Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessment (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.

All assessments are submitted electronically. Turnitin plagiarism detection software is used to check all written assessments.

Students should carefully check that they submit the correct file for an assessment as no re-submissions will be accepted after the due date and time, including instances where students upload an incorrect file in error.

Word limits are strictly applied. Work above the word limit will not be marked.  Footnotes are to be used only for referencing. Referencing must conform to the requirements set out in the Australian Guide to Legal Citation.

Thesis Plan

Assessment Type ¹: Plan Indicative Time on Task ²: 40 hours Due: Week 5 Weighting: 20%

In consultation with their supervisor and the convenor, students will prepare a comprehensive plan for their thesis including a literature review and legal research methodology appropriate to the research question. On successful completion you will be able to:

• Independently plan an advanced legal research project under the supervision of a legal academic
• Choose, describe and critique a legal research methodology appropriate for the research plan
• Plan and execute a comprehensive literature review related to the research plan
• Identify and apply the ethics of legal research scholarship to the planning and execution of a research project

8000 word thesis

Assessment Type ¹: Thesis Indicative Time on Task ²: 70 hours Due: Week 13 Weighting: 80%

Students will prepare an 8000 word thesis under close supervision from an academic from Macquarie Law School

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Independently plan an advanced legal research project under the supervision of a legal academic
• Choose, describe and critique a legal research methodology appropriate for the research plan
• Plan and execute a comprehensive literature review related to the research plan
• Identify and apply the ethics of legal research scholarship to the planning and execution of a research project
• Critically analyse complex legal problems by identifying, researching, evaluating and synthesising relevant factual, legal and policy issues

¹ If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

• the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
• the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

² Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

The unit will be delivered in semi-intensive mode. During Weeks 1-6 we will have 2-hour workshops (either face-to-face or online mode). During the remaining of the semester there will be no workshops and students will work with their supervisors to write and finalize their thesis.

The prescribed textbook is Terry Hutchinson, Researching and Writing in Law (Thomson Reuters, 4th ed). For further teaching resources consult ilearn site.