1. Early semester task

All students will be presented with an early assessment task in the unit, the main aim of which is to lay the foundation for good practice in data mining primary scientific literature, evaluating data sources and formatting written work. The exact nature of the task will be designed in consultation with your supervisor. It may take the form of a library resource exercise (e.g. production of an annotated bibliography) or a review of a new and pertinent scientific paper or book. The task will be designed as a relevant prelude to the larger essay topics to be completed later in the unit. Feedback and assessment will be completed in a timely manner to ensure the student has time to correct mistakes and to incorporate feedback into the essay topics.

2. Essays

Two essays (maximum 2,500 words each) on separate aspects of a chosen topic (Biology stream), or mixture of set and chosen topics (Palaeobiology stream), are completed. Details on what is expected regarding each stream, including submission dates, specific marking criteria and format for each stream will be provided separately.

Students will be assessed on coverage and comprehension of the literature relevant to the chosen topic/s, critical evaluation of the material, and style and writing of the essay. Details of the essay requirements for the two streams will vary – students will be provided with detailed separate instructions for the essays by the convener of your stream.

The essays will be independently assessed by the supervisor and at least one other member of staff with relevant expertise. More staff may be co-opted to act as independent assessors if required.

As an alternative to the second essay, students (in consultation with their supervisor) may write a mock grant application (such as an ARC Discovery Grant proposal). If so, the student would be expected to download the appropriate guidelines and application forms from the research office web site (www.ro.mq.edu.au) and to follow the instructions as closely as possible. Contact your supervisor if you would like to attempt this option. This option would be suitable for a student planning to undertake further academic studies.

The due dates will be agreed in discussions between the student and supervisor.  Normally one essay is handed in by the end of week 8, and essay 2 at the end of Week 12. 

3. Oral Presentation (15%)

Whether it be at scientific meetings or conferences, in schools, or in boardrooms, oral presentations are a time-honoured way of disseminating information and reporting results to a large (or select) audience at one time. Each student will be expected to present a seminar of 20 minutes duration (15 mins talk + 5 mins for questions/discussion). Students undertaking the Palaeobiology stream will choose to present their oral presentation on one of a selection of possible topics available separately.  This will be your chance to argue your point of view and discuss the evidence in front of an audience.

Since you only have 15 minutes for your seminar, it is important that your talk is well structured. Remember to keep the structure of your talk simple, but logical. Do not try to cram everything you know (or have learned) about the topic in 15 minutes. For a 15 minute presentation you should be looking at no more than 8-10 PowerPoint slides (+ 1 slide showing references).

You will need to carefully evaluate and present only essential, important and relevant material (especially illustrations) in an organised and logical sequence. The best seminars are those that are relatively simple, logically organised, clearly illustrated, informative and entertaining!!! Remember that the seminar is worth 15% of your final mark and so we expect high quality work (especially in terms of scientific evaluation, presentation of factually correct info and relevance).  Seminars will be presented to an audience consisting of at least 2 staff members. Relevant postdocs, postgrads and MRes students will also be invited to attend. Other students completing BIOL399 will also be present.  Seminars are normally held in the last week of semester.

All students will need to present their seminar using PowerPoint. It would be best if the presentation was completed on an IBM PC or laptop in PowerPoint.

Marks will be allocated for:

(a) scientific content, factually correct, relevance – how well data has been evaluated, synthesised and presented (50%)

(b) organisation and logical flow of the presentation (20%)

(c) clarity of presentation (oral and visual) (20%)

(d) adequate acknowledgement of relevant sources and ability to answer audience Q’s (10%)

4. Essay submission and Turnitin

Both Essays must initially be submitted via Turnitin which can be accessed via the BIOL399 iLearn website. Essay will not be marked until they have been submitted to the Turnitin website.

More detailed information and instructions for using Turnitin, including quickstart and step-by-step user manuals, can be found at: http://www.turnitin.com/static/training.html.

Extensions and penalties

10% off the mark allocated for essays will be deducted per day for any work that is submitted after the due date.

The deadlines for essays are not negotiable. Only a medical certificate or a letter with appropriate supporting documents outlining other serious, extenuating circumstances can be used to submit an essay after the due date without penalty. All applications for special consideration or extension must be sought before the due date unless this is absolutely impossible. All applications for extensions of deadlines must be submitted to the appropriate unit convenor.

Feedback and unit evaluation

As this is a small unit, there should be a considerable amount of contact between the student and their supervisor. This contact can be face to face or via electronic communication. Informal feedback will be provided on semi regular basis.  In addition you will receive written feedback on your essays.  The unit is too small to allow anonymous unit evaluation surveys to be used.  However, we hope students will raise any issues with their supervisor and/or the convener of the stream they are undertaking.

Convenor (Biology Stream):

Dr Linda Beaumont

Room 246, Building E8C

Dept. of Biological Sciences

Phone: 9850 8157

Email:  linda.beaumont@mq.edu.au

Convenor (Palaeobiology Stream):

A/Prof Glenn A. Brock

Room 322, Building E8A

Dept. of Biological Sciences

Phone: 9850 8335

E-mail: glenn.brock@mq.edu.au

Pre-requisites

Admission to this unit is by permission of the conveners. Students undertaking the Biology stream are expected to have a GPA of 2.5 or higher, and at least 40 credit points. Students undertaking the Palaeobiology stream must be undertaking the Palaeobiology Major as part of higher degree and must have a minimum pre-requisite of a P grade in BIOL381 or BIOL382.

Unit description

The aim of this unit is to search, read and critically review the available scientific literature on biological or palaeobiological topic(s). The topic(s) is (are) to be decided by the student in consultation with a supervisor from the Department of Biological Sciences (see above).  Students undertaking the Palaeobiology stream will be provided with two research topics for the essays, though students may choose to complete a topic of their choice; students who want to complete a separate topic MUST gain approval from the Palaeobiology Convenor. There are normally no scheduled classes; instead all students undertake independent research, with regular contact with their topic supervisor. Students will need to take responsibility for organizing their workload throughout the semester.

Note that students who enrol in this subject can only do the Biology OR the Palaeobiology stream, not both. Please consult the relevant Convenor (listed above) for details.