Weekly summaries

Each week, each student will summarise literature related to the discussion topic. The main aim is to lay the foundation for good practice in data mining primary scientific literature, evaluating data sources, and formatting written work. The summaries should review at least four relatively new and pertinent scientific papers or books. The summary of each paper should be no longer than 30 words.

Essays

Two essays (maximum 2500 words each) will be produced. Each essay is based on a topic of your choice. Both essay topics must be substantially different from your MRes research. 

The essays will provide you with an opportunity to delve more deeply into the literature and present a more comprehensive analysis of the topic. Details on exact 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 topics, critical evaluation of the material, and style and writing of the essay. 

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.

The due dates will be agreed in discussions between the student and supervisor.  Normally, Essay 1 is handed in by the end of week 7 and Essay 2 at the end of Week 11.  

Oral presentation (15%)

Each student will be expected to present a seminar of 20 minutes duration plus 10 minutes for questions and discussion. 

It is important that your talk is well structured. Remember to keep the structure of your talk simple, but logical.

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, so we expect high quality work (especially in terms of scientific evaluation, presentation of factually correct information and relevance).  Your presentation will be presented during the Week 12 or 13 meetings (see Schedule) and the audience will consist of at least 2 staff members, relevant postdocs, PhD and other MRes students. Other students completing BIOL766 will also be present.

Marks will be allocated for: (a) Scientific content, factual correctness, and relevance– how well data have been evaluated, synthesised and presented. Adequate acknowledgement of relevant sources. (50%) (b) Organisation and logistics – the materials and methods are clearly and logically outlined. (20%) (c) Clarity of presentation (oral and visual); quality of the visuals presented (30%)

Essay submission and Turnitin

Both essays must initially be submitted via Turnitin which can be accessed via the BIOL766 website. Essays 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.