ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

 

 

Assessment Scheme

 

All assessed work in Masters programs is marked on a percentage scale against the following detailed criteria. You should use these criteria as a guide to your performance alongside the outcomes specified in each course.

 

A. Distinction: 70%-100%

 

80-100% (Exceptional): represents the overall achievement of the learning outcomes and the skills below to an exceptional level:

 

70-79% (Excellent): represents the overall achievement of the learning outcomes and the skills below to an excellent level:

 

• Clear and logical argument with appropriate linkages
• Analytical use of key concepts in exposition
• Appropriate location in relevant literature
• Relation of theoretical and empirical material
• Location of subject within a wider framework of debate
• Good use of theory in structuring hypotheses
• Skilled application of selected research techniques
• Thorough organization and planning
• Location and use of source materials
• Implementation of strategies for collecting information
• Clarity of expression and appropriate use of language
• Accuracy in spelling, grammar and punctuation
• Consistency and thoroughness in referencing and bibliography

 

B. Merit: 60-69%

 

Represents the overall achievement of the appropriate learning outcomes to a good level. There will be very good use of many or most of features outlined above. However some aspects will be less fully realized. The work will not be as strongly original, distinctive or individual as a 70%+ grade answer.

 

• Overall structure of the argument is clear and coherent
• Evaluative use of key concepts
• Location of argument within relevant literature
• Awareness of relation between theory and empirical data
• Knowledge of position of subject matter in wider debates
• Use of theoretical material in structuring hypotheses
• Application of selected research techniques
• Effective organization and planning
• Accessing relevant sources
• Competent implementation of strategies for collecting information
• Clarity of expression
• Appropriate spelling, grammar and punctuation
• Consistent use of referencing and bibliography

 

C. Pass: 50-59%

 

Represents the overall achievement of the appropriate learning outcomes to a threshold level. There will be good use of some of the features of a 70%+ grade answer. However, some elements will be only partially realized. The work will not contain any serious omissions or irrelevancies.

 

• Most of the argument will be clearly structured
• Understanding and recognition of key concepts
• Recognition of most of the relevant literature
• Limited, though fairly sound, use of theory and empirical data
• Some understanding of wider debates surrounding the subject
• Limited use of theory in structuring hypotheses
• Satisfactory use of chosen research methods
• Reasonable organization and planning
• Accessing some relevant sources
• Limited use of strategies for collecting information
• Reasonably clear expression
• Mostly correct spelling, grammar and punctuation
• Referencing and bibliography broadly in line with guidelines

 

D. Fail: 30%-49%

 

30-49% (Fail): Represents an overall failure to achieve the appropriate learning outcomes. There may be errors, omissions or irrelevancies and significant elements of the learning outcomes and skills will be unmet.

 

• Unclear structure and logical progression
• Limited understanding of key concepts
• Limited recognition of relevant literature
• Uneven use of theoretical and empirical materials
• Little understanding of wider debates surrounding the area
• Uneven application of theory in structuring hypotheses
• Uneven application of selected methods
• Limited organization and planning
• Limited accessing of relevant sources
• Lack of clarity in expression
• Mistakes in spelling, grammar and punctuation which impede clarity
• Referencing and bibliography only partially accurate

 

1. Bad Fail 10-29%

 

10-29% (Bad Fail): Represents a significant overall failure to achieve the appropriate learning outcomes .Students will show minimal or no evidence of knowledge or understanding of key themes and issues. The work will suffer from one ore more of the following:

 

• Structure and logic are weak and muddled

·         Very limited understanding of key concepts

• Little recognition of relevant literature
• Little use of theoretical and empirical material
• Very little understanding of the subject in the context of wider debates
• Very limited application of theory in structuring hypotheses
• Poor application of selected research methods
• Disorganized research and lack of planning
• Little accessing of relevant sources
• Unclear expression which distorts argument
• Many mistakes in spelling, grammar and punctuation
• Little accuracy in referencing and bibliography

 

1. Very Bad Fail 1-9%

 

1-9% (Very Bad Fail): A submission that does not address the specified learning outcomes (shall be deemed a non-valid attempt and the unit must be re-sat).The work will suffer in some degree from most or all of the characteristics below:

 

• Structure and logic are very unclear
• Little or no understanding of key concepts
• Very poor or no recognition of relevant literature
• Very poor or no use of theoretical and empirical material
• No recognition of subject in the light of wider debates
• Poor application of theory in structuring hypotheses
• Very poor application of selected research methods
• Very poor organization and planning
• Very poor or no accessing of relevant literature
• Very unclear expression which distorts argument
• Very poor spelling, grammar and punctuation
• No referencing or bibliography

 

0% (Non Submission or Plagiarised Assessment): A categorical mark representing either the failure to submit an assessment or a mark assigned for a plagiarised assessment.

 

Degree Classification

 

All masters degrees in the Department of Politics can be awarded at either Pass, Merit or Distinction.

 

Distinction

 

In order to be awarded an overall classification of Distinction, students should have obtained:

(i)         a mark of at least 70% (or A grade) for the dissertation (or equivalent)

(ii)        and a mark of 70% (or A grade) in at least half of the remaining credits.

 

If a student receives a mark of 68% or 69% for the dissertation (or equivalent), the Examination Board will have discretion to award an overall classification of Distinction so long as the student has obtained:

 

(i)         a mark of at least 70% (or A grade) in at least half of the remaining credits.

(ii)        an overall weighted average mark (based on credit value) of at least 70%

 

Minor amendments to above criteria (such as the weighting of particular elements of a programe) may be considered

 

Merit

 

In order to be awarded an overall classification of Merit, students should have been obtained:

(i)         a mark of at least 60% (or B grade) for the dissertation (or equivalent)

(ii)        a mark of 60% (or B grade) in at least half of the remaining credits.

 

If a student receives a mark of 58% or 59% for the dissertation (or equivalent), the Examination Board will have discretion to award an overall classification of Merit so long as the student has obtained:

(i)         a mark of at least 60% (or B grade) in at least half of the remaining credits.

(ii) an overall weighted average mark (based on credit value) of at least 60%

 

Fail

 

A fail will be awarded if a student fails any part of the programe. Students will be allowed to resubmit failed coursework the following year unless the exam board is unsatisfied with their level of commitment shown during the year and the student is considered unlikely to perform at a standard necessary to pass the courses second time round. Students will not be granted a third opportunity to resubmit failed coursework, including the dissertation. Part-time students have to pass all courses in the first year in order to progress to the second year of their studies.

 

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT AND PLAGIARISM

 

Academic Misconduct

 

Academic misconduct is defined by Goldsmiths as any attempt by a student to gain an unfair advantage in any assessment. The term academic misconduct includes all forms of cheating, plagiarism, and collusion. Plagiarisms the most commonly occurring form of academic misconduct and is an offence that carries severe penalties.

 

 

Cont…

We cannot stress strongly enough how important it is to read the full regulations on academic misconduct. Not knowing that something constitutes academic misconduct is not considered to be a reasonable excuse. Therefore you need to know exactly what counts as academic misconduct. Regulations, including detailed information of procedures regarding plagiarism cases, can be accessed at: http://www.gold.ac.uk/student-services/assessments/.

 

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined as the representation of another person’s work, without acknowledgement of the source, as the student’s own for the purposes of satisfying formal assessment requirements. Some students who plagiarise do so deliberately, with intent to deceive. This conscious, pre-meditated form of cheating is regarded as a particularly serious breach of the core values of academic integrity and one of the worst forms of cheating. Other students may plagiarise inadvertently as they do not fully understand the conventions of academic referencing and citation. However, ignorance of proper procedures or good practice in academic writing is no excuse, particularly if a student has previously been accused of plagiarism, advised to seek study skills help, and fails to learn from previous experience.

 

Plagiarism is literary theft as well as breach of copyright. It yields a false grade to the students who plagiarise and prevents them from knowing how well they have performed. It also effectively penalises and can demoralize those students who do not plagiarise.

 

Recognized forms of plagiarism include:

 

• The use in a student’s own work of more than a single phrase from another person’s work without the use of quotation marks and acknowledgement of the source
• The summarizing of another person’s work by simply changing a few words or altering the order of presentation, without acknowledgement
• The use of ideas or intellectual data of another person without acknowledgement of the source, or the submission or presentation of work as if it were the student’s own, which are substantially the ideas or intellectual data of another person
• Copying the work of another person
• The submission of work, as if it were the student’s own, which has been obtained from the internet or any other form of information technology
• The submission of coursework making significant use of unattributed digital images such as graphs, tables, photographs, etc. taken from books/articles, the internet or from the work of another person
• The submission of a piece of work which has previously been assessed for a different award or module or at a different institution as if it were new work
• A student who allows or is involved in allowing, either knowingly or unknowingly, another student to copy another’s work including physical or digital images would be deemed to be guilty of plagiarism

 

To avoid plagiarism it is essential that you:

 

• Familiarize yourself with the regulations
• Familiarize yourself with the academic conventions and practices applicable to the programme on which you are enrolled.

 

Any student in doubt about what might constitute plagiarism or any form of academic misconduct MUST seek clarification from an academic member of staff, the Head of Assessments, or should seek specialist study skills assistance through the College Language Studies Centre.