Bachelor's Thesis, Thesis Writing (2 cr)

Evaluation scale

Pass/Fail

Content scheduling

Scheduled course meetings:
- 13.1. at 14–15.30 / Start webinar (mandatory)
- 20.2. at 14–15.30 / Webinar (no recording)
- 6.3. at 14–15.30 / Webinar (no recording)

12.1. at 23:59 / Submission of the pre-assignment (3–5 pages of database) to Moodle

The remaining tasks of the course are allocated during the common meeting breaks as per the schedule posted on Moodle.

Objective

You should participate in this course after you have begun the Thesis process in your department and have already written at least three pages of the Knowledge base / Literature review section. The goal of this course is that you can identify your strengths/weaknesses and gather knowledge about formal academic text based on credible sources. You will also analyze the success of your text concerning adherence to APA guidelines and Jamk project reporting instructions.

Competences (Common competencies of Baschelor's Degrees by ARENE):
1. Learning to learn
2. Proactive development
3. Ethics
4. Operating in a workplace

Content

Direct quotations
Paraphrasing
APA citations
Formal academic style
Use of verbs
Flow of academic text

Location and time

As in schedule

Materials

Liukko, S. & Perttula, S. 2019. Opinnäytetyön raportointi. Jyväskylä: Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulu. https://help.jamk.fi/raportointiohje/fi/

Teaching methods

Online implementation with a scheduled timetable, utilizing the Flipped learning method.

The student independently studies the workspace materials and utilizes them to complete assignments for their thesis following the course's shared schedule. The learning environment is the Moodle workspace, which becomes accessible at the beginning of the course. Feedback on assignments is primarily provided during webinars. Guidance aligns with the lesson sequence in Zoom, with the link being shared on Moodle.

The course is designed for individuals working on their thesis in Finnish. A corresponding Thesis Writing program is offered for those completing a thesis in English.

Students are expected to participate in the course once they have familiarized themselves with the source material of their thesis and are actively engaged in writing the knowledge base. To confirm this, students are required to submit 3–5 pages of the knowledge base of their thesis (not the research plan) as a preliminary assignment at the start of the study period. Throughout the study period, students will write, edit, and analyze the knowledge base of their own thesis under group guidance following a shared schedule.

Please note that only those who have submitted the preliminary assignment will be officially enrolled in the course. Failure to return the preliminary assignment by the deadline will result in the registration being removed from Pep without prior notification. In such a case, the student may then register for another session.

Exam schedules

The deadlines for submitting assignments and resubmission times are available in Moodle's workspace.

The preliminary assignment must be submitted by the deadline to begin the course.

Assignment 1 must be submitted by the deadline to proceed with the study period. Submitting assignment 1 on time indicates your commitment to following the Study Course schedule. Failure to submit task 1 by the deadline will result in removal of registration from Pep, allowing the student to register for another session.

Tasks 2 and 3 can be resubmitted twice if not passed on the first attempt.

Student workload

In addition to the preliminary assignment, there are three learning assignments:
Task 1 Evaluation and discussion of the sources used in the thesis on the forum
Task 2 Writing a referencing and metatext text for the theoretical part of the thesis
Task 3 Drafting the introduction to the thesis

Orientation and getting to know the workspace 5 hrs
Independent study of course materials 10 hrs
Webinars 6 hrs
Assignments related to own thesis 30 hrs

Assessment criteria, approved/failed

The course will be marked with a ‘pass’ when all eight analysis templates have been completed successfully and the student has attended the final Show What You Know session.

Qualifications

Before registering for the Thesis Writing course, you should have already completed the Research and Development course (5 credits) and the Bachelor’s Thesis Plan (3 credits).

Further information

Feedback will be provided collectively, through peer evaluation, and individually if needed. The assessment will be based on competency goals.