Unit information: Dissertation in 2022/23

Unit name	Dissertation
Unit code	LAWD30132
Credit points	40
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Dr. Bell
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one
School/department	University of Bristol Law School
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Unit Information

This unit will enable students to carry out an extended piece of individual, legal research, resulting in a 10,000 word dissertation and a 1,000 word blog. This will be done under the close supervision of a member of staff, who will provide overall guidance and support and give successive rounds of feedback to the student on a detailed plan, chapter and full draft of the dissertation.

Your learning on this unit

By the end of this unit a successful student will be able to:

1. Demonstrate that they can carry out independent legal or socio-legal research.
2. Demonstrate in-depth understanding of primary and secondary sources in their subject area.
3. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of a given topic and critically engage with it.
4. Demonstrate that they can plan and investigate a theory or argument in a particular area of law.
5. Demonstrate they can construct and sustain a coherent argument through an article-length dissertation
6. Demonstrate that they can summarise a complex argument in blog-form, using a more accessible and informal style of writing, as appropriate to this format.

How you will learn

Five introductory lectures and structured contact with Project Adviser.

How you will be assessed

2 x summative assessments:

• 10,000 word dissertation (90%) (ILOs 1-5)
• 1,000 word blog (10%) (ILO 6)

The assessments will assess all of the intended learning outcomes for this unit.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LAWD30132).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.