FTA541 / September 2019

COURSE SCHEDULE / CONTENT OF THE COURSE

WEEK DATE CONTENT READING / NOTES

Course Briefing
1
02/09/19-
Introduction:
06/09/19
Knowledge and
Ways of Knowing

09/09/19- Research and Supervision Session 1:

2 13/09/19 Different Modes of Enquiry 11 SEPTEMBER 2019

16/09/19- Finding a Topic:

20/09/19 Developing a Thesis, and
3 Choosing Object of Study

From Introduction to Supervision Session 2:

4 23/09/19- Conclusion: 25 SEPTEMBER 2019
27/09/19 Structuring Your
Research Paper

30/09/19- Literature Review as/and

5 04/10/19 Theoretical Framework

07/10/19- Research Design Supervision Session 3:

6 11/10/19 and Methods 09 OCTOBER 2019

14/10/19- Data Analysis and Discussion

7. 18/10/19

21/10/19- Language and Writing Style Supervision Session 4:

8. 25/10/19 23 OCTOBER 2019

26/10/19- MID-SEMESTER BREAK/

03/11/19 DEEPAVALI HOLIDAY

04/11/19- Mechanics, Punctuation, and Supervision Session 5:

9 08/11/19 Style of Referencing 06 NOVEMBER 2019

11/11/19- Supervision / Workshop

10 15/11/19

18/11/19- Blended Learning

11 22/11/19

12 25/11/19- Supervision / Workshop Submission:

Early Draft of Academic Exercise
29/11/19 27 NOVEMBER 2019

13 02/12/19- MINGGU KARYAONE

06/12/19

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14 09/12/19- Supervision / Research Seminar Presentation:

13/12/19 Workshop 11 DECEMBER 2019

14/12/19- REVISION WEEK

22/12/19

23/12/19- SPECIAL BREAK:

29/12/19 CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS

Submission:
30/12/19-
FINAL SEMESTER EXAM Final Draft of Academic Exercise
20/01/20 Date: TBA

21/01/20-
SEMESTER BREAK
23/02/20

ASSIGNMENT BRIEF AND ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Students must successfully complete all of the three (3) Methods of Assessment listed below in
order to achieve a passing grade in FTA541.

ACADEMIC EXERCISE
Each academic exercise project will be supervised by a member of academic staff, who will be
available as needed. The supervisor will keep an eye on the scope of the exercise, the proposed
development of the argument, timing and details of presentation. Students will be expected to work
out and adhere to a research plan and to consult their supervisor regularly about the progress of the
exercise. More importantly, students are required to submit two drafts (early and final drafts) of their
work by the due date. Failure to comply with the due dates might affect the mark for the ongoing
assessment (worth 60% of their final mark for this course). This being the case, students must treat
the due dates very seriously.

Students have a choice of three forms of academic exercise: critical essay, research paper or
project-based research proposal, any of which should be 7,000-9,000 words in length (from
introduction to conclusion).

I. Critical Essay
A typical form of critical essay is textual analysis in which students will choose specific texts (one or
more) – e.g., films, dramas, theatrical performances, novels, short stories, animated works, and
television programmes – and perform a close reading or analysis. The reading or analysis should be
based on the essay’s central argument (thesis statement). Therefore, students are required to
construct an argument consisting a set of sound premises from which a conclusion can logically be
drawn.

The structure of the essay should be as follows:

1. Introduction – often explains the purpose, rationale, and argument of the essay. The
introduction should also include: literature review as / and theoretical framework.
2. Body – should be arranged or divided into different texts, themes or topical issues. These
sections entail students’ close reading or analysis of their chosen text(s). The reading or
analysis should be concerned with some interpretations or discourses, drawing on a specific
conceptual or theoretical framework while at the same time being supported by secondary
literature.
3. Conclusion – should consider a range of implications and amplify the argument made
throughout the essay.

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II. Research Paper

A research paper reports the methods and results of an original study or research performed by
students.  In all cases, raw data will be collected and analyzed by students, and conclusions drawn
from the results of that analysis. Students are required to conduct some field research, which entails
specific methods such as interview, focus group, survey, and participant observation. The topic often
revolves around aspects of creative industries (for example, patterns of consumption or audience
analysis; history and development of specific institutions or organisations; copyright and intellectual
property legislation).

The structure of the research paper should be as follows:

1. A brief introduction explains the purpose and rationale of the students’ research.
2. A literature review section includes a review of the existing literature on the topic studied. 
This is important because it demonstrates that students are aware of existing studies, and are
planning to contribute to this existing body of research in a meaningful way (that is, they are
not just doing what others have already done).
3. A methods section, where students describe how they collected and analyzed data.  This
section is quite detailed, as it is important that other researchers be able to verify and/or
replicate these methods.
4. A results section describes the outcomes of the data analysis. Charts and graphs illustrating
the results are typically included.
5. In the discussion / conclusion, students explain their interpretation of their results and
theorize on their importance to existing and future research.

III. Project-Based Research Proposal

A project-based research proposal requires students to plan, design and propose a creative project
based on their specialised field of study: short film productions, novels or short stories, acting or
theatrical performances or productions, art-related event management, and animated works, among
others. The proposal should highlight various components of research, from selected previous
literature or creative works (texts) to primary (empirical) data (if necessary).

The structure of the project-based research proposal should be as follows:

1. Introduction: should address the rationale – why do students intend to carry out the
project? Why are they interested in the project? Does the creation of the work need to
answer specific research questions, prove certain arguments, or experiment with
something new and innovative? What is the key idea or concept that informs the
work? What will the work finally demonstrate?
2. Approaches / Frameworks: What materials will the work use or require? Who is
involved and why? Why do students think their work is best tackled the way they
propose? What conceptual or theoretical framework will the work draw on? What are
the existing literature or creative works that can be mainly referenced?
3. Research Design / Methods / Process: How will the actual production take shape?
How will it be organised over the period allocated for the work? What do students
think their biggest problems will be (scale, material, personnel, etc.), and how do they
propose to resolve them? Does the work / project involve field research, and what
research methods will the project employ?

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Ongoing Progress and Early Draft (30%)

Criteria for the assessment of ongoing progress and early draft are as follows:

CRITERIA DETAILS MARKS

SUPERVISION &  Five supervision sessions (minimum) 10%

ONGOING  Evidence of research progress for each session
PROGRESS

EARLY DRAFT  Early draft of research paper (7,000-9,000 words) – 20%

submitted before Research Seminar Presentation

30%

Final Draft (40%)

Criteria for the assessment of academic exercise final draft are as follows:

CRITERIA DETAILS MARKS

CONTENT  the originality, inventiveness and insightfulness of the 20%

argument put forward
 systematic organization and review of the literature (for
example, grouped around themes or chronology or
approaches)
 demonstration of a clear understanding and effective
deployment/application of the (key) concepts, theories
and methods / methodologies
 discussion of results/findings makes reference to, and is
dovetailed well with, the main aims and objectives of the
academic exercise
 clear introduction describing the context and the setting
of the research paper
 effective conclusion considering a range of implications
and amplifying the arguments made throughout the
exercise

RESEARCH /  evidence of individual initiative and resourcefulness in 10%

REFERENCES research and writing
 the ability to cite appropriate evidence in support of the
argument
 the use of relevant references

PRESENTATION /  clear structuring of the paper, in terms of, for example, 10%
STRUCTURE / introduction, conclusion, headings/sections, and
LANGUAGE & signposting
WRITING STYLE  clarity and cogency of expression and argument
 competent and correct use of grammatical and scholarly
conventions, e.g. punctuation, sentence structure,
spelling, references, notes, etc.

40%

Format
All papers are to adhere to the following requirements:
1. Must include name of writer, organizational address, title of paper, and so forth
2. Font size of 12, TIMES NEW ROMAN, double-spaced
3. Format of paper to be written in APA style; references at the end of the paper

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Submission of Final Draft

The deadline for submission of the academic exercise final draft will be determined by the faculty
(normally during the first Final Exam week). Students are required to submit both hard and soft copies
of their academic exercise final draft to the academic affair’s office.

Research Seminar Presentation (30%)

Students are required to deliver a formal, oral presentation of their methodology and findings to
examiners (among supervisors) and fellow students, which will take place at the end of semester,
worth 30% of their final mark for this course. The Seminar Presentation should be about 15 minutes in
length, followed by 10 minutes of discussion/answer-question session.

The presentation is meant to be a dialogue between students and their research paper reading
committee (supervisors). The Seminar Presentation should occur before the submission of the final
draft. Assessment of this is both formative and summative, as it provides feedback which can then be
taken into consideration by the student before submitting the final draft of the critical essay or
research paper.

In order to be permitted to present in the research seminar, students are required to submit
the early draft of their academic exercise. Failure to do so might result in students not being
permitted to deliver their presentation.

Criteria for the assessment of research seminar presentation are as follows:

CRITERIA DETAILS MARKS

RESEARCH  Problem statement 10%

 Literature review and references
 Research methods / theoretical frameworks

OVERALL  Argument / Hypothesis 12%

CONTENT  Data analysis, interpretation and discussion
 Effective application of concepts or theories
 Conclusion

DELIVERY  Clarity and eloquence of expression in terms of oral 8%

presentation skills
 Creativity and professionalism in terms of presentation
style

30%

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:

Attendance
ABSENTEEISM – Please refer to Peraturan Akademik Diploma and Sarjana Muda UiTM (Pindaan
2017 – Bilangan 1) that states: Students who do not attend classes up to 80% of contact hours
WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to sit for Final Exams, or their Final Coursework will not be assessed.
If students are unable to attend a lecture for a good reason then, where possible, they should notify
the lecturer in advance, and always follow up with appropriate documentation, usually a doctor’s or
counselor’s certificate.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism means copying or imitating language and ideas of another author and presenting them as
your own work. In the writing of essays the most common form of plagiarism is copying passages
from books, articles or internet sources without proper acknowledgement of the source. The source

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must be cited both in cases of a direct quotation and in cases where students have re-written or
paraphrased the original. The aim of an essay is to present your own argument in your own words. It
is usual and indeed commendable to refer to the work and ideas of others as well, but for the most
part the analysis, argument, and language must be your own.

Plagiarism is totally unacceptable because it is a form of intellectual dishonesty, because the person
concerned is not learning to do things for him/herself, and because it is extremely unfair to students
who do their own work.

Plagiarism is a serious academic offence that will result in appropriate penalties, to be determined at
the discretion of the course lecturer in consultation with the faculty’s divisional chair. Plagiarism
includes submitting the same work to more than one lecturer for credit in different courses without
prior written permission from the lecturers. Penalties will range from failure of an assignment to
possible failure of the course. It is recommended that students consult the Policy on Plagiarism
published by UiTM (“Dasar Plagiarisma UiTM dan Pelaksanaannya”).

Late Submission of Work

Students must treat their deadlines seriously. All coursework should be submitted on time. Work
submitted after the due date will be heavily penalized. If you think you might have problems
completing or submitting an assignment please contact the course lecturer (in advance) to discuss the
situation.

Lecturer:
NORMAN BIN YUSOFF
Room 15-2-6 (Block 6)
Phone: 03-79622184
Email: normyus@hotmail.com
Consultation Time: Tuesday, 10.30am-12.30pm; 2.00-4.00pm

Lecture: Wednesday 6.00pm – 10.00pm (Film and Creative Writing: 6.00-7.30pm; Theatre,
Creative Industry Management and Animation; 8.30-10.00pm)
DEWAN SEMINAR FiTA 2, Academic Building, UiTM, Puncak Perdana Campus

Prepared by: Certified by:

........................……….. ..........................................

NORMAN BIN YUSOFF WAN AINAA ATIQAH MOHD ISMADI

Date: 03 September 2019 Faculty Course Coordinator
Date: