(This assignment draft is just for an idea; the references used in this draft assignment are

not authentic)
Until about the late 20th century, most universities throughout the world practiced exam
systems for Bachelor and Master’s degrees with only one module dissertation/thesis in
master’s degree for their assessments (XXX 2018:65). For exams, students had to sit for
few hours to write for each module once a year, and on the basis of their exam
performance, which is writing only, university would award marks and decide pass or
fail. But at the turn of the 21st century, the exam systems were largely superseded by
assignment systems with some other class activities such as presentation, demonstration,
journal write up, etc. (Damian 2018), which have now become synonymous to
coursework. Today, most universities around the world have coursework as well as
dissertation as the part of their curriculum right from the bachelor’s program (Harrison
2019). For master’s program, some universities even have two distinct degrees – Master’s
by Coursework and Master’s by Research. This essay will describe and analyse the
differences and similarities between coursework and dissertation.

Coursework
Oxford dictionary defines coursework as ‘written or practical work done by a student
during a course of study, usually assessed in order to count towards a final mark or grade’
(2019: 203). This definition does not explicitly mention whether exams are included
under coursework or not:
Coursework is work performed by students or trainees for the purpose of
learning. Coursework may be specified and assigned by teachers, or by
learning guides in self-taught courses. Coursework can encompass a wide
range of activities, including practice experimentation, research,
and writing (e.g., dissertations, book reports, and essays). In the case of
students at universities, high schools and middle schools coursework is
often graded and the scores are combined with those of separately
assessed exams to determine overall course scores. In contrast to exams
students may be allotted several days or weeks to complete coursework,
and are often allowed to use text books, notes, and the Internet for
research (Smithson 2016: 28).

Assignment draft:

Coursework:
Syllabus structure
 Teaching methodology
Assessment system
Credit allocation
Guided hours vs independent learning hours
Class activities
Assignment format
Exam format
Mark allocation

Dissertation:

List for references:

Johnson, H. 2018.
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Contemporary Climate. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Dudley, P. R. (2001) Wavelets in Computing: An Efficient Means of Conducting
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Edwards, J. P. (ed.) (2006) Translation Theory Since 1945. Oxford: Oxford University
Press. (If no other)
Dickinson, E. (1999) The Poems of Emily Dickinson. ed. by Franklin, R. W. Cambridge:
Belknap Press
Bharvagva, S. A. (2006) The Art of Translation and the Translation of Art. trans. by
Burrows, M. K. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
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on the Ground. trans. by Colorado. J. A. Oxford: Oxford University Press (If author
him/herself as a trans)
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Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. (2003) Encyclopaedia Britannica. vol. 10. London:
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[Note: Electronic academic articles are now identified by a Digital Object Identifier
(DOI) number instead of an URL. Please use this as per the following example:
Rodgers, S. (2013) ‘The Journalistic Field and the City: Some Practical and
Organisational Tales about the Toronto Star’s New Deal for Cities’. City & Community
12(1), 56-77. DOI: 10.1111/cico.12002]
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Hatton, K. L. (2006) Engineering Since 1945 [online lecture] module 102ENG, 2 May.
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[30 September 2016] (Blog entry)
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<https://twitter.com/WriteThatPhD/status/911186304603508736> [25 September 2017]
(Social media)
Henry VII: The Winter King (2013) BBC2 [30 May, 21:00] (Broadcast or podcast)
Henry VII: The Winter King (2013) [online] BBC2. 30 May, 21:00. available from
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b021ng66/henry-vii-the-winter-king> [18
September 2017]
John Berger: The Art of Looking (2016) [DVD] BBC FOUR. 6 November 22:30
(Programme video recording from TV)
Life Tastes Good (2009) in Vanity Fair [online] 12 August. available from
<http://www.vanityfair.com/> [12 August 2009] (Online ad)
Niemann, C. (2009) ‘Sorry, but I get all the stuff I don’t need on the Internet’. The New
Yorker
[online] 10 August. available from
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August
2009] (Online art or image)
IBM (2017) IBM SPSS Statistics [online] available from
<https://www.ibm.com/analytics/us/en/technology/spss/#spss-featured-products> [4
September 2017] (Computer software/games)