Thesis Writing Workshop

For both sessions of this course, students receive a grade of either course requirements satisfied (CRS) or course requirement not satisfied (CRN). This course will build on students’ research skills and knowledge in literary and cultural studies, drama and creative writing, and will equip them with the tools needed to write a well-researched and critically-engaged thesis at honours level and beyond. The Semester 1 iteration of the course will focus on guiding students through the initial research and writing of a portion of their own thesis project. This will involve three elements: 1) locating and evaluating secondary material relevant to their topic; 2) developing a critical framework which is appropriate for the discussion and analysis of their primary text/s (whether poetry, fiction, drama, film, or other cultural texts); and 3) drafting and revising a section of the thesis itself. The Semester 2 iteration of the course will build on the skills developed in Semester 1, continuing to provide a space where students can share, present on, and workshop portions of their thesis across the second half of the honours year. It will help students to collectively troubleshoot elements of their thesis writing; refine their research skills and argumentative structure and their skills at professionally presenting their work. Through each stage of the process students will exchange their work with their peers for discussion and feedback. The aim of the course is to enable and encourage students to position their work clearly in relation to existing scholarship and critical debates on their topic, and to articulate their own intervention with clarity and persuasiveness. Students undertaking English Honours need to enrol in this course for both Semester 1 and Semester 2. In 2025 the course will run in Semester 1 as an intensive in weeks 7-12. In Semester 2 it will be taught in a weekly seminar from week 3 onwards.