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2667:assessments

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Assessments

There are two types of assessment in this unit. The first is a weekly writing assignment in which you submit a short response to the week’s topic, question or issue. You submit this on the class LMS (“Blackboard”) site each week before lecture on Wednesdays at 11:59 p.m. The second type consists of components of a semester-long, independent research project, culminating in a final essay in which you present a problem, discuss a research question which emerges from it, answer it with your own answer, and explain and argue for your answer. All these assignments are also due before lecture, on a Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.

The weekly writing assignments are meant to help you develop your thinking process. They are not graded. You get a point for submitting a genuine attempt on time. Some of the topics and claims we discuss in this class will seem very bold. You may not want to state your own view on them, or may not know exactly what you want to say. Remember that these weekly writings are ‘progress assessments’ - they are meant to give you credit for keeping in sync with the Weekly Cycle and pushing yourself (see “How this class works”). Similarly, the research assignments allow you show me your progress. Each of these have specific grading criteria in the assignment instructions online. Only the final essay, however, is a ‘product assessment’ where I will be grading you on the final, polished product. Here too, though, I will not be looking for mastery of expert knowledge, but the strength of the argument you built over the course of the semester. The final essay should have:

  • a clearly stated and relevant thesis which answers a question,
  • a developed argument and reasoning which supports this claim,
  • evidence and examples which support and substantiate the claim, showing that you’ve explored facts and ideas in detail, and
  • prose which explains and clarifies the ideas and arguments.

and will be graded accordingly to how well it measures up in each of these areas. We will discuss these assessment forms extensively in class, so feel free to ask questions.

Assessment criteria

The grading criteria for the research process assignments are explained in the instructions for each assignment. The weekly writing assignments are not graded; you receive credit for submitting a genuine attempt on time, before lecture. This unit uses standards referenced assessment for award of assessment marks. Students’ assessment will be evaluated solely on the basis of students’ achievement against criteria and standards specified to align with learning outcomes. For reference to criteria and standards, please consult the grade descriptors for at SSPS at http://sydney.edu.au/arts/sociology_social_policy/undergrad/assessment.shtml

Submission of written work

Compliance statements

All students are required to submit an authorised statement of compliance with all work submitted to the University for assessment, presentation or publication. A statement of compliance certifies that no part of the Work constitutes a breach of Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism Policy.

The format of the compliance statement will differ depending on the method required for submitting your work (see “Assessment submission”). Depending on the submission method, the statement must be in the form of: a University assignment cover sheet; a University electronic form; or a University written statement. Assessment submission is online (Blackboard) only Electronic submission of assessment tasks via the University’s Learning Management System will be required by the due date.

Assessment submission

All work in this unit is submitted online via the LMS, unless you’ve made an arrangement with me.

There is a drop box on the LMS for each assignment. Drop boxes for weekly writings will be linked under the weekly entry on the ‘Submit your ideas’ page. Each week a new entry will appear on this page for the upcoming week. It will remain until the weekly deadline before lecture, 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, before lecture.

There are separate drop boxes for each element of the essay. They are linked from the navigation column (on the left) on the site.

Essays and assignments not submitted on or before the due date are subject to penalty. Refer to http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/late_work.shtml for the Policy on Late Work.

Academic dishonesty or plagiarism

Academic honesty is a core value of the University. The University requires students to act honestly, ethically and with integrity in their dealings with the University, its members, members of the public and others. The University is opposed to and will not tolerate academic dishonesty or plagiarism, and will treat all allegations of academic dishonesty or plagiarism seriously.

The University’s Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism Policy 2012 and associated Procedures are available for reference on the University Policy Register at http://sydney.edu.au/policies (enter Academic Dishonesty in the search field). The Policy applies to the academic conduct of all students enrolled in a coursework award course at the University.

Under the terms and definitions of the Policy:

  • “academic dishonesty” means seeking to obtain or obtaining academic advantage (including in the assessment or publication of work) by dishonest or unfair means or knowingly assisting another student to do so.
  • plagiarism means presenting another person’s work as one’s own work by presenting, copying or reproducing it without appropriate acknowledgement of the source.

The presentation of another person’s work as one’s own without appropriate acknowledgement is regarded as plagiarism, regardless of the author’s intentions. Plagiarism can be classified as negligent (negligent plagiarism) or dishonest (dishonest plagiarism).

An examiner who suspects academic dishonesty or plagiarism by a student must report the suspicion to a nominated academic in the relevant faculty. If the nominated academic concludes that the student has engaged in dishonest plagiarism or some other sufficiently serious form of academic dishonesty, the matter may be referred to the Registrar for further disciplinary action under the terms of the Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism Policy 2012 and Chapter 8 of the University of Sydney By-Law 1999 (as amended). Use of similarity-detecting software (Turnitin)

Students should be aware that written assignments submitted in this Unit of Study will be submitted to similarity detecting software known as Turnitin. The detection and identification of work that may be suspected of plagiarism is an academic judgment for the unit coordinator, and similarity detecting software is one of the tools that an examiner or marker may use to inform a decision that plagiarism has occurred.

Turnitin searches for matches between text in your written assessment task and text sourced from the Internet, published works and assignments that have previously been submitted to Turnitin for analysis. It produces an originality report showing matches with various sources, and an overall level of match or similarity index.

There will always be some degree of text-matching when using Turnitin. These are caused by the use of direct quotations, technical terms and phrases, and the listing of bibliographic material. This does not mean you will automatically be accused of plagiarism.

Further information about Turnitin is available at http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/plagiarism_and_turnitin.shtml.

Special consideration and extensions

You can apply for an extension, a special consideration (SC) or special arrangement (SA) for any of the written work in this class. You do not need to state a detailed reason for why you need a simple extension. It is OK to say, “I am not feeling well” or “I have another essay due this week.” For SC and SA, you must follow the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences policy and submit proper documentation. The Faculty assesses student requests for assistance relating to completion of assessment in accordance with the regulations set out in the University Assessment Policy 2011 and Assessment Procedures 2011. Students are expected to become familiar with the University’s policies and Faculty procedures relating to Special Consideration and Special Arrangements.

Students can apply for:

  • Special Consideration - for serious illness or misadventure
  • Special Arrangements - for essential community commitments
  • Simple Extension - an extension of up to 5 working days for non-examination based assessment tasks on the grounds of illness or misadventure.

Further information on special consideration policy and procedures is available on the Faculty website at http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/special_consideration.shtml.

2667/assessments.1453251233.txt.gz · Last modified: 2017/02/20 19:52 (external edit)