Deadlines, Extensions and Late Penalties

Assessments are due in weeks 4, 8, and 13.

You can apply for an extension to a deadline for an assessment - this is known at Macquarie University as Special Consideration - if you foresee an interruption to your studies at the time of submission of an assessment, you should make an application for an extension or Special Consideration.  

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. 

Use of Ai or Large Language Models (LLMs) for Assessments in this unit

Assessment 1: Creative Work – Writing as an Ancient Historian cannot be completed by an LLM and using an LLM will not help you complete it.

Assessment 2: Blog focused on strengths and weaknesses of 3-4 specified key academic articles/chapters on (available from the Leganto Reading list). LLMs cannot assess text for “strengths and weaknesses”; whereas humans can. However, instruction will be given on how to use an LLM to extend your study by making summaries of other academic publications on the Leganto Reading List.

Assessment 3: Blog focused on the significance of Ancient History with reference to the Roman Republic, specifically in the 2nd century BCE. You are required to use the Leganto Reading List to complete this assessment and are encouraged to use an LLM to summarise a range of articles from the Leganto Reading list and academic viewpoints.

PLEASE DO NOT use an LLM to simply write your assessment, it cannot do what your human brain does based on the Leganto Reading list. Equally, please do not substitute material from the Leganto Reading list with a Google Search or the Encyclopaedia Britannica – you need to base your University work on material held in the University Library and accessible to you via the Leganto Reading List.  

In this unit, your learning will be structured around two core components: Prepare and Practise. Each week you will see these areas clearly signposted and the learning activities placed directly below them. Each component relates to the preparation and consolidation activities for you to complete before and after scheduled activities such as lectures and tutorials.

Prepare: Here, you'll find everything you need to get ready for your scheduled classes, such as lectures, tutorials, or seminars. This could include readings, podcasts, and interactive activities that will help you engage more deeply during class and allow you to come along prepared for learning.

Practise: After class, this is where you'll consolidate your learning through activities such as knowledge checks, post-class readings, use of an AI tutor to reinforce your knowledge and so on.

This structure is designed to help you stay organised and get the most out of each week. We look forward to supporting your learning journey!

This unit also introduces students to the study of primary sources, or evidence from Greek and Roman world, and the evaluation of how history is written through an analysis of a specific historical area. 

The first section of the unit is focused on the study of ancient sources - what is our evidence and how did authors millennia ago write about major world events - pandemics, war, politics, and so on that continue to be a focus for us today. This section of the unit will give you a thorough understanding of the issues around the use of evidence in Ancient History.

The second section of the unit focuses on the writing of ancient history in the modern world. You will study a developing area of recent research and critically evaluate how this research is created, its limitations and its strengths, and its significance for those living in the modern world.

The third section introduces students to recent research on the failure of the Roman Republic in the second century BCE with a view to better understanding how a political system can simply cease to function and to understand the relevance of this historical phenomenon for the 21st century. 

Time in tutorials has increased from 1 hour to 2 hours in response to students' requests for more time for discussion. We will spend time in the tutorials developing key skills, as well as discussing the readings and the content of the lectures each week.k.

The iLearn page has been reformatted to create greater clarity and to include specific information wtih regard to what is expected of students each week.

Assessment instructions have been clarified and set out to be read more easily than as a block of text.

The Leganto Reading List has been revised, and specific, clear instructions have been added - including the use of AI for scoping topics.

Non-asssessed quizzes have been added based directly on the readings to provide guidance to online students ahead of posting in the weekly forum