There are three forms of assessment for PSYU/X 3333: A report, an essay and a final exam. Grades for the unit will be determined by adding together total marks for the three assessments. Please see the university policy on grading for further information. It is Psychology policy that letter grades, not numeric marks, are released for written assessment tasks.

A written report (700 - 750 words), worth 25% of final grade, will be due by close of business (5pm) on Friday, September 3. Students should submit their assignment via Turnitin on the iLearn webpage for the Unit. Feedback on the report will be returned via iLearn at the end of week 9. No submissions will be accepted after 5pm on Friday 24th September.

The report will be based on materials covered in Tutorials 1 and 2. The requirements of the assignment will be covered in the tutorials and students will be able to self-assess their performance prior to submission of the assignment against the criteria (rubric) which will be used by the tutors marking the assignment and will be available via the iLearn webpage for the unit prior to the submission date. A penalty will be applied for going over the word limit of 750 words: 5% of the maximum assignment mark (i.e., 25/100) for every 100 words written over the word limit. For example, if the assignment is 850-949 words, 1.25 marks out of 25 will be deducted; if the assignment is 950-1049 words, 2.5 marks out of 25 will be deducted, etc. Feedback will be provided relative to those criteria. 

A written essay (1350 - 1500 words), worth 35% of final grade, will be due by close of business (5pm) on Friday, October 29. The essay will ask students to critically evaluate scientific knowledge and formulate a coherent and intelligent discussion of a relevant issue within the psychology of social interaction. Students should submit their assignment via Turnitin on the iLearn webpage for the Unit. Feedback on the report will be returned via iLearn at the end of week 9. No submissions will be accepted after 5pm on Friday 19th November.

The requirements of the assignment will be covered in the lecture and details and topics will be made available via iLearn by week 8. Students will be able to self-assess their performance prior to submission of the assignment against the criteria (rubric) which will be used by the tutors marking the assignment and will be available via the iLearn webpage for the unit prior to the submission date. Feedback will be provided relative to those criteria. A penalty will be applied for going over the word limit of 1500 words: 5% of the maximum assignment mark (i.e., 35/100) for every 100 words written over the word limit. For example, if the assignment is 1600-1699 words, 1.75 marks out of 35 will be deducted; if the assignment is 1700-1799 words, 3.5 marks out of 35 will be deducted, etc.  The word limit excludes the title page and References pages.

The final exam is currently scheduled to occur on Macquarie University campus. You are expected to present yourself for examination at the date, time and place designated in the University Examination Timetable, in line with assessment policay and procedures. The timetable will be available in Draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of the examinations and in Final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of the examinations. Sitting the final exam is compulsory in order to be eligible to pass the unit. Any student who does not attempt the final exam will be granted a Fail Absent grade.

Special Consideration

If you experience serious and unavoidable difficulties at exam time or when assessment tasks are due, you can consider applying for Special Consideration. There is a link to the policy in the Policies and Procedures section of this Unit Guide. Procedures specific to this unit are noted below.

Macquarie University operates under a ‘Fit to Sit’ model. This means that, in sitting an examination and/or in-class test or otherwise submitting an assessment, a student is declaring that they are fit to do so. It is the responsibility of the student to determine whether they are fit to sit an examination or test, or otherwise submit an assessment. Therefore, if a student is feeling unfit to sit the examination or test, or otherwise submit the assessment, they should not do so.

• If you are unable to submit the Written Report or Essay on time: Ordinarily, no extensions of time for submission of written work will be granted because ample time for its preparation will have been given. If an extension is required for medical or other extenuating circumstances, students may request Special Consideration via ask.mq.edu.au with supporting documentary evidence (i.e., medical certificate) within five (5) working days after the due date for the assignment. Supplementary assessment tasks can be in a different format to the original assessment task.  Assignments submitted after the due date where an extension has not been granted will be penalised at the rate of 5% of the maximum assignment mark for every day late, incuding weekends and holidays.Assignments submitted ten days after submission or more beyond the due date will only awarded a maximum of 50%. Thus a grade of 100% will be needed to achieve a passing mark for the assessment. Assignments will not be accepted after marked assignments have been returned.
• If you are unable to sit the Final Exam at the scheduled time: Students who are unable to complete the final exam at the specified time due to serious and unavoidable circumstances must make a claim for Special Consideration via ask.mq.edu.au attaching appropriate supporting documents within five (5) working days from the day of the examination. The unit convenor will determine eligibility for a supplementary final exam and eligible students will be notified via email (using the official university email address for the student) about the time of the supplementary final exam. There will be only one alternative time. The format of the supplementary exam is at the unit convenor's discretion and is subject to change from the original examination.

Grade Appeals

Individual Assessments: Any requests for remark will need to follow the Psychology process and must be applied within 2 weeks of the assessment task being returned. Information will be provided on iLearn.

• Read over your marker's feedback

• Wait at least 24-48 hours and reread your marker's feedback

• If you are still not happy with your grade, contact your marker and organise a time to discuss your assignment in-person (generally, this does not result in a change in grade but an increase in clarity as to why you received the grade you did).

• If you are not happy with the outcome of this, you will need to lodge a formal request for a remark. Remarking is done by the unit convenor and their grade will be final (i.e., if they mark you lower than your original marker, you will receive the lower grade).

Overall Grade

Detailed university policy information can be found at: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/appeals

Lectures

There is one 2-hour lecture each week of the session, apart from week 9 (Public Holiday). Students can watch recordings of the lecture available via the link on the iLearn page to Echo360.

Readings associated with lectures will be listed in the weekly lecture modules posted on iLearn and will be either from the required text or made available through Unit Readings tab in iLearn.

All lecture material is examinable.

Tutorials

There are six 2-hour tutorials in Weeks 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, & 13. Tutorials will be held with both on-campus and online class options. At the time of publishing this unit guide, most tutorial classes are scheduled to be held on campus. Class availability can be seen via eStudent class enrolment: the location of the class indicates if it is an online class or an on-campus class. However, in line with Public Health guidelines, this approach will be revised if and when necessary due to the COVID pandemic, in alignment with University policy. Changes or updates will be communicated via iLearn and/or emails sent to student email accounts. Students should stay up to date with the latest University advice at the following website: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs/information-for-students

Attendance at practicals is strongly advised - the material will be assessed, but more importantly, it is in the tutorial classes that application of the material from lectures is discussed and demonstrated, and in some cases the only source of required information to complete assignments.

All practical material is assessable.

Required Text

Advanced social psychology: the state of the science (2019). Finkel, E. J., & Baumeister, R. F., editors. Second edition. New York, NY : Oxford University Press.

Recommended Resources

The Seventh Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2019) provides necessary guidelines for APA format for your second assignment.