Course Title
Course Code
BA Thesis (Modern English Literature & Culture)
BA Thesis (Medieval English Literature & Culture)
BA Thesis (English Linguistics)
LEL999B10
LEO999B10
LET999B10
Degree Programme
Study Phase
English Language & Culture
Bachelor (3rd year)
English Department BA Thesis Document
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Definition
The BA Thesis (Dutch: bachelorscriptie) is a coherent and well-argued written account of research
based on a specific thesis or a clearly defined problem related to the field of English language,
literature, and/or culture.
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Procedure
The BA Thesis is the final stage of your BA studies. It is written in one of the three research fields of
the English Department – Modern Literature and Culture, Medieval Literature and Culture, and
Linguistics. You choose which section you want to work in, although in some years this choice may be
constrained by available staffing. The procedures particular to the three sections are to be found in the
relevant Course Descriptions.
Choice of topic
Before starting to write the BA thesis, you should decide on a topic together with your supervisor. It is
important that you bring some basic ideas about your topic to your first meeting with your supervisor.
You are expected to contribute actively to the choice of your topic. Your may have more than one idea
for a thesis. Also note that your topic may change after consultation with your supervisor and after
you read more about the topic.
Once the topic is agreed upon, you should define it clearly and indicate its broader relevance to related
areas. Most topics are aspects of a more extensive subject; therefore, you should determine the scope
of your study by making choices and restricting your field of research. In the same way, the amount of
relevant secondary literature must be kept within limits. Narrowing the scope of both your topic and
the relevant background reading can only be done after a broad exploration of the field of interest, so
that you can explicitly account for your decisions and indicate the relevance of the subject beyond the
scope of your thesis.
Your thesis must be an original piece of work, reporting on your independent research. The thesis
should not merely reproduce what others have written, but should show your own academic ability to
comprehend and interpret critically. In other words, your study must contain an evidently personal
contribution.
Approval and supervision
During the process of writing your BA Thesis, two moments of approval are required: the BA Thesis
proposal and the final version of the thesis itself.
Before you may start your BA Thesis, your supervisor has to approve your thesis proposal. The
proposal should contain the following sections:
1. your thesis or research question;
2. your research method(s);
3. the framework of your study;
4. a tentative outline of your BA Thesis;
5. bibliography.
See below for a further specification of these sections.
Your supervisor will give you advice on the direction your work is taking. S\he will also answer any
questions you have about the BA Thesis process. You may submit individual chapters or sections of
their BA Thesis for comments.
Supervisory support is guiding rather than corrective in character. It is not the purpose of the
supervisory process for supervisors to comment on entire drafts of a BA Thesis. You will not receive
detailed feedback on language errors or errors in style for each piece submitted for feedback. NB: No
comments will be supplied after the submission deadline.
Co-operation
The BA Thesis is typically an individual piece of work. In English Linguistics, joint BA Theses are
allowed in consultation with the supervisor, but only on the condition that:
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no more than three students work on a thesis together;
the total amount of work done by each student is still the equivalent of 10 ECTS;
it is precisely defined how each student has contributed to the BA Thesis.
No joint BA Theses are permitted in Medieval and Modern English Literature and Culture.
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Formal requirements
The purpose of expository academic writing such as a BA Thesis is to pass on academic knowledge.
You support your hypotheses and give your discussions a clear sense of direction and purpose. You
should not attempt to persuade the reader other than by logical argument and accumulated evidence.
You should use appropriate, academic editions of primary texts, and not simply ones that are
convenient.
The style should be academic, clear, relatively formal, and always precise. Avoid wordiness and the
use of pretentious diction. Avoid gender-biased language and derogatory or patronising terms. You
must be consistent in your choice of a particular variety of English, such as, for instance, Standard
British or Standard American English. Other standard varieties of English are of course also
permitted.
The length of a standard BA Thesis is approximately 7,000 words (6,400 words minimum and 7,700
words maximum), including notes but excluding bibliography and appendices.
Organisation
Although the precise organisation of a BA Thesis depends on the topic and the field of research, it
often consists of three main parts: the introduction, the main text, and the conclusion. It is followed
by a bibliography and possibly by appendices.
Introduction
The introduction comprises the topic of your BA Thesis, a thesis or research question, a
justification of your research, its relevance in a wider context and a motivation of the scope of your
BA Thesis, possibly a justification of the research method you have used, an overview of the main
argument of the BA Thesis, and a preliminary reference to your findings.
The thesis or research question is the essential element of the BA Thesis. If this is not clear from
the very start, you definitely run the risk of getting lost. Whether you use a thesis or a research
question largely depends on the type of study you are going to carry out. A research question can
be expected in an (exploratory) empirical study, but for most other types of studies, a thesis is most
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suitable. Of course, the thesis or research question mentioned in the research proposal will be
tentative and may well be adjusted in the course of the writing process.
Main text
If required, the main text is divided into (possibly numbered) sections, which may be subdivided
into subsections. Sections must be coherent and transitions between the sections must be adequate
and logical. In English Linguistics, the main text describes how you accomplished your study and
what you found. Make sure to announce clearly any deviation from your subject or any elaboration
on a certain detail, and mention at the conclusion of this part that you are returning to the main
line of argument. In theses on literature, the main text advances your argument in a cogent
manner, with ample attention to close readings and literary aspects. Your argument should be
constructed logically, and balance your claims with the required evidence. In most literature theses
you should avoid using too many subheadings. You should be able to structure your work with your
writing.
One paragraph or section may be devoted to the research method. Although this may not be
equally important for all types of BA Theses, it is always helpful to explain what methodology you
are using in either answering the research question or supporting the thesis. You should also make
clear the theoretical assumptions underlying your study.
Conclusion
The final part of your BA Thesis consists of your conclusion(s). A conclusion is not a summary. You
should not repeat or summarise your argument for its own sake. Instead, the conclusion should
explain the insights and realisations that follow from your argument. Your conclusions may
indicate the relevance of your insights to a wider context, including suggestions for further
research.
Bibliography
Include a bibliography of all the references that you have referred to. Do not include all the sources
you read for the thesis where you did not employ them (this leads to padded bibliographies). Do
not forget to include the details of your primary texts (where relevant). The list should be in the
appropriate format; this is likely to be the MLA manual for literature theses, and APA for the
Linguistics ones.
Formatting
Your BA Thesis must comply with the following formatting requirements:
1. Use A4-size paper.
2. Use single-sided printing.
3. Use page numbers.
4. Leave 3cm of white marginal space, so the markers can write on it if necessary.
5. Use double line spacing throughout, except for the bibliography, which may use single line
spacing.
6. Do not use anything smaller than a 12-point font for the main text. Use a plain font.
7. Refer to the appropriate style manuals concerning quoting, underlining, abbreviating, etc. in
the appropriate style.
8. Proofread your text carefully before handing in the final version.
9. Unless instructed otherwise, keep footnotes or endnotes to a minimum.
Front and back matter
Your BA Thesis must contain the following parts in order of appearance:
1. the title page, with:
a. the title. Your title should not be too long and should be an accurate reflection of the
contents of your thesis.
b. your name and student number.
c. the name and academic title of your supervisor (e.g. Dr Frank Jones).
d. the word count of your thesis (see above).
e. the date of completion.
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2.
3.
4.
5.
f. the words ‘Bachelors Thesis English Language and Culture. Faculty of Arts, University of
Groningen’.
a 200-word abstract (see below).
a list of abbreviations, if appropriate.
the text and, if any, appendices such as tables, extracts from important source texts, etc.
a bibliography, which contains all the literature that you have used for your BA Thesis,
including editions (in particular for literary texts). Present your bibliography in accordance with
the appropriate style sheet.
Submission
You should submit two hard copies of your BA Thesis to your supervisor by the published deadline. An
electronic copy should be submitted through Ephorus on Nestor.
Resubmission
This takes place before the end of the semester in which a thesis was begun. A resubmitted thesis that
is sufficient has its grade capped at 6.
Failed resubmission
A student who resubmits a thesis and fails may write another thesis on a different topic in the
following semester. This thesis is marked on the 1-10 scale. If this fails it may be resubmitted for a
maximum grade of 6.
Note that you may not have the same supervisor. Effectively, this is the equivalent of repeating the
non-taught part of the thesis course.
Extensions
Students may be granted extended deadlines for the usual reasons (e.g. serious illness). A student
should apply for an extension before the deadline.
Extensions may lead to students being registered for a longer period of time than usual. Some
extensions may entail delays in grading if work is submitted near holidays, exam weeks etc. Students
with extensions should bear in mind BSZ cut-off times for applications for the MA if this is relevant to
them (the department may give an extension, but the graded work may not be registered in time for
MA progression).
A student with an extension that hands in a resubmission that fails during the semester after the
original one may have to wait until the following semester to begin again.
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Assessment
Every BA Thesis will be marked by your supervisor and a second reader. The second reader will be an
independent assessor of your work and is not directly involved in the supervision. If the subject of
your BA Thesis falls within the scope of different areas of expertise, the second reader may be a
member of staff from another section of the Department.
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Finishing the thesis procedure
After final completion of your thesis, you must hand in a copy of your BA Thesis to be stored in the
English Department archives. You have to submit a PDF version of your BA Thesis to the Office of
Student Affairs (Bureau Studentzaken (BSZ)). Please refer to their website for more information.
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