Undergraduate Module Descriptor

LAW3047: Dissertation

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

You will choose your research area at the end of your second year and fill in the form that is sent to you by email. You are expected to use the summer months to do some background reading, but no written work is expected of you. No supervision takes place over the summer.

You will confirm the research question at the start of term 1 of your final year. The allocation of supervisors is confirmed by the module convenor at the start of term.

This module is essentially facilitated through individual supervision,. From September to submission in March, you will have a number of meetings with your supervisor, following a schedule set out in the module handbook..

There will be a total of six 1.5 hour taught sessions although students will not necessarily have to attend all of them. In addition, there will be six two hour peer support sessions, where students will have the opportunity to discuss their progress in a supportive environment, facilitated by a postgraduate student.

ELE is used to provide you with materials and to enable the module convenor to communicate with you throughout the duration of the module.

You will have to keep a ‘learning log’ to reflect on your research as it progresses. This is a formative part of the module (ie non-assessed) and you are encouraged to write regular entries in your journal each week to monitor and reflect on how your research is developing. As a rough guide you may wish to write one page of reflective notes per week. You and your supervisor may wish to discuss this during supervision meetings.

NOTE: If you think that as part of your research you will need to carry out interviews, issue questionnaires or undertake any other form of interaction with people, you MUST discuss this with your supervisor and ensure ethical compliance. Any such research may only proceed once ethics clearance has been acquired.

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
24	276	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	3	Individual Supervision meetings; a minimum of three hours contact is expected over the year.
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	21	Six 1.5 hour training sessions on research preparation, skills and legal academic writing and six 2 hour facilitated peer support sessions.
Guided Independent Study	12	Learning log
Guided independent study	30	Identifying and locating research materials
Guided independent study	117	Carrying out research, reading and taking notes
Guided independent study	117	Drafting and writing up

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

Yes, there will be one joint ELE page with Comparative Dissertation LAW3047A

Other Learning Resources

ELE - http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/