Sectional Instructions for Theses

Here you can find some notes on how to write your thesis in the module of your choice.

Literature Section + Culture Studies Section

Preparation

  1. Identify the field you are interested in: e.g. a particular author, body of literature (e.g. Native American), genre (e.g. Gothic novel) or period (e.g. Renaissance).
  2. Read the primary text(s) carefully and if possible, more than once.
  3. Narrow down the topic to specify the angle/point of view from which you will discuss the text(s).
  4. Make plentiful notes of your ideas and mark relevant passages in the text(s)..
  5. Identify and consult relevant secondary sources and make notes.
  6. Formulate the thesis and consult it with you supervisor. Arrange regular meetings.

Writing Strategy

  • Interweave your interpretation of the primary text(s) into a coherent, consistent argument, supported with quotes from the text and debating the secondary sources if appropriate.
  • Avoid fragmentation: your goal is to connect ideas rather than break them up into sections.
  • Be concrete rather than general and strive for depth rather than breadth.

Structure

  • The final theses supervised within the Literature Section or Culture Studies section of the Department follow preferably the objectives – options – arguments structure.

Form

  1. Use formal language appropriate for academic writing * avoid first and second person if possible * produce complete sentences * use italics for titles of novels and collections of poetry, „quotation marks“ for titles of smaller pieces (poems and articles) * avoid bold print
  2. Structure your writing into three main parts: * Introduction (e.g. stating the thesis, introduction to the areas discussed, background information such as definitions of terms used in the following analysis, introduction to the texts discussed) * Analysis (this may be subdivided into chapters, according to various individual aspects of the topics) * Conclusion (conclusion, works consulted and works cited, appendix, summary)

Linguistics Section

Structure

  • The final theses supervised within the Linguistic Section of the Department follow preferably the theoretical-practical part structure.
    • The theoretical part discusses the reference literature and is divided into several sub-chapters according to the theoretical issues discussed. The final part of the theoretical part is the conclusion where the standpoint of the author of the thesis is stated clearly, so as to be used as theoretical basis for the analysis of the materials in the practical part.
    • The practical part presents the work with the language material and the solution to the problems stated in the Introduction. The results are summarised in the conclusion pointing to the evaluation of the objectives stated in the introduction (hypothesis) and bridging back to the theoretical part.

Outline

Below is a simplified outline of a linguistic study:

  1. Topic (Not Too Broad!)
  2. Define The Problem And Suggest A Solution
  3. Theory Or Framework (Previous Research into the Topic)
  4. Method Used
  5. Text Material (Its Description)
  6. Analysis (Practical Part)
  7. Conclusions

Note

Text material of excessive length is to be confined to the Appendix, which is situated at the end of the thesis; it does not count to the overall number of pages of the work. Only individual charts (tables) and text samples may be incorporated within the body of the thesis, representing its integral part.

Methodology Section

ELT Methodology is an interdisciplinary field. If you want to write a thesis in the section of ELT Methodology, you should think about integrating your knowledge from the other fields studied at the faculty (esp. linguistics, literature, culture studies, general pedagogy and psychology) and you should incorporate your teaching experience as well.

Research possibilities

Research type and research methods must be chosen with regard to the aims of the thesis. Your target group should be preferably upper primary classes.

Since this is not a work of great extension, we recommend a small scale research, e.g. action research.

Academic style

You can use the following academic styles – APA, MLA, however, we suggest that for the Methodology-oriented theses APA norm is the most appropriate one.

See the simplified instructions on: http://www.ped.muni.cz/pedor/archiv/PokynyProAutoryDleAPA_110714_PedOr.pdf

Structure

The final theses supervised within the ELT Methodology Section of the Department follow preferably the theoretical-practical part structure.

Outline

Below is a simplified outline of a ELT Methodology thesis:

  • Introduction (justification of the choice of topic, research problems, research aims, ways to fulfil the aims)
  • Theoretical Part (in several subchapters, definitions of the main concepts, critical review of literature relevant to your topic, possible outcomes for the practical part should be stated)
  • Practical Part (research aims, brief justification of a chosen research method, description of a research sample, presentation of the findings, analysis and interpretation, all of it should demonstrate your understanding, analysis and evaluation of the concepts dealt with in the Theoretical part)
  • Conclusion (the most important findings of your research, what you have learnt from your investigation, how you have developed as a teacher and what possible impact your investigation will have on your teaching)
  • Bibliography
  • Appendices