You will choose a topic within one of several broad categories to be supervised by Drama and Theatre Arts staff: for example, nineteenth century theatre, opera or music theatre, or contemporary practice. The topic will then be refined through a process of discussion with other students in a series of tutor-led seminars and tutorials with a supervising member of staff, leading to the submission of a precisely defined topic.

Gibaldi, J. & Achert, W. 'MLA Style Manual'.
Gibaldi, J. & Achert, W. 'MLS Handbook for Writers of Research Papers'.
Watson, G. 'Writing a Thesis' (Longman, 1987)

The group-based section of the module will occupy the first part of Semester 5 and culminate (after a period of reflection) in the definition of your chosen topic or research and outline structure of the dissertation. By the end of the semester, you will have produced a draft introductory chapter (1,000 words) and critical bibliography. The remainder of the module will be taken up by your development of the project, supported by a series of regular consultations with the Dissertation Supervisor. This will culminate in the presentation of an 8,000 to 10,000 word dissertation with full scholarly apparatus.

IT equipment (including word-processing software)
Library holdings (inter-library loans as appropriate)
Internet servers as appropriate to the topic
CD-ROMs as appropriate to the topic