LIT301
Final Year Project in Literature
2023-2024
SECTION A: Basic Information
Brief Introduction to the Module
The Literature FYP is the capstone project for students who have studied literature as a significant part of their degree. The FYP provides students with the opportunity to carry out independent study at an advanced level, under supervision, of a topic that interests them. The module builds on students’ existing research skills and their knowledge base from other modules, and allows them to demonstrate the range and depth of their attainment across their degree.
The Literature FYP is distinctive in being assessed only by the production of a written Dissertation. It is also distinctive in terms of offering the opportunity to write at length, and with consistent expert guidance, on an area of your own particular interest within the field of literature and culture. You may choose to extend your study of a text, writer, period, etc. from an earlier module – only being careful not to repeat your earlier work. Or you may choose to bring your skills fully to bear upon a topic that is of deep and abiding interest to you personally, and that responds to academic treatment and the skill-set of the literary critic.
Another key feature of the Literature FYP is the frequency and quality of supervision. You are expected to meet your supervisor, one-to-one, on a weekly basis. You will be matched with a supervisor who is a research-active scholar and who has interests that overlap in some way with yours.
Key Module Information
Module name: Final Year Project in Literature
Module code: LIT301
Credit value: 10
Semester in which the module is taught: Semesters 1 and 2
SECTION B: What you can expect from the module
Learning Outcomes
Students completing the module successfully should be able to:
A. Work independently under the guidance of a supervisor
B. Identify an appropriate topic for research within the scope of the project
C. Identify and survey the relevant scholarly field in relation to the topic
D. Apply appropriate writing and presentation skills
E. Construct an original argument featuring explicitly justified interpretations and conclusions
Schedule of work and Supervision
The final written Dissertation accounts for 100% of the mark for the LIT FYP. The only formal item of assessment thus comes at the very end of the module, when you hand in your final draft.
The module is designed, however, to provide continuous support across the academic year. It does this through a combination of weekly seminars, delivered by the module leader, and weekly one-to-one supervision meetings (‘tutorials’), which should be organized between the student and supervisor. As shown in the module specification (on e-bridge), the module provides for a total of 26 hours of supervision, 1 hour per term-time week. Students and supervisors should agree a suitable time and format for these regular meetings.
Students are reminded that one of the most important periods in the success of any FYP is the non-teaching period between mid-December and mid-February. It is essential that projects do not stand still or slip backwards during this period, but that students make the most of having eight or nine weeks to make progress with their own reading and writing. A good proportion of the 250 hours of independent study for the module can be expected to fall in this period. As indicated below, Supervisors will expect you to have well-developed draft work to share with them for discussion by the start of semester 2.
Formative work towards the Dissertation
Every supervision relationship will be unique, and students and supervisors are free to organize their own detailed schedule of formative work. At a minimum, however, students are expected to submit and receive timely feedback on the following items of unmarked assessment, at approximately the following times during the year:
Semester 1
One-page outline of topic and texts (email to Supervisor; suggested Week 6) Annotated bibliography of 10-12 secondary sources (email to Supervisor; suggested Week 11)
Semester 2
- Draft Introduction/sample Chapter (email to Supervisor; suggested Week 2)
- Full First Draft (email to Supervisor; suggested Week 8)
The Supervision Process
The FYP is an independent research project, and the role of the Supervisor is to provide support and give advice. It is not to direct students on what to do or how to do it. Supervisors advise on practical issues such as an appropriate subject, the project title, and the structure and coherence of the dissertation. A Supervisor may also assist in identifying source materials and advising on the development of a reading list or bibliography. S/he is not, however, expected to be an expert on every specific aspect of the dissertation, nor to direct your work or to determine whether your judgements are right or wrong.
Supervisors can be expected to provide timely feedback on the four items of unmarked assessment. Students should always bear in mind, however, that the FYP specifically assesses students’ ability to work on their own. It is your own responsibility to make arrangements to meet your supervisor and to have a clear agenda for each meeting (prepare questions to ask as well as material to discuss). It is also your responsibility to give your supervisor the opportunity to provide feedback by submitting on time the unmarked items of assessment listed above. Materials received later than the suggested dates may not receive comments from supervisors.
The Assessment
Assessment for this module is by ONE Dissertation of no more than 10,000 words, submitted at the end of Semester 2 on Friday 7
th June, 2024
The Final Year Project is a final-year module, and as such, no resit is available.
General Guidance
The Dissertation constitutes 100% of the assessment for the module. The Dissertation must be an original and independent piece of work. It does not need to be ‘original’ in the sense of making a completely new contribution to knowledge, but it must be original in the sense of showing no evidence of offences against academic integrity, of being your own unaided work, a piece of writing that is based on your own reading and presenting your own ideas and analyses of your chosen topic.
The topic of a Dissertation is normally relatively narrow, focusing on a small group of primary texts. But it also needs to be rich enough – contextually or theoretically – to constitute a piece of work that can satisfy the learning outcomes of the module. One key attribute that examiners will be assessing is the capacity to define a project that is appropriate to a 10,000-word exercise in independent study (LO B).
A literature Dissertation needs to present a single, progressive argument that comprehends a number of texts while also being responsive to the uniqueness of each. It should ideally be a fusion of close textual analysis and relevant concepts and contexts, rather than a simple narrative, a theoretical survey, or a series of separate formal analyses. While the Dissertation is a test of your knowledge of your subject, it is not just a puzzle to solve in your own head, but is also (among other things) an act of communication with an audience. Above all, keep asking yourself what exactly it is that you want to say, and why exactly it is important.
Remember that the FYP carries a total of 10 credits, and that the total amount of time and effort that you put into it should be as much as you would put in for two normal 5- credit modules. Independent study for this module is shown in the module specification as 250 hours (equivalent to just over 30 eight-hour working days, or six full working weeks).Page 6 of 6
Assessment submission details:
Submission Item: Dissertation Final Draft of no more than 10,000 words
Submission Date: exam period at the end of semester (date to be confirmed)
Submit the Dissertation in both e-copy and paper copy, as follows:
Electronic copy (Word format) to the appropriate dropbox on Learning Mall Online
One paper copy to the Department office or relevant onsite dropbox (details to be provided)
The e-copy and paper copy must be identical in all respects except for binding.
Guidance on Dissertation length
The required length of the Dissertation is no more than 10,000 words.
The limit of 10,000 words includes the main body of the dissertation (the introduction, the chapters and conclusion) and any accompanying footnotes or endnotes.
The limit of 10,000 words excludes the preliminaries (abstract, acknowledgements, chapter list, list of illustrations, list of abbreviations) and the bibliography. There are limits on the length of some of the preliminaries (see ‘Dissertation format and structure’ below). This is not the case with the bibliography, however. The only guideline here is that the bibliography should accurately reflect the project. Students are encouraged to present a complete list of all materials consulted, bearing in mind that marks are neither awarded nor deducted based on the number of secondary sources listed.
The limit of 10,000 words is specifically designed to give students the scope to explore a clearly-defined topic in detail and in depth. Students should bear in mind that Dissertations significantly less than 10,000 words long are unlikely to fulfil the required criteria and will attract less credit accordingly. The same applies to over-long dissertations.
The Department does not employ a plus or minus 10% rule of any kind for the FYP, and students should treat the specification of a 10,000-word limit as precise and definitive.