The thesis writing workshop provides an opportunity for anthropology PhD candidates at the writing up stage of their course to give and receive feedback on draft thesis chapters. Each session involves the convening staff member and 5-10 PhD students who meet to discuss a chapter of one of the candidates.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Synthesise skills necessary to organize a long (book length) piece of writing,
- Engage critical reflexive skills needed to offer constructive criticism on theses covering a wide range of topics,
- Deploy the technical research skills involved in citing and synthesizing a wide range of literature,
- Capacity to disseminate skills necessary to promote new insights to their peers and the community.
- As their chapters are critiqued by other participating group members, students also learn how to reflect on the constructive criticism of their peers and synthesize critiques from a wide range of viewpoints.
Indicative Assessment
- The course is graded on a pass/fail basis. To pass a student must attend a majority of the sessions, read and constructively critique the chapters of other students and present 15,000 words worth of writing. This could be three 5,000 word chapters, two 7,500 word chapters, or any other combination of writing that adds up to this length. Participation (10) [LO 5]
- Written chapters (90) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
The workshop meets every other week for the entire year. Four sessions are missed each year for vacation periods. So the workshop meets 22 times a year. Each session lasts 2 hours. Participation by individual HDR candidates begins when they are back from the field and continues based on their progress and the consent of their Chair. The course is shared with CASS Anth which takes it on Semester 1
Inherent Requirements
Students must be post-fieldwork PhD students in the anthropology program or a cognate field. Permission of the course convenor is required.
Requisite and Incompatibility
You will need to contact the School of Culture History and Language to request a permission code to enrol in this course.
Prescribed Texts
When they are not presenting one of their own chapters, students must read and critique the chapter of the student who is presenting. Most chapters are in the 5,000-10,000 word length.
Preliminary Reading
NA
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 12 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 12.00 | 0.25000 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $8640 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $12720 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4190 | 17 Feb 2025 | 24 Feb 2025 | 31 Mar 2025 | 23 May 2025 | In Person | View |
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9185 | 21 Jul 2025 | 28 Jul 2025 | 31 Aug 2025 | 24 Oct 2025 | In Person | View |