Section 7- Assessment PDF

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Section 7 - Assessment 7.1 7.2 7.3

7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 7.10

Grade Based Assessment General Principles - Assessment Regulations Assessed Coursework – Information for Students Coursework Submission Word Limits Word Processing Bibliographies Spelling/Grammar Referencing and Citation General Coursework Advice Plagiarism Collusion Online Results Award of Degree Compensation and Law Society Qualifying Law Degrees Examination Regulations Use of Statute Books in Examinations Feedback to Students on Assessments Frequently Asked Questions

7.1 Grade Based Assessment NTU has introduced a scheme for assessing students’ work known as grade-based assessment or GBA. GBA ensures that there is a direct link between the expected learning outcomes of the part of the part of the course being assessed and what the student has demonstrated in the assessment. The specific arrangements relating to the assessment of a module will be set out in module documentation. Each piece of assessed work will be awarded one of 17 grades (accessible below). You will be informed about what is expected to achieve a particular grade. This information will mean that feedback on your work will be clear and you will be able to evaluate your progress towards your final degree classification. Each of the 17 grades has a numerical equivalent and a mark range. Where a module has more than one piece of assessment, then the assessment grades will be combined using a weighted average of the numerical equivalents. This will produce a module percentage that can be converted into one of the 17 grades by reference to the numerical ranges. Where there is only one piece of assessment then this is also the module grade with an associated numerical equivalent. If the final degree classification is based on a combination of marks from level 5 and level 6 (NTU level 2 and level 3), the average percentage mark for level 5 will be combined with the average percentage mark for level 6 using the weightings appropriate to the course. This will produce a percentage mark which can be translated into the final degree classification in the same way as before. Further information can be obtained by accessing the following link: http://www.ntu.ac.uk/current_students/resources/student_handbook/assessment/index.htm l

7.2 General Principles – Assessment Regulations The University Common Assessment Regulations apply to your Course. The University Common Assessment Regulations (CAR) are available via the following link: http://www.ntu.ac.uk/cadq/quality_assurance/standards_quality/126374.pdf Please ensure that you do read them. In the meantime, some of the most important points to note are:

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In order to pass a module, you must achieve a minimum module aggregate mark of a low third. If the module contains more than one element of assessment (e.g. a coursework and an exam) their combined marks must result in an overall module aggregate mark of a low third or more.

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Coursework assessments have a submission deadline. Failure to hand work in by the deadline will result in the work being given a maximum mark of a low third if submitted within 5 working days of the deadline. Work submitted after 5 working days of the deadline will be given a mark of zero. However please do note that failure to hand in referred coursework in by the original deadline will result in it automatically being given a mark of zero.

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You are permitted two attempts to pass a module, although the Law School has discretion to permit a third attempt at levels 1 and 2. If a third attempt is permitted, all elements of the module must be repeated, even if some have been passed previously. Only two attempts are permitted per module in the final year.

The maximum mark that can be awarded at the second and third attempts is as follows:Attempt 2 – element capped at a low third Attempt 3 – module capped at a low third 

Failure to pass a module after two or three attempts (as the case may be) will result in the termination of your studies.

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The three attempts follow a specific calendar as follows:

Attempt 1

Usually assessed during and at the end of the academic year in which the module is taught.

Attempt 2

Usually late August or early September. If you are referred in a coursework, work will be made available to you over the summer to submit in August/early September. If you are referred in an exam, you will be required to return to Nottingham at the end of August or during the first two weeks of September to resit. Arrangements for resitting skills elements e.g. mooting and oral presentations depend upon you contacting

your Seminar Tutor or the relevant Module Leader – please note that it is your responsibility to contact them. Attempt 3

Usually assessed in the next academic year, at the same time as those students who are currently studying the module. Attendance is at the discretion of the Board of Examiners. 

If, at the end of an academic year (i.e. after the August/September resits) you have any modules still outstanding, you will not be permitted to progress into the next year of the course. Instead, you will be asked to take a year out in order to catch up. If you are successful in passing these outstanding modules during your year out, you will be permitted to progress into the next year in September of that year. However, at the discretion of the Board of Examiners, you may be permitted to trail a maximum of 20 credit points when proceeding from one year to another. You will not be permitted to enter Year 3 trailing a Year 1 module.

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Please note that there may be a charge for a third attempt at a module. Further information will be provided to you if appropriate.

Here is a summary of the three attempts, and what happens in each case: Attempt 1 - first sit

Attempt 2 - refer

Passed all elements?

Passed all failed elements?

Yes 

Module passed and no further work necessary.

No 

Go to attempt 2 and resit just the failed elements.

Yes 

Referred pass and element score of a low third maximum. No further work necessary.

No  If permitted, go to attempt 3 and repeat all elements of the module this time, not just the failed elements. If not permitted, fail and withdraw from the Course. Attempt 3 - repeat module (if permitted)

Passed all elements?

Yes 

Repeat module pass and module score of a low third maximum. No further work necessary.

No 

Fail and withdraw from the Course.

7.3 Assessed Coursework - Information for Students Coursework Submission 

Deadlines for the handing-in of coursework will be notified to students via NOW and in the coursework question. Coursework questions will be made available on NOW. The deadline is strictly adhered to. Computer problems and/or printing problems are not considered to be valid reasons for late submission of coursework and you will be penalised if your work is handed in after the deadline.

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All students are required to retain an electronic copy of their submitted coursework at least until such coursework has been marked and returned to them. Any student may, at the request of the Course Leader, be required to provide such electronic copy within 2 working days of the date of any such request. Such electronic copy may then be checked for plagiarism and/or collusion using appropriate detection software.

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Students will be made aware of how and where to submit coursework, which may be online through a dropbox. They must not be handed to individual Tutors.

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Each coursework must be accompanied by a pro-forma on which the student must certify that the word limit has not been exceeded.

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Coursework will be marked anonymously. You must take care to complete the relevant pro-forma fully and accurately.

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If a coursework is submitted late it will, if received within 5 working days of the deadline, be given a maximum mark of a low third. If received more than 5 working days after the deadline it will receive a mark of zero.

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If a referred coursework is submitted late it will receive a mark of zero.

Word Limits 

Word limits for Law module assessments must be strictly adhered to and may be randomly checked by markers. If your work exceeds the word limit, the maximum mark which you can be awarded is a low third.

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Please note that there is no de minimis rule at the Law School. Some Schools allow students to exceed the word limit by 10% but the Law School does not allow this in any circumstances.

Rules on Word Limits for Nottingham Law School Word limits for Law module assessments must be strictly adhered to and may be randomly checked by markers. If your work exceeds the word limit, the maximum mark which you can be awarded is a low third. The following points should be noted: 

There is no de minimis rule at the Law School. Some Schools allow students to exceed the word limit by 10% but the Law School does not allow this in any circumstances. Every word (however small) counts towards the word limit. If you exceed the word limit by 1 word, you are still liable to the penalty of a low third maximum mark.

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Abbreviations count towards the word limit, for example, ‘i.e.’ counts as two words, 40% counts as two words, Lawson LJ counts as 3 words.

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Quotations from cases, statutes or any other source all count towards the word limit.

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Diagrams are permitted, but all words and abbreviations on diagrams count towards the word limit.

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Footnotes should only be used for citations. Any additional material included in footnotes will count towards the word limit.

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No appendices, other than a bibliography, are allowed, unless your coursework brief states otherwise.

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On the front of the coursework students must certify that they have not exceeded the word limit. Such certificates may be checked for accuracy.

Exceptions: The only exceptions to the rule that every word counts are that case names (e.g. Donoghue v Stevenson), case citations (eg. [1932] AC 562) and statutory references (e.g. Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 section 2(2)) do not count towards the word limit. Where students have referred to sources within the body of the text, those references will not count towards the word limit. The bibliography does not count towards the word limit.

Word Processing Students should use a minimum of 12 font with margins, headers and footers of a minimum of 1 inch to enable markers to comment on the content of the work. Bibliographies These should always be included unless the coursework question advises differently. They do not add to the word limit. Marks may be deducted if a bibliography is not attached. All sources used in producing the coursework should be included in the bibliography. Spelling/Grammar The ability to communicate in written format is an essential skill. Spelling and grammar should conform to accepted standards of syntax and punctuation. Students should therefore check any written work to ensure compliance with the standard conventions of English grammar. Generally clarity of expression will be achieved by use of concise language and a lack of jargon or over complex phraseology.

Referencing and Citation Guidance on Referencing for Nottingham Law School Accurate referencing and citation in courseworks is essential in order to: acknowledge the work of other people (and avoid plagiarism) show how much research you have carried out enable those reading / marking your work to locate the sources you have used Nottingham Law School has its own house style for referencing, which you will be required to use, which is the OSCOLA style.

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The following link will give you further details of the OSCOLA style of referencing: https://now.ntu.ac.uk/d2l/lor/viewer/view.d2l?ou=6605&loIdentId=44233 More details of how to reference are contained in the LAW – Survive and Thrive Toolkit Learning Room on NOW and on the Library website.

General Coursework Advice 

Plan the structure of your work. Deal with the points logically and clearly.

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It is relatively unusual for you to be required to write a general account of the law which merely describes legal principles - students will usually be expected to think about, question, or criticise an area of law.

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Unless you are required to do so, do not express your views by using phrases such as “I think” or “in my opinion”. This is too subjective, and the Tutor is unlikely to be impressed by your thoughts or opinions unless there is strong supporting evidence. If you wish to put forward a view, the phrases “it could be argued...” or “it could be suggested...”, or “it could be said that...” are more appropriate.

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Avoid generalisations, clichés, and waffle.

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Gear all your work to the question set - do not begin with a long introduction which describes the law but does not relate it to the central problem. Make sure all of your material is relevant and the relevance is explained.

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Always show the steps in your reasoning when dealing with problem questions. An essay which does not observe this rule is like the answer to a mathematical problem which does not show the workings out. It cannot therefore obtain good marks. Your arguments should be clear. Your reasoning should develop and lead to a conclusion.

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When answering questions which require you to use your critical faculties, you must avoid the temptation to be opinionated or dogmatic.

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Always support your answer with statute law, case law (especially short quotations from judgments) and comments from respectable sources, such as textbooks, journals, or Hansard. Note that you should use primary sources wherever possible – so cases, statutes or original journal articles for example. Quotations from textbooks must have something novel, or unique, to warrant reproduction.

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When using case law to illustrate your answer, there is no need to set out the detailed facts of a case at length unless they are particularly relevant to the essay. A short summary in a few lines generally suffices for the facts - the ratio decidendi is much more important.

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A description of case law and/or statutes without applying them to the facts is not enough. When given factual information, apply the law to those facts.

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When using opinions of other writers you must indicate where your information has been drawn from. Never plagiarise i.e. copy the work of other writers without acknowledging the source. Please read the notes on plagiarism in this handbook very carefully.

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Footnotes should only be used to refer to sources and cite names of cases and sections of statutes - they should not be used for additional text.

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Do not be repetitive.

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A good essay has three elements: an introduction, discussion and conclusion. Note however that this may not be relevant to a problem solving type question,

where generally introductions and conclusions serve only to repeat the discussion.

Plagiarism Plagiarism is deemed to be academic irregularity by the University Regulations. As such, any student found plagiarising will be subject to investigation and any penalty deemed appropriate. Students must ensure they are familiar with the definition of plagiarism. The definition of plagiarism is set out in the University Regulations as follows: Plagiarism includes: the incorporation of material derived from the work (published or unpublished) of another by unacknowledged quotation, paraphrase, imitation or other device in any work submitted for progression towards or for the completion of an award in a way which suggests that it is the student’s original work. Such work may include printed material in textbooks and journals and material accessible electronically for example on web pages. Examples of plagiarism: i)

ii)

iii)

The inclusion in a candidate’s work of more than a single phrase from another person’s work without the use of quotation marks and acknowledgement of the sources; The summarising of another person’s work by simply changing words or altering the order of presentation, without acknowledgement. Copying the work of another candidate, with or without that candidate’s knowledge or agreement. If copied with the agreement of the other candidate, both parties are guilty of irregularity.

Students must remember these definitions and pay close attention to referencing. Students are also referred to the section 8 of this handbook relating to Academic Irregularity. Collusion Collusion is also academic irregularity within the University Regulations. Again, any student found colluding in the production of any assessment will be subject to an investigation with the imposition of any penalty deemed appropriate. Students must ensure they are familiar with the definition of collusion. The definition of collusion is set out in the University Regulations as follows: "This includes a situation where a student; i)

Intentionally submits as entirely his or her own, work done in collaboration with, or commissioned from, another person or persons, whether for reward or not.

ii)

Knowingly collaborates with another candidate or candidates in the completion of work which is submitted as that/those other candidate's/candidates’ own unaided work;

iii)

Permits another candidate to copy all or part of their own work, knowing it is to be submitted as that other candidate's own unaided work."

This does not prevent the student from sharing ideas and exchanging reference material prior to the writing up of each student's individual piece of assessed work. However, the writing of assessed work must be done on an individual basis, unless the specific Module has indicated otherwise, for example, an assessed group exercise. Students are again referred to the section 8 of this handbook relating to Academic Irregularity.

7.4 Online Results Overall module results will be made available to students online following the relevant Board of Examiners meeting. Please note that results will only be available online - you will not receive any results notification by post. You must access this information via the University’s online results service, which you can do through NOW. Information regarding further first sit, referred or repeat assessments will also be made available to you online via the results page. It is your responsibility to access this information online and to sit/submit assessments as indicated. These details will be provided online only and you will not receive the details by post. If you have submitted an academic appeal then notification of the relevant decision will be sent to you by post as soon as possible after the Board of Examiners meeting. Please ensure that you keep your address details up to date. You can check/amend these details online at www.ntu.ac.uk/myntu. Please note that it shall not be a subsequent ground of appeal that a student failed or was unable to access his/her results electronically.

7.5 Award of Degree The award of your degree will be based on the following classification bands: First Class Honours Second Class Honours, Upper Division Second Class Honours, Lower Division Third Class Honour...