‘The Five Essential Elements of a Thesis’ workshop is designed to facilitate the initial phase of designing and planning a large research project in the Humanities, by giving students a clear overview of the basic elements common to a thesis in Humanities disciplines. The course will introduce the Five Essential Elements of a Thesis (issue, contexts, texts, methodology and voice). After introducing these concepts, the workshop will give students the opportunity to articulate these concepts in their own projects, and to receive feedback from staff and students in the course. The course will also include a session on ‘Developing an Argument’, which develops the skills of identifying the basic elements of description, analysis and argument, and incorporating these elements in their own writing practice. The ‘Five Essential Elements of a Thesis’ aims to help students prepare for their Thesis Proposal Review, while ‘Developing an Argument’ aids students in the writing process.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
1. Become familiar with core components of a thesis
2. Articulate these components in relation to student's own project
3. Engage in critical evaluation of each of these elements in relation to the student's proposed HDR project and the projects of other students in the workshop
4. Learn how to justify choice of particular methodological approaches, and selection of texts
5. Learn to identify differences between description, analysis and argument in Humanities writing
Indicative Assessment
The course will be assessed as pass or fail. Students must gain a pass grade for each component of the assessment.
Presentation in which student explains each of the Five Essential Elements in relation to his/her thesis project (15 min) (35%) [Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4]
Analysis of student's own writing and writing of others students, using techniques taught in the workshop (five elements; description, analysis, argument) (4000wds)(35%) [Learning outcomes 4, 5]
Attendance and seminar participation, including response to other students' presentations (30%) [Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Attendance at all scheduled seminars is compulsory, except in exceptional circ*mstances. In the case of inability to attend, suitable documentation must be provided to the course coordinator [eg medical certificate]. No more than one day of the course can be missed, or a fail grade will be recorded.
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from: a) 36 hours of contact over 12 weeks: 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of workshop and workshop-like activities, and b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
Requisite and Incompatibility
You will need to contact the School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics to request a permission code to enrol in this course.
Prescribed Texts
This is a practical writing workshop. The set readings will draw from texts including The Chicago Manual of Style and Introduction to Scholarship in Modern Languages and Literatures. The Course Convenor will also provide selections from a range of contemporary essays and monographs in relevant fields for students to analyse using the writing and rhetorical techniques taught in the course.The selection will depend upon the fields in which the students are doing research.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found atFees.
Student Contribution Band:
1
Unit value:
6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit optionsbelowmay be available.
Units
EFTSL
6.00
0.12500
Course fees
Domestic International
Domestic fee paying students
Year
Fee
2019
$3360
International fee paying students
Year
Fee
2019
$5160
Note: Please note thatfee information is for current year only.
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
The list of offerings for future years is indicative only. Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Argument: what is the main idea that you are going to prove? Main points: what evidence will you use to prove your argument? Optional: Counter-argument: an alternate theory or an opinion contrary to your argument.
What is the proper length of a thesis statement? The short answer is: one or two sentences. The more in-depth answer: as your writing evolves, and as you write longer papers, your thesis statement will typically be at least two, and often more, sentences.
Writing well isn't that difficult if you follow the 3 Cs – Clarity, Conciseness and Consistency. Here are some tips for achieving the 3 Cs. Clarity – Put yourself in your readers' shoes.
A strong thesis statement expresses one main idea.
Readers need to be able to see that your paper has one main point. If your thesis statement expresses more than one idea, then you might confuse your readers about the subject of your paper.
To help me accomplish that task, I distilled the writing advice I've read and received over the years into the four Cs—clear, concise, correct, and compelling.
The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the author's claim is true. A thesis statement for such a paper could be that “every student should be required to take a gap year after high school to gain some life experience”, or that “vaccines should be mandatory”.
The introduction should include the thesis statement. It is the most important thing in your thesis. It should convey the motive of your thesis. Restate the thesis statement in the conclusion.
A thesis statement generally consists of two parts: your topic, and then the analysis,explanation(s), or assertion(s) that you're making about the topic. The kind of thesis statement you write will depend on what kind of paper you're writing.
Introduction: My name is The Hon. Margery Christiansen, I am a bright, adorable, precious, inexpensive, gorgeous, comfortable, happy person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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