Assessment Criteria

Assessment at Macquarie University is standards-based, as outlined in the Assessment Policy. This means that your work will be assessed against clear criteria, and these criteria will be made available when the assessment tasks are released to you on iLearn. 

Submission of Assessments

Your two major assignments must be submitted online through Turnitin. Links for the submission of each assignment will be available on iLearn.​ The due dates for all assessment tasks are not negotiable. If you have commitments that will significantly impact your study during the session then you must plan for this in advance as part of an effective individual study plan and you may need to contact the unit convenor for advice. 

Marking of Assessments

Your two major assignments will be marked through Turnitin and feedback will be noted on the assignment. Do not submit your assignments via email or in hard copy. Your grades will be returned using the Grades Report on iLearn. Grades from your quizzes and the exam will also be made available on iLearn.

Penalties for Late Assessments

The penalty for late submission of assessments in this unit is ten percent (10 %) of the assessment value per day, calculated from the due time and date. This means that if the assignment is worth a total of 30 marks (or 30 % of the unit) you will lose 3 marks for each day late. The penalty will be applied over weekdays and weekends unless you have been granted an extension for the assignment prior to the due date.

Extensions for Assessments

To obtain an extension for an assessment task, you will need to follow the formal process as outlined in the Special Consideration Policy, and you must provide appropriate supporting documentation (e.g. medical certificate - see advice for Special Consideration requests). The final decision regarding the granting of an extension and/or a late penalty lies with the unit convenor/lecturer responsible for the assignment. Permission for extension must be sought well before the due date unless this is absolutely impossible. Let us know of problems in advance or as soon as possible, not after the event: we are likely to be much more sympathetic and flexible in our requirements if you follow this advice.

Classes

The class timetable can be found through the Timetable portal.

In week 1 there will be a 3 hour class which will include an introduction to the unit, and principles for the literature review, conducting original research and budgeting for research projects. During the following weeks there will be regular supervisory contact to discuss the project in groups and/or individually. The unit convenor will allocate supervision meeting times to all students.

Students are expected to allocate 12 hours per week of their workload towards this unit to successfully deliver the assignments.

Resources

Students are expected to source original peer-reviewed literature relevant for their topic of choice for the methodological review and research report. Databases to be used to search literature include:

• Macquarie University Library http://multisearch.mq.edu.au/
• ISI Web of Knowledge http://isiknowledge.com/
• Scopus http://www.scopus.com/home.url
• Science Direct http://www.sciencedirect.com/science
• Google Scholar https://scholar.google.com.au/

The following are examples of journals where high impact articles in the discipline of environmental sciences are published:

• Environmental Science and Technology
• Environmental Health Perspectives
• Remote Sensing of Environment
• Energy and Environmental Science
• Global Environmental Change
• Science of the Total Environment
• Environmental Pollution
• Atmospheric Environment
• Journal of Environmental Management
• Environment International
• Environmental Research Letters
• Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health