| Unit name | Independent Research Project |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MODL20031 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Debbie Pinfold |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
ONE OF: FREN20077 French in the World; GERM20057 Overcoming Empire; HISP20127 Rewriting Spain: Literature , Culture and identity (1850-present); HISP20128 Visual Politics: Latin American and Iberian Cinema and Art; ITAL20049 The Idea of Italy; RUSS20060 Engineers of the Human Soul. |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
N/A |
| School/department | School of Modern Languages |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
This unit is available only to Single Honours students of French, German, Italian, Russian or Spanish, who are by definition specialists in a particular discipline. It offers you an early opportunity to identify and pursue an area of special intellectual interest drawn from your departmental showcase unit, and to work with a supervisor from your department to write an independently conceived and researched piece of work. Apart from being a satisfying intellectual exercise in itself, this is also excellent early preparation for the MODL30005 Independent Study unit which is mandatory for all Single Honours students in final year.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit takes as its starting point your work on your departmental showcase unit. It encourages you to identify a particular aspect of that unit and to build on it in a creative way, supported by a project supervisor, in order to produce a piece of independently conceived and researched written work. It will develop your academic potential as a subject specialist in line with the Bristol Skills Profile (BSP 1-3) and your confidence in working independently (BSP 4).
An overview of content
In discussion with the lecturers, you will identify a topic of particular interest from your departmental showcase unit. You will be assigned a supervisor from your department who will meet with you in individual tutorials to discuss your work and who will provide feedback on an initial topic proposal and indicative bibliography. This will support you in producing an individually conceived and researched piece of written work.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
This unit is an early opportunity to develop your academic potential as a subject specialist. It will increase your confidence in pursuing and researching your own academic interests and thus your sense of intellectual autonomy. It will provide opportunities to develop your skills in articulating your ideas, both orally and in writing. It will also help you to develop transferable skills in independent time and workload management.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit students will be able to:
This unit is an extension of your departmental showcase unit in that it allows you to identify a topic from that unit that you wish to pursue in greater depth. Your work for the Independent Research Project is thus supported in part by the teaching activities for the showcase unit in question, but it must extend beyond it through your individual research and discussions with your project supervisor. The formative topic proposal and indicative bibliography that you will submit to your supervisor for feedback will enable you to shape your project in individual discussion with a subject specialist, enabling you to develop your own potential as a specialist in your discipline and the confidence to articulate your own ideas and arguments both orally and in writing.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Topic proposal, 300 words (0%, Not Required for credit)
Indicative bibliography (0%, Not Required for credit)
You will be asked to submit these pieces to your supervisor for discussion and feedback to help you shape your final project.
Tasks which count towards you unit mark (summative):
Essay, 3,000 words (100%) [ILOs 1, 2, 3 and 4]
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. MODL20031).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
