarked hard copy to main office in Language & Linguistics
Dissertation Presentation - 10 minutes - Presentation Times

 

 

Assessment Calendar - Coursework only

 

Written 60%             Oral 40%
Class Weeks	Activity	Number of marks	Value
2, 6, 10, 16, 20, 24	Group-work Oral participation	6 marks only  best 5 are taken	20%
2, 6, 10, 16, 20, 24	Written dissertation development Structuring the Dissertation	6 marks only  best 5 are taken	20%
31	Dissertation delivery-Structuring the Dissertation Friday midday by OCS and bring a watermarked hard copy to main office in Language and Linguistics Structuring the Dissertation	2 marks	30%
31	Presentation based on dissertation 10 minutes - Presentation Times	2 marks	30%

 

 

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