The thesis is a limited piece of individual scholarship that demonstrates a student's ability to conduct research and write in an analytic spirit. It is not meant to mimic a Ph.D. dissertation in either its length or thoroughness. Typical MA theses are 25-35 pages. A helpful rule of thumb might be to think of the thesis as a well researched term paper. Recent examples include theses that sketched out issues in Taiwanese cinema through a study of three films; the work of Derek Jarman seen through one of his films; key aspects of the "detour" form of the road movie where characters never reach their intended destination as seen in numerous films; a look at three Algerian-French directors and their different views of immigrant life in France, the use of still photographs in documentary films, and a study of the complex promotional and revelatory impulses at work in "making-of" documentaries about feature-fiction films.
What is the thesis supposed to be like?
