All written assessments submitted electronically must be submitted through the link provided in iLearn. This unit will utilise Turnitin plagiarism detection software. Students should carefully check that they submit the correct file for an assessment, as re-submissions will not be accepted after the due date and time, including instances where students upload an incorrect file in error.

The design, moderation and feedback of all assessments is in accordance with the Macquarie University Assessment Procedure (link provided under ‘Policies and Procedures’ below).

Late Submission Policy

A maximum penalty of five (5) percentage points of the total possible marks will be applied per day to late submissions, for up to a maximum of seven calendar days. Tasks that have not been submitted within the maximum number of additional late days will receive a mark of zero. This provision does not apply to online exams or other assessment with a time limit of less than 24 hours.

Penalties for late submission will be applied consistently and equitably to all students enrolled in the unit. Where short-term, serious and unavoidable circumstances have affected their ability to submit an assessment task, a student must submit a formal application for Special Consideration as per the Special Consideration Policy. Students should not request an informal arrangement from their tutor, lecturer or Unit Convenor.

Where an application for Special Consideration is approved, and the outcome is an extension to the due date of a task, submissions that are received after the new due date will be subject to late penalties that are calculated from the new due date. This only applies where the outcome is an extension to the due date – see the Special Consideration Policy for a schedule of all possible outcomes.

Special Consideration

Students should submit applications for Special Consideration electronically via the Service Connect portal, along with the supporting documentation. Before submitting their applications, students should refer to the Special Consideration Policy (link provided under ‘Policies and Procedures’ below).

This unit is delivered face-to-face and online and consists of 6 x 2 hour workshops with 2 hours of corresponding pre-recorded lecture material for each workshop. 

Workshops for this unit run in Weeks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8. The workshops are interactive and designed to equip you with the skills necessary to fulfill the requirements of the written assessments. Active participation in all workshops (with video on for online students) is expected and attendance at the workshops is recorded. This unit does not include a mark for class participation however, participation in class is necessary to do well in this unit.

Before each workshop students should:

• watch the lectures for each workshop available on ECHO and
• read the prescribed materials which provide information on each topic as well as a theoretical basis for the practical research activities.

During each workshop students will:

• discuss the questions posed for each workshop detailed on the iLearn page and
• participate in practical activities and apply knowledge acquired from the lecture and reading materials before class. Workshop activities are closely related to assisting student's to progress their research projects including developing the Introduction Chapter (Thesis Plan) and Thesis Writing (Focused Thesis Component). 

Participation in this unit is based on acceptance into the Law Honours program and only students who have already been accepted are permitted to attend. This unit is worth 10 credit points, which equates to 150 hours of work. Therefore, students should expect to commit an average of 10 hours per week to this unit, including all scheduled and unscheduled activities and preparing and executing the assessment tasks.

Resources

The required textbook is: Terry Hutchinson, Research and Writing in Law (4th ed, Lawbook Co 2018).

Students can purchase the textbook online from online resellers such as Booktopia, Amazon and Zookal. The Macquarie University library holds also copies.

Additional readings will be accessible through iLearn.

Students require access to a computer, internet with decent speed and a secure/reliable server. The iLearn page contains all Unit requirements and a weekly schedule for teaching, readings and tutorials. More detailed information about the assessment tasks is also available on iLearn.

Note that Lectures start in Week 1 and corresponding Workshops start in Week 2. It is expected that students will contact their supervisors in Week 1 to discuss their proposed research and approach to meeting the unit requirements and due dates.

There has been a change to the assessments. Students no longer complete the 3MT assessment in the first half of the semester. They now complete the Thesis Introduction (Thesis Plan) in the first half of the semester and Thesis Writing (Focused Thesis Component) at the end of the semester.