Working with a designated supervisor, this dissertation option gives students the chance to produce an extended piece of supervised academic writing of 5 - 6,000 words, on any topic within the broad definition of Translation Studies that is of particular interest to the student. This can include critical discussion of existing theories and practices of literary and non-literary translation, original analyses of originals and translated texts or empirical studies of translation and interpreting practices. Working with the supervisor, students will survey relevant literature and theoretical approaches, explore primary material and develop a scholarly and coherent argumentation which displays some originality.

·         formulate a justifiable and practical research topic, including hypotheses to be tested;

·         demonstrate a detailed knowledge about a particular area of translation studies;

·         undertake a thorough review of the literature;

·         critically reflect on gaps in the literature and/or limits to current knowledge in order to identify areas for further study;

·         use empirical data, comparison and/or apply different concepts and theories to the question under study in an original manner

·         produce a sustained, well-organised, coherent argument that displays some originality on any area of translation studies

Students will be allocated a member of staff as supervisor. The supervisor will give guidance. Through regular supervisory sessions, at all stages of the module, from defining an area of study to commenting on a draft of the literature review, and subsequent chapters, the supervisor monitors progress throughout the planned timetable, advising as necessary on the completion of the successive stages of the work so as to bring about the timely submission of the review.

The student will also attend an information retrieval session provided by the library.

Students will:

·         Understand the nature of research, including developing a research question and hypotheses;

·         acquire  knowledge about a particular area of translation studies;

·         improve critical skills through analysis of  the relevant literature, empirical data etc;

·         improve capacity for original and critical  thought through the application of different concepts and theories to the question under study

·         critically reflect on gaps in the literature and/or limits to current knowledge in order to identify areas for further study;

·         practice and develop research skills and the capacity to deploy information in well-constructed arguments

·         practise and develop written presentation and work processing skills

Regular meetings with the supervisor will determine the research topic area and provide guidance and monitor progress throughout the writing of the dissertation.

Once the research topic area is determined, the student will attend information retrieval sessions tailored to their needs, provided by the library.

The supervisor will provide guidance on preliminary reading, with this supplemented by the student’s own literature search, particularly after attendance at the library information retrieval session.