General comments

If you wish to take an exam with Prof. Locher, please read these instructions on our website and sign up for a consultation.

BA exam

If you wish to take your BA exam with Prof. Locher, please inform yourselves about the regulations on our website (see the pdf with exam topics and the pdf with examiners) and use the following link to get access to some of the reading (Prof. Locher's topics only): Reading. Please follow the procedure of registration as described on the Dean of studies homepage.

Students are to define/choose 2 areas of specialization with one focus each (if applicable) (see Reading). The 4-hour written exam consists of one essay on only one topic. In other words, only one essay topic will be provided and you have to write about this one. There is no choice. Please read the question carefully and make a draft of how to answer the question. In answering, make sure that you actually answer the question. In other words, do not only  summarize everything you have read but make an argument that answers the question. Whenever possible, juxtapose different points of view (by the different scholars on the reading list) and give examples of your own. In addition, you should make sure that your own critical thoughts and assessment can be clearly made out.

MA (2013) in English linguistics: oral exam 

• You need to decide whether you want to be examined in "English Linguistics" or in "Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies".
• If you choose linguistics, you need to indicate two topics.
• Attention: When you come for the signature to sign up, you should already present the reading lists of the two topics, in other words, approach me early on with suggestions and/or sign up for a consultation.
• Finding topics: The topic should not be identical with the title/scope of a course previously taken; in other words, the topic cannot be a general theme in linguistics (e.g. ‘the history of English’, ‘language and emotion’, etc. is too broad). Instead, you should find a particular research focus within your field of interest and find the latest publications on this focus in the linguistic databases. Usually you will complement literature on this focus with important publications on the theme. For example, your focus might be so novel that there are no monographs published yet. In this case, the two required monographs may be on the more general theme.
• Per topic, you need to submit a reading list of 10 texts (formatted according to the departmental style sheet). Two of these ten texts have to be monographs (please recall that edited books are not monographs and check before you put a reference on the list).
• The topics and reading lists have to be approved by ML at the time of signing up for the exam.
• Two weeks prior to the exam, you send ML a document with 10 theses per topic. A thesis is a statement about the topic that can be discussed during the exam. The theses should demonstrate that you have thought about your topic and it should make links between your reading. This means that there shouldn't simply be one thesis per text. For example, find similarities and differences between the texts, comment on theory,  method, results  and - crucially - make sure to formulate your own opinion. A good thesis is one where you can talk freedly for about 5 minutes. Tip: test this ahead of time and make sure that your theses do not overlap.
• During the exam: Please bring your lists of theses and the reading lists (notes are not allowed). Each topic will be examined for 30 minutes and you have to start by explaining the title and key concepts in your title and position this topic within linguistics. Then ML will pick one of the ten thesis and you will read it out and talk freely for five minutes. After discussing the thesis further, we move to a different one, etc. After 30 minutes, we’ll move to the second topic. If the theses are not rich enough to talk for 30 minutes, ML will ask questions. Tip: The exam is in your hands if your theses do not overlap. 

MA 'Sprache und Kommunikation' oral exam 

• You need to indicate two topics. The other two topics have to be prepared for another examinor in linguistics and should not be identical or from the same field as the topics examined within English linguistics.
• Attention: When you come for the signature to sign up, you should already present the reading lists of the two topics, in other words, approach me early on with suggestions and/or sign up for a consultation.
• Finding topics: The topic should not be identical with the title/scope of a course previously taken; in other words, the topic cannot be a general theme in linguistics (e.g. ‘the history of English’, ‘language and emotion’, etc. is too broad). Instead, you should find a particular research focus within your field of interest and find the latest publications on this focus in the linguistic databases. Usually you will complement literature on this focus with important publications on the theme. For example, your focus might be so novel that there are no monographs published yet. In this case, the two required monographs may be on the more general theme.
• Per topic, you need to submit a reading list of 10 texts (formatted according to the departmental style sheet). Two of these ten texts have to be monographs (please recall that edited books are not monographs and check before you put a reference on the list).
• The topics and reading lists have to be approved by ML at the time of signing up for the exam.
• Two weeks prior to the exam, you send ML a document with 10 theses per topic. A thesis is a statement about the topic that can be discussed during the exam. The theses should demonstrate that you have thought about your topic and it should make links between your reading. This means that there shouldn't simply be one thesis per text. For example, find similarities and differences between the texts, comment on theory,  method, results  and - crucially - make sure to formulate your own opinion. A good thesis is one where you can talk freedly for about 5 minutes. Tip: test this ahead of time and make sure that your theses do not overlap.
• During the exam: Please bring your lists of theses and the reading lists (notes are not allowed). Each topic will be examined for 30 minutes and you have to start by explaining the title and key concepts in your title and position this topic within linguistics. Then ML will pick one of the ten thesis and you will read it out and talk freely for five minutes. After discussing the thesis further, we move to a different one, etc. After 30 minutes, we’ll move to the second topic. If the theses are not rich enough to talk for 30 minutes, ML will ask questions. Tip: The exam is in your hands if your theses do not overlap.