ENGLISH LITERATURE DISSERTATION - 2025/6

Module Overview

This is a level 7 compulsory module for English Literature. Worth 60 credits out of the 180 total credits required for the MA, this module presents students with the opportunity, and challenge,  of producing a sizeable, polished and cohesive work of literary studies. This dissertation may be a study of an author, a theme or trope, a period, a genre, a theoretical approach or a series of related texts, as preferred by the student; the module in this way can be tailored to the student’s wishes and is one way (along with the Open modules and also the flexibility regarding choice of focus in several other modules) in which students can push this ‘generalist’ MA in a more specialized, focused direction Each student will be assigned a tutor who will assist them in choosing their subject matter and literary approach, and who will provide advice, encouragement and formative feedback over the course of the writing process, as well as suggesting relevant reading material which may help inspire or critically locate the project. The tutor will also help with time management and planning, and will offer guidance on producing a dissertation that is both critically-informed and theoretically-sophisticated. Overall, however, this is a capstone module which requires the student to work independently over their final summer of study, drawing on and demonstrating the skills learnt through the modules taken in Semesters 1 and 2, and especially on the foundation established in ELIM005 Research and Writing Skills when preliminary research for the dissertation is done.This module also allows students to reflect at  length on the project’s relationship to other work of literary criticism in the field, and to locate the work productively in theoretical, historical and cultural contexts. This module is compulsory.

Module provider

Literature & Languages

Module Leader

THOMPSON Carl (Lit & Langs)

Number of Credits: 60

ECTS Credits: 30

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Year long

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

none

Module content

The content of the module depends in each case on the specific subject, analysis of a literary period, theme, trope, genre, author, etc. as chosen by the student in consultation with their tutor.This module is therefore a key means by which students can push their MA studies in a more specialized, focused direction, if the topic undertaken in the dissertation (and before that in ELIM005) is matched by complementary studies in the Open Writing modules and in those optional modules where there is flexibility of focus in the assignments.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/a

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate:

* the development in their critical writing skills in analyzing texts from a range of genres
* their understanding of the context of their work in historical and cultural terms, and to familiarize themselves with the history of literary production
* their development of research and writing skills
* productive and informed critical reflection on both critical and political agendas of literary studies and on their own place within theoretical positions


Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

* End of Academic Year MA English Literature Dissertation (15,000 words). (100%)


Formative assessment and feedback

Verbal feedback in tutorial sessions on the secondary reading covered and the research context explored, as well as written and/or oral feedback on up to 3,000 words  of draft material), leading up to, and informing, the summative assessment at the end of the module.

Module aims

• The module aims to: produce a substantial, highly-accomplished analysis of a literary subject
• reflect on and engage with the specific challenges of methodology in literary studies
• identify the specific theoretical challenges posed by a project of this kind, and to reflect on and engage with these challenges
• build confidence in critical analysis and close reading in a well-informed and productive way
• develop theoretically-informed critical writing, and gain experience of the processes of editing, rewriting, analysis, investigation and research
• engage in independent guided research, exploring the history of the form, genre, mode and/or literary techniques, as well as the key critical and theoretical issues raised by their project

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

* Hone and develop students’ critical skills in analyzing texts from a range of genres: prose, fiction, poetry, drama, etc by developing their familiarity with a range of literary techniques and devices, and confidence in using critical and theoretical language

* Assist students in locating literary texts in historical and cultural contexts, and to familiarize themselves with the history of literary production by developing in them an in-depth knowledge of the literary, theoretical and historical contexts relevant to the work in the MA dissertation

* Equip students with the research and writing skills they will need to produce critically informed analyses of literary texts and engage with contemporary literary criticism by developing their experience in drawing on their own critical thinking to enhance their skills of literary analysis, and by developing more advanced independent research skills

* Facilitate students productive reflection on both the critical and political agendas of literary studies and on their own place within theoretical positions by developing their abilities in reflecting lucidly and in an informed manner on their critical goals and how they have attempted to achieve them, in planning, writing, rewriting and editing a large-scale project in English literary studies, and in producing a sizable analysis of a topic in the field of English Literature

The learning and teaching methods include:

Single-student tutorials, the exact timing of which, over the course of the year, is to be agreed between student and tutor. These 1-to-1 sessions enable tailored, highly focused and very detailed discussion of each specific project – an individualized approach that is necessary as students begin to produce unique, original research of their own.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: ELIM009

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.