Guidelines: Oral Exam - Thematic Courses

  ^{Photo: Mikkel Grabowski}

Suggestions for your work on a short paper (synopsis) for oral exam - 15 ECTS

The written synopsis must be a maximum of 12,000 characters (incl. spaces). The total number of characters does not include: frontpage, footnotes, literatureindex, syllabus or any possible appendixes.

A synopsis is a brief analytical paper to be submitted before an oral exam. The paper presents a topic, an analytical framework for discussing the topic, the focus of discussion and a proposed structure for the discussion.

The synopsis should not provide accounts of well-known theories or concepts. The purpose of the exam is for the student to demonstrate understanding of these theories and concepts in relation to a topic that is relevant to the course.

The synopsis forms the starting point for discussion, so it is important that the synopsis is clear and that it provides the framework for discussion. It should not conclude, but open up for an oral analysis and discussion of one or more interrelated, interesting and important problems of relevance to the course materials. The quality of the synopsis influences the level of the discussion at the examination table.

The problem chosen for the synopsis should be presented and analyzed with clear references to perspectives, theories and topics from the course that are relevant to the chosen problem. The problem should be approached from a well-defined analytical perspective and limitations in time, place and perspectives should be indicated.

The synopsis can end up with either

• three or four questions directly related to the problem
  or
• a presentation of wider perspectives on the problem discussed in the synopsis that could form the basis for further elaboration during the exam.

The Oral exam

The exam takes the issue presented in the submitted synopsis as its point of departure, but also covers a broader exam within the entire exam syllabus. The exam duration is 45 minutes, including grading. No preparation time is allowed. The student should bring his or her synopsis to the exam. The grade is based on a combined assessment of the synopsis and the oral presentation.

The students are expected to start the exam by giving a brief presentation (app. 5 minutes) of the chosen topic. You don't need to repeat everything you have written, but can instead highlight the essentials and the points you want to include into the discussion. The rest of the examination will take form as a discussion between you, the teacher and the external examiner. Finally the teacher and the external examiner will discuss the presentation and decide upon a grade which you will receive immediately after.