Most courses require the fulfilment of certain written or oral tasks in order to complete them successfully. Some courses may conclude in a written test and/or an oral examination. The tasks required to complete a course are always determined by the lecturer, including the content and format of the tasks. Thus, you must always follow the requirements and expectations of the course. However, some general guidelines and descriptions of written and oral genres are given below. Unless the course lecturer instructs students otherwise, these apply.
Class Attendance
Students are expected to attend classes regularly. University regulations allow 3 classes of unexcused absence.
Attendance is recorded at the beginning of each session.
Students should actively engage with the course materials through vociferous class discussions, questions, interjections, dissensions, arguments, etc, so that they can all benefit the most from the courses. To this end, students are expected to attend the courses prepared with well-formulated ideas and questions from their notes on each reading or other assignment.
A student's attendance, level of interest, participation in class discussions, and improvement over the course of the semester may elevate the final grade.
Classroom Behaviour
Please arrive on time to class. Prepare to sit down for the duration of class. Silence your phone and pay attention to what is happening in the classroom. If you are using a laptop computer, focus on classroom activities.
Plagiarism and Academic Honesty
Submission of an assignment, either as an oral presentation or written paper, which contains unacknowledged work from any source will receive a zero for the given assignment. (An example would be copying a sentence from the internet, without quotation marks and a reference. The use of ChatGPT-generated texts for assignments is also considered plagiarism.) Any student who plagiarizes may receive in some cases, a failing grade for the course.
Extensions and Late Submission
If you have problems meeting the assessment requirements of the course, inform the professor prior to due dates. Late submission of any assessment task, without an extension, will attract the deduction of some (10) % of the final score. Extensions will be given for reasons of ill-health and other unforeseeable, life-affecting events. Workload is not grounds for an extension.
All exams and assignments must be completed if the student is to pass any course.
Please find the descriptions of some academic genres typically used in courses
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Résumé (French): a short summary of the important aspects and details of a text
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It is an interpretive task involving summary, analysis, (and evaluation) of a text. It is to promote refection and re-examination of initial understanding as well as clarification and organization of thoughts.
You need first to read and understand the text(s) to which you will respond. Unlike other genres of academic writing, reading response is usually written in the first person (I). You should briefly summarize the gist of what you have read and then give your reactions to the overall message of the text. The focus here is usually not on a detailed summary of everything that the text says, but on thoughtful analysis and evaluation of key points that you find significant, relevant, controversial, or problematic.
Clearly summarise what the text is about, what its subject is, and in what field the text explores it. What is the question that the text seeks to answer? Is there an initial hypothesis or does the author's position become clear as the text progresses? What is his or her position on the problem he or she is examining? What arguments does the text put forward? Does it take account of possible counter-arguments? Are there examples? Is his/her reasoning consistent, clear and precise? Does it have new concepts or does it reinterpret old ones? etc.
Unless otherwise instructed by the lecturer of the course, the average length of a resume is 7-8000 characters.
- Literature review
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Providing context based on previous academic studies for a chosen topic of interest. It may be a separate piece of writing or a part of an extended essay or dissertation. The literature review is composed with the intention to shed light on questions to be answered or gaps in the knowledge to be filled.
It requires to read into your interest and identify the studies most relevant to your chosen topic to establish a historical and theoretical framework, highlight the limitations and strengths of prior studies as well as to inform the development of your research questions, hypotheses, and methodologies. You need to cite the sources correctly and provide reasons why particular works and methods have been chosen to your endeavour. The organization of the literature review usually may be:
chronological - starting with the oldest studies progressing to recent ones,
remote to near – starting from sources generally associated with your study and moving towards more specific ones, or
thematic – by organising literature according to the objectives of your study, or the combination of these.The length of a literature review may vary between approximately 5-10.000 characters in the framework of our courses.
- Essay
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In humanities-focused academic writing, an essay serves as a platform for critical analysis through the engagement with primary and secondary sources, which may involve more qualitative exploration of texts, cultural contexts, and historical nuances. It is a fundamental form of communication that allows engagement with complex ideas, the communication of insights, and the contribution to the ongoing academic discourse.
The average length of an essay can vary depending on assignment guidelines, and the level of your study. However, a common approximation is between 7.500 to 12.500 characters. This range allows you sufficient space to develop coherent arguments and engage with relevant sources without becoming overly verbose.
- Here you can find a detailed template for essays
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Title of the course
Title
1 Affiliation (University, Department, or Program); e-mail@e-mail.com
Abstract: A single paragraph of about 200 words maximum. For research articles, abstracts should give a pertinent overview of the work. We strongly encourage authors to use the following style of structured abstracts, but without headings: (1) Background: Place the question addressed in a broad context and highlight the purpose of the study; (2) Methods: Describe briefly the main methods or treatments applied; (3) Thesis: Summarize the article's main claim; and (4) Conclusions: Indicate the main conclusions or interpretations. The abstract should be an objective representation of the article, it must not contain results which are not presented and substantiated in the main text and should not exaggerate the main conclusions.
Keywords: keyword 1; keyword 2; keyword 3 (List three to ten pertinent keywords specific to the article; yet reasonably common within the subject discipline.)
0. How to Use This Template
The template details the sections that can be used in a manuscript. Note that each section has a corresponding style, which can be found in the ‘Styles’ menu of Word.
Remove this paragraph and start section numbering with 1.
1. Introduction
The introduction should briefly place the study in a broad context and highlight why it is important. It should define the purpose of the work and its significance. The current state of the research field should be reviewed carefully and key publications cited. Please highlight controversial and diverging hypotheses when necessary. Finally, briefly mention the main aim of the work and highlight the principal conclusions. As far as possible, please keep the introduction comprehensible to scientists outside your particular field of research.
2. Thesis
A thesis is a claim which is either true or false. This is the main claim you will be making and defending in your essay. You should state your claim clearly and then try to offer a convincing defence. We expect different things from essays of different lengths. For a short essay, you will need a highly focused thesis, which makes a small claim (e.g. I will raise one important objection to x's argument and argue that s/he would need to show in order to overcome this problem). For a longer essay, there is more space to consider different options, which enables you to defend a bigger claim (e.g. I will show that in responding to a particular objection, x has three options but I will show that each is deeply problematic). So, it's important that you plan your work from the outset with a clear idea of the length of the essay, and of what you can achieve in that space.
- State a clear thesis (what are you claiming?) and think about the structure of your argument (what's the best method for proving your claim?)
- It's important that you don't simply pick something that will strike the reader as obviously true (you will need to do some work to show why this is worth spending time thinking about – why is it interesting?).
3. Discussion
Authors should discuss the thesis and how it can be interpreted in perspective of previous studies and of possible counterarguments. The findings and their implications should be discussed in the broadest context possible. Future research directions may also be highlighted.
- You need try your best to convince your reader that you're right by providing clear reasoning and justification for your claims.
- Think about your reader. Write clearly and concisely: unclear and rambling writing can make it hard for your reader to understand your points.
- You need to consider possible objections/rebuttals to your view and provide a response (the aim is to produce a water-tight argument, so you may need to consider a number of responses but focus on the most challenging).
- Highlight your reasoning using signposting words.
- Summarize your argument, emphasising the reasoned steps in your conclusion.
- There's no need to include biographical or historical information unless it affects the way you think we should interpret philosophical views. Everything you include must contribute to explaining or evaluating the ideas you discuss.
- Each body paragraph should focus on a single main point or argument related to the thesis; begins with a topic sentence that introduces the main idea of the paragraph; provides evidence, examples, and explanations to support the argument; includes analysis and critical discussion of sources or concepts; offers transitions between paragraphs to ensure the coherent flow of ideas.
4. Conclusions
Restates the thesis and summarizes the main points discussed in the essay.
Offers insights into the broader implications or significance of the arguments presented.
Avoids introducing new information but may suggest avenues for further research or thought.
This section is not mandatory but can be added to the manuscript if the discussion is unusually long or complex.5. Patents
This section is not mandatory but may be added if there are patents resulting from the work reported in this manuscript.
Funding: (not mandatory) Please add: “This research received no external funding” or “This research was funded by NAME OF FUNDER, grant number XXX” and “The APC was funded by XXX”. Check carefully that the details given are accurate and use the standard spelling of funding agency names at https://search.crossref.org/funding, any errors may affect your future funding.
Acknowledgments: (not mandatory) In this section you can acknowledge any support given which is not covered by the author contribution or funding sections. This may include administrative and technical support, or donations in kind (e.g., materials used for experiments).
References
References must be arranged in alphabetical order of the first author in the Reference list and listed individually at the end of the manuscript. We recommend preparing the references with a bibliography software package, such as EndNote, ReferenceManager or Zotero to avoid typing mistakes and duplicated references. Include the digital object identifier (DOI) for all references where available.
For the style of references see the Author’s Guideline for the Liberal Arts thesis. Find it under the Capstone Guideline heading. (https://btk.pte.hu/en/libarts/capstone-guideline)
© 2019 – 2020 by the authors. Submitted for possible open access publication under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution
Submission template by mdpi.com (Creative Commons)
Parts of the template are augmented with texts from “Warwick Philosophy guide to writing essays” University of Warwick, and also with text by the Liberal
Arts programme of the University of Pécs. - Oral presentations
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Academic oral presentations in the humanities follow a structured format with a recommended time frame between 10-20 minutes to effectively convey your research, interpretations, and insights.
Use the below guidelines to help your preparation:
Introduction to the Topic (10-15%)
Allocate approx. 1-2 minutes to set the context to the subject's significance within your field. Highlight its cultural, historical, or artistic relevance.Main Arguments/Interpretations (50-60%)
Present the key points. Each should be supported by evidence, examples, and analysis. Maintain coherence and signal transitions.Engagement with Sources (15-20%)
Spend 1-2 minutes discussing sources, their relevance, and your analytical approach.Conclusion (10% of Presentation Time)
In 1-1.5 minutes, summarize key points, restate thesis, and emphasize implications within your field of interest.Question and Answer Session (Varies)
Allocate time for your audience’s questions and concise responses to promote engagement.Do not forget to practice
Ensure smooth transitions, clarity, and adherence to time.Digital tools
Also make yourself familiar with the digital platform and tools you use or required to use to enhance your presentation. The University of Pécs uses Microsoft Teams and Moodle LMS. - Debates and dialogue
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Debates in the humanities involve structured discussions in different timeframe where engagement in informed, persuasive exchange on cultural, philosophical, or artistic topics is fostered. Participants present opposing viewpoints, analyse sources, and defend arguments, promoting critical thinking, communication skills, and the understanding of complex issues.
In dialogues students are in open exchange of ideas and viewpoints on cultural, artistic, or philosophical themes to encourage exploration, diverse perspectives, and collaborative learning to gain deeper insights.
