Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the

Master´s Dissertation (MD)

Type: Intervention Proposal

Master´s Degree in
Teaching English as a
Foreign Language
 Table of contents
1. General information 3
1.1. Discurse line 3
1.2. General structure and length of the MD 4
1.3. Formats and work templates 5
1.4. Aesthetics and writing style 6
1.5. APA style 8

2. Document structure 9
2.1. Abstract 9
2.2. Introduction 9
2.2.1. Justification of the research question and
problem 10
2.2.2. Brief analysis of the state of the art 10
2.2.3. Objectives of the study 11
2.3. Literature review 12
2.4. Intervention proposal 13
2.4.1. Aims of the proposal 14
2.4.2. Educational context and/or Target group 14
2.4.3. Timing 15
2.4.4. Methodology of the proposal 15
© Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR)

2.4.5. Sessions and activities 15

2.4.6. Assessment 16
2.5. Discussion 17
2.7. Limitations and prospective 18
2.8. References 19
2.9. Annexes 19
 1. General information
This document provides indications for the elaboration of your MD. Like any
academic document, it follows a formal structure and a line of speech that should
facilitate its reading and reflect the work you have been doing during these months,
corresponding to a load of 12 ECTS. In order to prepare it, you will have a template
in the virtual classroom that you will have to download and use from the first
moment. It is the basis for the delivery of all the drafts, respecting their general
structure and the predefined styles that are also explained in this document.

A MD is a work of an academic nature. It collects some kind of contribution in a field

of knowledge that demonstrates the knowledge acquired in the subject. It is
important for the following reasons:
 Its structure demonstrates your ability to present the content in an organized
way, adjusting to the guidelines of the degree and facilitating its reading.
 Its content reflects the results of your work and reflects the acquisition of skills
of the degree.
 It is the document that will be received by the tribunal that will finally grade it
using the evaluation rubric, evaluating the quality of both the structure and the
content.

1.1. Discurse line

A MD is a personal work that you will do on a subject previously agreed with your
director. The MD must fit that topic and address its most important aspects. The key
to doing a good MD is to determine and explain correctly what the objective is: What
do you want to achieve with the realization of this MD? It should also explain why the
topic was chosen and why other aspects are not included in it.

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
A good MD has a very concrete structure: it starts from that objective and explains
why it is relevant. Subsequently, the study of literature is developed to achieve (and
demonstrate) a sufficient mastery of the subject matter to accomplish this objective.
That is to say, you will have to consult diverse sources, to document yourself, but not
with the eagerness to gather data, but because these sources must serve to achieve
the objective that you try to reach with your MD. It is vital that all the sources used
are cited and referenced in an appropriate manner to avoid plagiarism.

A MD is an academic work and as such you will have to take care of the lexicon and
the grammatical structures used for its writing. It must be clear, concise and use
formal language. It is not appropriate to write it in the first person ("I intend, what I
want to do..."); but in an impersonal way (it is intended, it is necessary...) or through
the use of the plural of modesty or authorship (we intend, what we want to do...)

1.2. General structure and length of the MD

The MD follows a fixed general structure, defined to reflect what has been explained
in the previous section and to homogenize the different works facilitating their
reading and interpretation. The main sections are as follows:

 Cover: Respects the format and structure defined in the template. It is necessary
to fill in all its sections, including the title of the work. This should explain the
subject of the work in a clear and concrete, it is recommended to use sentences
of about twelve words, without abbreviations, trying to answer the what, how and
where of the work.
 Abstract: At the beginning of the work you should include a summary of 150
words. You will also indicate 3 to 5 descriptors (keywords) that allow the work to
be properly catalogued. You can use dictionaries to translate a term and prepare
the abstract, but this has to be written, like the rest of the work; it is not advisable
to take the literal translation of a computer translator.

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
 Numbered indexes: Separate "Table of contents", "Index of figures" and "Index of
tables", as appropriate. Each index should begin on a new page in the document.
 Section development: the content of the MD is structured in numbered sections
that begin on a new page.
 Bibliographic references in APA format from all sources cited in the paper.
 Annexes: these are optional sections that contain elements that complement or
extend the information in the work.

Point 2 describes each of the sections of the MD in greater detail.

The minimal length is of 40 pages, without counting cover, indexes and annexes
(maximum 70 total).

1.3. Formats and work templates

For the elaboration of the MD you must use the template available in the virtual
classroom. Do not modify the styles defined in this template: margins, line spacing,
typefaces, etc. If you have any doubts, you can consult these formats below.

The work must be written in A4 page size with the following margins:
 Left: 3,0 cm.
 Right: 2,0 cm.
 Top and bottom: 2,5 cm.

Paragraph formatting in the main text ("Normal" template style):

 Calibri 12, justified, spaced 1.5, spaced paragraphs 6 points, no indentation.

Titles:
 First level (template style "Title 1"): Calibri Light 18, blue, justified, spaced
1.5, spacing between paragraphs 6 points, no indentation.

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
  Second level (style of template "Title 2"): Calibri Light 14, blue, justified,
spaced 1.5, spacing between paragraphs 6 points, no indentation.
 Third level (template style "Title 3"): Calibri Light 12, justified, spaced 1.5,
spacing between paragraphs 6 points, no indentation.

Footnotes:
 Calibri 10, justified, single line spacing, paragraph spacing 0 points, no
indentation.

Tables:
 Title at the top of the table (style of template "tables"): Calibri 12, bold,
justified.
 Source of the table at the bottom. Calibri 12, centered. The typography of
the tables can be reduced to 9 points if it contains a lot of information. If the
table is very large, or has many columns, it can also be placed in landscape
inside the sheet.

Figures:
 Title and font at the bottom (template style "figures"): Calibri 12, italic,
centered.

Header and footer:

 All pages will have a header with the student's full name and MD title.
 All pages will also have a footer with the page number.

Intermediate drafts should be submitted in Word format. The final document must be
submitted in PDF format.

1.4. Aesthetics and writing style

It is essential that the MD looks elegant and correct. It is an academic work and must
reflect the maturity and educational level of a person who has completed an

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
undergraduate or postgraduate study. Keep in mind the following recommendations
in each, and every delivery you make and especially in the final deposit of the
document:

 Verify the originality of the document, making sure that you quote all the sources
consulted and that there are no texts written by others without referencing them
correctly.
 Take care of the presentation of the work. Check that formats such as font and
size, number of pages, headings, paragraph justification, spacing, etc., are correct.
 Check spelling and writing. Use the Word proofreader to make sure you haven't
left any typos. A careful reading of the document will also help you detect typos,
omissions or redundancies. If possible, ask someone close to you to read it and
give you their opinion on the wording. Pay special attention to the following:
- Check that the paragraphs follow a logical order or thread.
- Verify that the information is presented in a way that makes it easier to
understand, defining the necessary concepts and including relevant
bibliographic citations.
- Eliminate paragraphs that are too short. Each paragraph should have at
least three sentences.
- Eliminate superfluous phrases and repetitions of ideas.
- Always write at least one introductory paragraph in each section,
explaining what you are going to deal with in that section. Avoid two
consecutive level headings without any text in between.
 Go over the bibliographic citations. Check that all of them are correct and follow
the APA regulations.
 Make sure the figures and tables look clear and correct, that you allude to them
in the text ("as you can see in figure 3...") and include number and title, as well as
their origin or source.
 Check that the indexes are generated correctly.

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
1.5. APA style

In all the degrees of the Faculty of Education, the APA Regulations are used to cite
and reference bibliographic sources. Remember that you have a guide with
explanations and examples in the section “Quotations and bibliography” of the virtual
classroom: https://bibliografiaycitas.unir.net/

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
 2. Document structure
This section describes in greater depth the structure and contents expected in each
section of your MD. Read it carefully and compare it with the weekly schedule that
you will find in the virtual classroom, as in each draft you will have to deliver different
sections that are explained below and that are elaborated in a non-linear way.

2.1. Abstract

The abstract is written in last place since it collects the most important contributions
of the work. It is necessary to have very clear and complete each part of the
document to be able to summarize it correctly.

It will have a maximum extension of 150 words and should offer a global vision of
what the reader will find in the work, highlighting its fundamental aspects. You should
clearly indicate the main objective of the work, the methodology followed to achieve
it, the results obtained, and the main conclusion drawn.

Next, you will indicate from 3 to 5 keywords as descriptors of the work that frame it
in certain themes. They will be used to locate your work if it becomes published.

2.2. Introduction

The introduction presents the work to the reader: why the topic has been chosen,
what personal interest one has in this work (using an academic and impersonal
formula), what are the problems that have been found and that are posed, what
results one wants to achieve with the work and how one is going to approach it.

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
This introduction will also include the following sub-headings: justification, brief
analysis of state of the art, and objectives of the work.

2.2.1. Justification of the research question and problem

This section should present the object of study and justify its importance for the
educational and scientific community.

The reading of this section should give a clear idea of the reasons, motives and
interests that have led to the choice of this topic. Remember that in order to justify
this work there must be references to the literature that you have previously
consulted on the subject under study, regardless of whether other sections are later
explored in greater depth.

It is important that you reflect the motivations, needs or problems that you have
detected and that give meaning to the project you are proposing. In short, in this
section it must be clear what you intend to achieve with the performance of your
work.

2.2.2. Brief analysis of the state of the art

It is necessary to describe briefly and objectively the shortcomings observed, with

specific data from studies and analyses, about which you have read. Needs can also
be raised based on recent news, research, etc.

This section is, therefore, based on collecting and summarizing the current situation
as it relates to your topic.

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
2.2.3. Objectives of the study

The objectives, both general and specific, guide the work, influence the approach and
methodology, and must be taken up again in the conclusions to examine their
fulfilment. They must reflect exactly what the work is intended to achieve. That is
why it is important:

▸ That they are well enunciated. They must be clear and concise. They are
written in infinitive using verbs such as: DEFINE, EXPOSE, EXPLAIN, IDENTIFY,
SHOW, ARGUE, CHECK, EXEMPLIFY, ORDER, RELATE, APPLY, DEMONSTRATE,
CALCULATE, CLASSIFY, CONSTRUCT, DESIGN, MEASURE, USE, ANALYZE,
COMPARE, DETERMINE, JUSTIFY, SELECT, EVALUATE, EVALUATE, VERIFY.

We recommend that you use Bloom's taxonomy for your writing.

▸ They must be comprehensible. At the end of the work, it must be checked

whether the objectives have been met; they must not be excessively
ambitious or numerous. Therefore, when writing them, it must be taken into
account that their achievement can be evaluated, measured or verified. They
must be capable of being reached with the accomplishment of the work. For
example, "designing a programme to promote healthy eating habits among
children" is a realistic and measurable objective, as opposed to, for example,
"eradicating childhood obesity", an objective that is too generic and imprecise
to be adequately achieved and/or evaluated in a MD.

▸ What are the differences between the general objective and the specific
objectives: The general objective indicates the purpose of the work: "to
design an intervention proposal to improve..." The specific objectives are
those that specify the actions to be carried out in order to achieve the general
objective, for example: "to carry out a bibliographic review on..."

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
It is most appropriate for a paper to have one general objective and three or four
specific objectives, although these numbers are indicative.

NOTE: If the initial objectives change as you progress through the work, you can
modify them to be consistent with the content of the MD.

The length of this first section of Introduction will be between 3 and 5 pages,
approximately.

2.3. Literature review

The theoretical framework is the theoretical foundation of the topic studied. It is a

question of gathering and writing the published information on the subject and
presenting it in a clear and concrete way: defining the most important basic concepts,
remembering the precedents of the subject, etc. To do so, you will have carried out
a bibliographical review selecting the most relevant sources for the preparation of
this section.

In an introductory way, a brief explanation of the method used to search and select
the bibliography can be included. It is also convenient to point out the reasons that
have led to this selection. The review will then be presented in a well-organized
manner, clearly defining its general scope. In addition, the parts it consists of should
show a logical development.

As an aid, a series of questions are presented that can guide reflection on how to
structure the theoretical framework:
▸ What are the recent theoretical-methodological proposals that guide the
proposed topic?

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
 ▸ Is there one or more theories or didactic orientations that apply to the
problem, how do they differ, how do they complement each other?

▸ What are the key concepts of these theories or didactic orientations

applicable to the resolution of the detected problem or deficiency and which
should be explicit in the theoretical framework?

At the end of this section we recommend a brief summary of the contributions that
channel the work and that will serve, in the conclusion, to analyze the scope and
limitations of the MD.

Remember that you must properly reference the bibliographic sources that you cite
in the text. In the classroom you have more information on how to include the
citation or comment according to the APA regulations. It will be helpful to attend
seminars on good practices in information management, APA Regulations and
academic writing.

The theoretical framework can be between 10 and 15 pages in length. For ease of
reading, it divides the content into sections and sub-sections whose unity is in
accordance with the conceptual basis of the proposal.

2.4. Intervention proposal

In this part of the development of the work, it will be important to explain in detail
that practical proposal or project that responds to a need detected in the educational
field. The proposal must be credible, achievable and follow all the characteristics of
content and form that it should have if it were to be implemented in an educational
center.

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
This section should begin with a presentation of the proposal. It will try to relate the
theoretical framework described above with the general objective of the MD that is
intended to be achieved through this intervention proposal.

2.4.1. Aims of the proposal

The general objective and the specific objectives to be achieved with the intervention
proposal, written in infinitive, are specified.

General objective: what we intend to achieve with the proposal and what we do it
for.

Specific objectives: what we need to achieve the general objective.

Since the contextualization is in Spain, the basic competencies that are developed
with the objectives that have been proposed will be added. The basic competences
allow us to focus our interest on the essential learning that students have to acquire
during their educational stage: mathematical competence, competence to learn to
learn, social and civic competence, etc. The basic competences will be put in function
of the Autonomous Community in which we place the intervention proposal (most
are equal, but some communities add some more).

2.4.2. Educational context and/or Target group

This section will detail the characteristics of the center and its surroundings in order
to have a precise idea of the framework in which the proposal will be built. It will also
explain in detail the group of students with whom it will be carried out.

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
2.4.3. Timing

The general temporalization of the intervention proposal must be developed (by

months, weeks, days). It is important to carry out a chronogram with this
temporalization in order to visualize it in a clearer and more direct way. The
chronogram can include the sequencing of objectives, contents, activities, etc.

2.4.4. Methodology of the proposal

In this section, everything related to the way in which you will carry out the
intervention proposal must be described, for example: methodological principles that
you will follow, forms of grouping, personal resources, material resources and spatial
resources, coordinations, etc.

The way in which the activities of the intervention are incorporated into the
programming of the center or curricular project must be specified, as well as the
areas involved.

2.4.5. Sessions and activities

It is important to describe in detail the activities that are proposed to work on the
competences that have been proposed and that should have a direct influence on
the learning process. Remember that in order to work on these aspects you can take
as a reference all the variables studied in the subjects of the Master.

To this end, the following sections will be included in each activity:

 Specific objectives of this activity.
 Development of the activity.
 Specific resources (material and personal) for this activity.
 Duration of this activity.

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
You can include material, links to websites or quotes from authors. If the material
you want to contribute can distract the reader or is too broad, you can contribute in
the Annexes of the work (at the end of this). We must be careful with the material
that contains copyright.

2.4.6. Assessment

2.4.6.1 Learning assessment

This is a very important part of the proposal. A need has been identified and that is
why this intervention proposal is being provided.

To this end, the type of evaluation (initial, continuous and final evaluation) that will
be carried out with the students with whom we have worked must be specified. In
this way we will have a general and specific vision of the effectiveness of the
proposed intervention. Therefore, the following questions must be answered:

 What is evaluated in the intervention proposal.

 Who is evaluated in the intervention proposal.
 How it is evaluated. Specify the instruments to be used for the evaluation.
 When it is evaluated.

2.4.6.2 Assessment of the proposal

Finally, we must also evaluate the proposal itself, taking into account its effectiveness
and feasibility.

It will therefore be very important to evaluate the results obtained in order to be able
to modify it, accordingly, changing the necessary aspects or advancing to the next
level in potential implementations of that proposal.

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
2.5. Discussion

It is the moment when the results obtained in the MD are examined and interpreted.
It explains the results and compares them with previous knowledge of the topic.

The discussion should therefore evaluate, analyze and qualify the implications of the
results obtained.

It should not repeat the results in detail but evaluate them.

2.6. Conclusions

As a closure of the work, you must collect the conclusions to which you have come
as a result of the work carried out and, therefore, must mark the degree of
achievement of the proposed objectives.

You must bear in mind that the conclusions are a very important part of the work.
They are the fruit of the work: the ideas that have remained after reading the
bibliography, the results that have been obtained after carrying out the work, the
reflections that have arisen after so much time working on a topic. For this reason,
no new ideas are presented in the conclusions, because they are the personal
evaluation, our final ideas about the work, hence they do not present quotes from
other authors.

If there are no results, the conclusions will be drawn from the theoretical revision
and/or the initial hypotheses. The conclusions offered must be a consequence of the
work carried out and, therefore, must indicate the degree of achievement of the
proposed objectives (each objective of the work will be linked to a conclusion). They
must answer the following questions:

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
  Although in reality the intervention is not applied in the classroom, it is
important to reflect on which of the proposed objectives can be achieved with
the intervention.
 Why the work is interesting and what it contributes.
 Highlight relevant data.
 To show one's own vision of the subject matter.

A possible outline of the conclusions would be as follows:

 It begins with a paragraph that takes up the general objective of the work and
which problem or aspect it sought to correct.
 Returns to each of the specific objectives and analyzes whether and how you
have met them.
 Argument the main contributions offered by your work. Highlight what is
relevant.
 Close this section with an especially careful sentence that shows the
contribution of your work.

It is important to keep in mind that this section closes the topic, is not a summary of
the work and should not include new data.

2.7. Limitations and prospective

In this section you should make a critical assessment of the scope and limitations of
the TFE. It offers pertinent comments about the problems or deficiencies that you
have found to develop the work (theoretical orientation, methodological, lack of
resources, need to value other variables, expand the sample, use other instruments,
etc.).

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
Next, the prospective, that is, the future lines of work and research that are opened
from this MD.

2.8. References

Once the work is finished you should check that the Bibliographic References section
contains all the citations included in the text.

If you have used an automatic system (Endnote, Refworks or Mendeley), insert the
bibliography in the appropriate option (APA).

If you have done it manually, check that everything is correct: all the references cited
in the text appear, the references are sorted alphabetically by surname, the italics
are correct, the articles have page numbers, there are no missing years or cities of
edition, all the references comply with the APA regulations, etc.

If unquoted reference material is to be added, this will be added in another section

called consulted or extended bibliography.

If you wish to add unquoted reference material, it will be added in another section
called Consulted or Extended Bibliography.

2.9. Annexes

The annexes contain everything that may be interesting for the work but is not strictly
essential, and that would distract reading if it were placed in the body: the
questionnaire used, the development of the activities of the proposal, the legislation
on the subject, and so on. Attachments may be included as necessary. These will not

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
be computed for work extension purposes. Each additional part is numbered as an
annex and offered on a different page.

Instructions for the drafting and elaboration of the MD

Master´s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language