Examinations and assessment

How to thrive in exam conditions

How to thrive in exam conditions (MS PowerPoint , 5,007kb)

Written Statement of Assessment

The Written Statement of Assessment gives full information on the assessment procedures in the department, including deadlines, penalties and marking guidelines: Written Statement of Assessment UG Revised October 2021 (PDF , 1,100kb)

Methods of assessment

We use different methods of assessment including the research dissertation (a long essay of 7,000-10,000 words), the open paper (a take-home examination lasting 48 or 72 hours), assessed essays and formal two-hour closed examinations.

The Class Descriptors outline the marking criteria used:

Class Descriptors (MS Word , 30kb)

Cover Sheets

All submitted work must include a cover sheet containing the module title, essay title, your examination number, word count, and year of graduation.

Sample Cover Sheet (MS Word , 12kb)

Closed Examinations

Closed examination schedules and processes are available online.

Dissertations

You are expected to meet with your dissertation supervisor regularly throughout the year, completing an action planner sheet each time:

Dissertation action planner (MS Word , 42kb)

In addition to the cover sheet detailed above, dissertations have additional formatting requirements:

HoA UG Dissertation Layout Guidelines (PDF , 146kb)

Penalties

Penalties for late submission of assessed work, or non-attendance at university examinations, can be severe if not supported by mitigating circumstances documentation and supporting evidence (or if the exceptional circumstances claimed are in the list of those not judged by the university to be acceptable). Penalties can also be applied for other reasons, for example over- or under-length work when there is a word count, incomplete work, poor English, poor presentation (including illistrations), inadequate proof reading, loss of anonymity when handing in work, and Plagiarism.

For full information about Penalties, see the relevant Handbook for your entry cohort.

Results

Marks and feedback are released through your e:Vision account, and an email will be sent to your University account when these are available.

Exceptional circumstances

The University allows resits or extensions to assessments only in exceptional circumstances. To be accepted these must be exceptional (ie serious and unusual) relative to the normal daily challenges that academic study presents, and unpredictable in that you could not reasonably have been expected either to avoid them, or to allow for them in planning the assessment work or preparation. An application must be made with supporting evidence to the Exceptional Circumstances Committee.

Examinations and assessment

How to thrive in exam conditions