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1 PLIT08011 Political Thinkers 2018-19 Course Guide

POLITICS and INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

POLITICAL THINKERS 2018-19

PLIT08011


Contents Teaching Team and Administrative Contact Details ..................................................................................... 2 Assessment at a glance................................................................................................................................... 4 Course Schedule............................................................................................................................................. 5 Course Aims and Outcomes........................................................................................................................... 6 Course Content............................................................................................................................................... 7 Course Structure............................................................................................................................................. 9 Bootcamp ....................................................................................................................................................... 9 Course Assessment ...................................................................................................................................... 10

Assessment Criteria ................................................................................................................................. 11 Essay Referencing ........................................................................................................................................ 12 Administrative Guidance ............................................................................................................................. 14 Appendix 1 – General Information .............................................................................................................. 14

Students with Disabilities ........................................................................................................................ 14 Learning Resources for Undergraduates .................................................................................................. 14 Discussing Sensitive Topics .................................................................................................................... 14 Tutorial Allocation ................................................................................................................................... 15 Requesting a group change ...................................................................................................................... 15

Appendix 2 - Course Work Submission and Penalties ................................................................................ 15 Penalties that can be applied to your work and how to avoid them. ........................................................ 15 ELMA: Submission and Return of Coursework ...................................................................................... 16 Extensions: New policy-applicable for years 1 -4 ................................................................................... 16 Exam Feedback and Viewing Exam Scripts: ........................................................................................... 17 Plagiarism Guidance for Students: Avoiding Plagiarism ........................................................................ 17 Data Protection Guidance for Students .................................................................................................... 18

Teaching Team and Administrative Contact Details Course Convenor: Dr. Philip Cook Email: [email protected] Room: 3.29, Chrystal Macmillan Building, 15a George Square. Course Lecturers: Dr. Lucy Abbott Email: [email protected] Room: 3.10, Chrystal Macmillan Building, 15a George Square Dr. Elizabeth Cripps Email: [email protected] Room: 3.30, Crystal Macmillan Building, 15a George Square

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


Dr. Andrew Hom Email: [email protected] Room: 3.03, Chrystal Macmillan Building, 15a George Square Dr Harshan Kumarasingham Email: [email protected] Room: 3.04, Chrystal Macmillan Building, 15a George Square Prof. Nasar Meer Email: [email protected] Room: 22a Buccleuch Place Dr. Mihaela Mihai Email: [email protected] Room: 3.21, 18 Buccleuch Place Dr. Masa Mrovlje Email: [email protected] Room: 3.22, 18 Buccleuch Place. Dr. Ewan Stein Email: [email protected] Room: 4.27, Chrystal Macmillan Building, 15a George Square Dr. Greg Whitfield Email: tbc Room: tbc Senior Tutor Dr. Andrew Drever Email: [email protected] Course Secretary: Colin Arthur Email: [email protected] Room: Undergraduate Teaching Office, Room G.04-05 CMB

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


Assessment at a glance Assessment Assessment

weighting Submission Date (all course work is due at 12 noon on the date of submission)

Return of Feedback date

Essay (2,000

words limit)

50% 26/02/19 18/03/19

Exam 50% Exam dates are set by Student Administration. Exam diet information can be found at

http://www.ed.ac.uk/student-administration/exams/exam-diets

Students are responsible for knowing the time, date and location of their exams.

Dates will be published closer

to the time

Note: All coursework is submitted electronically through ELMA. Please read the School Policies and Coursework Submission Procedures which you will find here. External Examiner: Prof. David Owen (University of Southampton)

http://www.ed.ac.uk/student-administration/exams/exam-dietshttp://www.ed.ac.uk/student-administration/exams/exam-dietshttp://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/undergrad/current_students/teaching_and_learning/assessment_and_regulations/submission_guidance


Course Schedule Week Date Topic Lecturer Tutorial

1 Monday 14th January Short Intro – Hobbes Dr. Philip Cook/ Dr. Elizabeth Cripps

No Tutorials

1 Thursday 17th January Hobbes Dr. Elizabeth Cripps 2 Monday 21st January Locke Dr. Mihaela Mihai Hobbes 2 Thursday 24th January Locke Dr. Mihaela Mihai 3 Monday 28th January Marx Dr. Philip Cook Locke 3 Thursday 31st January Marx Dr. Philip Cook 4 Monday 4th February Mill Dr. Gregory Whitfield Marx 4 Thursday 7th February Mill Dr. Gregory Whitfield 5 Monday 11th February de Beauvoir Dr. Masa Mrovlje Mill 5 Thursday 14th February de Beauvoir Dr. Masa Mrovlje - Festival of Creative

Learning No Lecture

Festival of Creative Learning No Lecture

Festival of Creative Learning

No Lecture

- Festival of Creative Learning

No Lecture

Festival of Creative Learning No Lecture

Festival of Creative Learning

No Lecture

6 Monday 25th February Arendt Dr. Masa Mrovlje de Beauvoir 6 Thursday 28th February Arendt Dr. Andrew Hom 7 Monday 4th March Qutb and Islamic Thought Dr. Ewan Stein Arendt 7 Thursday 7th March Zaynab al Ghazali & Huda

Sha’rawi: gender in Islamic Political Thought

Dr. Lucy Abbott

8 Monday 11th March Fanon Dr. Mihaela Mihai Qutb & Zainab Al-Ghazali 8 Thursday 14th March Du Bois Pr. Nasar Meer

9 Monday 18th March Gandhi Dr. Philip Cook Fanon/Du Bois 9 Thursday 21st March Nehru and the Nehruvian

World Dr. H.

Kumarasingham 10 Monday 25th March Rawls Dr. Gregory Whitfield Gandhi/Nehru 10 Thursday 28th March Rawls and his critics Dr. Gregory Whitfield 11 Monday 1st April Revision Lecture Rawls 11 Thursday 4th April

Please note that most thinkers are presented across two lectures. There are three exceptions:

• Qutb and Islamic Thought/Zaynab al Ghazali and Huda Sha’rawi • Fanon/Du Bois • Nehru/Gandhi

Though each lecture will cover different thinkers, each pair of lectures will be presented as closely related to each other. These sets of lectures outlined above will be considered as pairs for the purposes of tutorials and the format of the exam (please see section below ‘Course Assessment’ for further information).


Course Aims and Outcomes The course has four main aims:

1) to develop students’ ability to think rigorously and critically about the fundamental questions of politics and international relations. In particular, we focus on the moral aspects of politics and international relations. Students will be introduced to a broad range of approaches to thinking about politics, from different historical, cultural, and international perspectives. We consider such questions as:

a. What is the ethical basis of the state and other important political institutions? b. How should we understand the moral relations between members of states, and between

states? c. How do ethical and religious perspectives on politics affect our understanding of political

values? d. Can colonialism ever be justified? What is the appropriate response to colonialism? e. Is gender inequality fundamental to existing dominant political theories and institutions? f. What challenges do racial inequality present to our understanding of a just society? g. What is justice, and what principles of justice should societies adopt?

2) to introduce students to the main arguments and claims made by some of the most influential

thinkers of the past, from a wide range of perspective, whose thinking continues to inform current thought and practice in politics and in international relations.

3) to introduce students to critical perspectives on key issues in the theory and practice of politics and

international relations, including race, gender, and colonialism.

4) to provide structured help and advice on succeeding in the tutorials and assessment. We will provide workshops and activities to help all students gain practice and further understanding of how to do well in the essays and exams. LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of this course, students will have had the opportunity to:

• Engage critically and reflectively with a range of theoretical debates

• Develop their ability to assess a variety of perspectives and theoretical arguments

• Familiarise themselves with some of the key claims made by historically influential thinkers and commentators

• Equip themselves with the skills and knowledge required for the interpretation and analysis of theoretical texts

• Acquire the background understanding of the development of key concepts that will enable them to contextualise their later learning in succeeding studies in politics and international relations


Course Content Thinkers and Themes Generally, we study in detail the works of particular thinkers who have made significant contributions to our understanding of politics. We normally take two lectures to discuss each thinker, and each tutorial is dedicated to one thinker. The main exceptions are the lectures in week 7 (Qutb and Islamic Political Thought), week 8 (Fanon and Du Bois), and week 9 (Nehru & the Nehruvian World and Gandhi). These lectures are more thematic, but the range of thinkers and ideas will be closely related. We will provide clear guidance on how to prepare properly for the tutorial related to these thinkers. This year we will also address key themes across the thinkers we are examining. These themes are:

• Religion and Politics • Violence and Non-Violence in Political Conflict • Gender • Race • Colonialism

We will point out, where relevant, how different thinkers responded to these issues, and students will be able to answer an exam question comparing several thinkers relating to these themes. Readings This course is supported by a Resource List. This will be accessible through the Learn site for the course. The Resource List will provide easy access to the readings, including all e-books, electronic journal articles, scanned readings, and library catalogue links to ‘hard-copy’ items. Each week, the Essential Tutorial Readings will all be available electronically, so you should not need to buy a text-book. If you wish to buy a book we recommend Political Thinkers: from Socrates to the Present, eds David Boucher and Paul Kelly. It contains chapters on a number of the thinkers addressed in this course (Hobbes, Locke, Mill, Marx, Rawls), has chapters on other thinkers that many students will encounter in other courses, and will help you a great deal in building a deep and broad understanding of the contextual development of western political thought. How to Use the Reading List This course does require students to read widely. We recognize that students have many demands during term-time, so we have tried to help make the reading easier to manage by selecting shorter key passages that are essential for tutorial preparation. These are identified as ‘Essential Tutorial Readings’. We have then identified further readings that should be consulted when preparing essays and exams. Students will be expected to read the ‘Essential Tutorial Readings’ in preparation for the tutorial, but we do not expect students to read beyond these for the tutorials. However, we do expect students to read beyond


these for the essays and exams. To help students understand which text to read in preparation for essays and exams we have identified these as ‘Essential Wider Thinker (e.g. Hobbes) Readings for Essays and Exams’ Students should also read items listed in the Recommended Readings and Further Readings in preparation for Essays and Exams. Students should prioritise readings in the Recommended Readings, and read as widely as they are able. We have also identified some important ‘Recommended Readings’ that provide particularly interesting debates about the thinkers we are discussing. We have highlighted these as ‘Disputes’. It will be helpful for students to read these carefully and engage with them in essays and exams, as they are an excellent starting point for critical evaluation of our thinkers. They will also feature prominently in the ‘Bootcamp’ sessions as we learn how to write good essays and exam answers on this course (see further information below on ‘Bootcamp’).

We have provided an extensive list of readings in the course guide and Resource List, and we do not expect students to identify readings from beyond the readings suggested here. We strongly recommend that you select appropriate materials from this reading list and study them carefully in order to prepare for your essays and exams. If you do identify readings from beyond this reading list and wish to include them in your essays/exams, we recommend that you check with your tutor in advance as they will be able to advise you if they are suitable. The main reason for this advice is that there is a large amount of material related to these thinkers (especially on the internet) and much of it is polemical and used for ideological purposes in various debates. It can be hard to evaluate the scholarly status of material related to this course, and so to avoid inadvertently using questionable or contentious sources, we recommend you stick closely to the recommended readings in this course guide.

In short: • Read ‘Essential Tutorial Readings’ for the tutorials • Read ‘Essential Wider Thinker Readings for Essays and Exams’ in addition to ‘Essential

Tutorial Readings’ for the essays and exams • Read widely from Recommended and Further readings, including the ‘Disputes’ readings,

in preparation for Essays and Exams • Essays and exams that are based only on the ‘Essential Tutorial Readings’ will do badly as

they demonstrate limited engagement with the substantive material on the course.


Course Structure LECTURES

• The course is taught in Weeks 1-5 and 6-11 of Semester 2 (please see the Course Schedule above for detailed information on dates).

• It has two lectures a week, on Mondays and Thursdays from 15.10-16.00 held in the George Square Lecture Theatre.

• Lectures commence in Week 1 (week beginning Monday, 14th January 2019).

• Each week there will also be an additional and optional session held on Tuesdays at 15.10-16.00 in Appleton Tower Lecture Theatre 5. These sessions begin in Week One. These are called ‘Bootcamp’ sessions, and focus on writing essays and exams. They will include activities and feedback on essential skills to do well in the course. See further information on Bootcamp below.

• Please note that there will be no lectures or tutorials during the Festival of Creative Learning

(18th – 22rd February). The lectures will introduce you to the main ideas of the theorists who are discussed each week, setting their work in the appropriate context, explaining key claims and concepts, and showing how they contribute to the broad theoretical question being addressed. You will get a great deal more out of the lectures if you have already read the key readings, even if only in a preliminary way. TUTORIALS Tutorials are the primary forum for discussion, deliberation, and debate on the thinkers and themes of the course. The tutorials start in Week 2 until run until Week 11. Tutorials are an integral part of the course. Your participation in tutorials is essential, and if you fail to attend on more than two consecutive occasions without reasonable explanation, your Personal Tutor will be informed. Please see the Course Schedule above for information on the tutorial topics and schedule.

Bootcamp The Bootcamp sessions are held every Tuesday, 3.10pm-4pm, David Hume Tower, Lecture Theatre A. They are designed to provide detailed and practical help on writing essays and exams for this course. These sessions are optional, but highly recommended. We study closely the assessment criteria for the essays and exams, and how to fulfil these successful in practice, with concrete examples and exercises. Each session will have feedback and advice on the exercises completed. Further information will be available on the Learn site for the course.


Course Assessment Assessment Dates Weighting Essay (2,000 words)

The essay questions will relate to the first five theorists covered in the course: • Hobbes • Locke • Marx • Mill • de Beauvoir

Essay questions will be made available on the Learn site at the start of the course. All essays must be submitted through ELMA by 12 noon on Monday 26th February 2019.

50%

Exam There will be six sections on the exam (Sections A-F). Each section will contain two questions. Students are required to answer two questions in total in the exam, no more than one question from any section. Each question is worth 50% of the final exam mark. Sections A-E will contain two questions each:

• Section A: Arendt • Section B: Qutb, Zaynab al Ghazali, and Huda Sha’rawi • Section C: Fanon/Du Bois • Section D: Gandhi/Nehru • Section E: Rawls • Section F will contain two questions which invite students to compare

at least two thinkers from any part of the course in relation to selected Course Themes (please see p. 6 in this course guide for more information on the Course Themes).

• Please note that students may compare thinkers from any part of the course in response to questions in Section F, not only thinkers Qutb/Zaynab al Ghazali/Huda Sha’rawi - Rawls.

• Students should ensure there is no overlap in the content of their exam answers. In other words, students must ensure that they do not reuse/repeat material in two different exam answers.

50%


Assessment Criteria The following are the main criteria on which the essay and exams will be marked.

A. Does the essay/exam demonstrate accurate comprehension of the political thinkers discussed, including

clear and accurate use of terminology, and sound understanding of relevant concepts? B. Does the essay/exam demonstrate that the student is able to express their understanding and critical

evaluation of the thinkers and the secondary arguments clearly and accurately in their own words? C. Does the essay/exam answer the questions clearly, presenting and defending a clear point of view in the

form of a well-structured argument? D. Does the essay/exam demonstrate critical engagement with the primary and secondary sources, including

evaluation of relevant arguments and interpretation by secondary authors? E. Does the essay/exam demonstrate wide reading from the course reading list? F. Is the essay/exam well presented with accurate referencing, clear demonstration of appropriate standards

of good academic practice regarding plagiarism and use of material by others? G. Is the essay/exam written in a clear and appropriate academic style, including accurate spelling, grammar

and legibility?


Essay Referencing The key to essay referencing is that you convey the relevant information about a source and do so in a consistent fashion. The point of referencing is that any reader of your work should be able to check every single one of its references against the original source to see that, for example, the author you are citing really did write what you claim s/he wrote, or that where you have presented a fact then it has been accurately presented and comes from an authoritative source. So it is your responsibility as a scholar to ensure that any potential reader of your essay could easily trace every single one of your claims. One way of doing this is to use the Harvard system, outlined below. If you do not wish to use this system, you must use another recognised system – not one you have made up - which conveys the same information. The library website contains guidance on referencing, including a subscription to ‘Cite Them Right’, an excellent on-line referencing tool. Essentials of the Harvard system: 1. After you have quoted from or referred to a particular text in your essay, add in parentheses the author’s name, the publication date and page numbers (if relevant). Place the full reference in your bibliography. Here is an example of a quoted passage and its proper citation: Quotation in essay: ‘Marx and Freud are the two great heroes of the radicalized Enlightenment’ (Callinicos, 1989: 172). Book entry in bibliography: Callinicos, A. (1989), Against Postmodernism: A Marxist Critique, Cambridge: Polity Press. Note the sequence: author, year of publication, title, edition or translation information if needed, place of publication, publisher. 2. If you are employing someone else’s arguments, ideas or categorization, you will need to cite them even if you are not using a direct quote. One simple way to do so is as follows: Callinicos (1989: 162-5) argues that postmodernism is more a symptom of ‘Good Times’ than of ‘New Times.’ 3. How to cite various sources: (ii) Chapters in book: In your essay, cite the author, e.g. (Jameson, 1999). In your bibliography details, should be arranged in this sequence: author of chapter, year of publication, chapter title, editor(s) of book, title of book, place of publication, publisher, article or chapter pages. For example: Jameson, F. (1999), ‘The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism’, in A. Elliott (ed.), The Blackwell Reader in Contemporary Social Theory, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 338-350.


(iii) Journal article: In your essay, cite the author, e.g. (Gruffydd-Jones, 2001). In your bibliography, details should be arranged in this sequence: author of journal article, year of publication, article title, journal title, journal volume, journal issue or number, article pages. For example: Gruffydd-Jones, B. (2001), ‘Explaining Global Poverty: A Realist Critique of the Orthodox Approach’, Journal of Critical Realism, 3(2): 2-10. (iv) Newspaper or magazine article: If the article has an author, cite as normal in the text (Giddens, 1998). In bibliography cite as follows: Giddens, A. (1998), ‘Beyond left and right’, The Observer, 13 Sept, pp. 27-8. If the article has no author, cite name of newspaper in text (The Herald) and list the source in the bibliography by magazine or newspaper title. For example: The Herald (1999), ‘Brown takes on the jobless’, 6 Sept, p. 14. (v) Internet sites: If the site has an author, cite in the text as normal, e.g. (Weiss and Wesley, 2001). In the bibliography, provide a full reference which should include author, date, title of website and URL address. For example: Weiss, S. & Wesley, K. (2001), ‘Postmodernism and its Critics.’ Available at: http://.www.brief.berkeley.edu/phil/postmodern.html If the site has no author, cite the address of the site in your text, e.g. for Centre for Europe’s Children (http://Eurochild.gla.ac.uk/). In the bibliography, provide a full reference including the title of the website, URL address, publisher or owner of the site, and if no date is available, indicate the date you accessed the site. For example: ‘Fourteen Countries Meet in Manila to Tackle Childhood Trafficking’ (www.asem.org), ASEM Resource Centre, Child Welfare Initiative, 23 Oct, 2001. Further information on how to use the Harvard Style is available at: http://www.docs.is.ed.ac.uk/docs/Libraries/PDF/SEcitingreferencesHarvard.pdf

http://.www.brief.berkeley.edu/phil/postmodern.htmlhttp://eurochild.gla.ac.uk/http://www.asem.org/http://www.docs.is.ed.ac.uk/docs/Libraries/PDF/SEcitingreferencesHarvard.pdf


Administrative Guidance

Appendix 1 – General Information

Students with Disabilities If you are a student with a disability (including those with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia), you should get in touch with the Student Disabilities Service as soon as possible. You can find their details as well as information on all of the support they can offer at: http://www.ed.ac.uk/student-disability-service The School welcomes disabled students with disabilities and is working to make all its courses as accessible as possible. If you have a disability special needs which means that you may require adjustments to be made to ensure access to lectures, tutorials or exams, or any other aspect of your studies, you can discuss these with your Student Support Officer or Personal Tutor who will advise on the appropriate procedures. Further guidance and information for Students with Disabilities can also be found in your Programme Handbook.

Learning Resources for Undergraduates The Study Development Team at the Institute for Academic Development (IAD) provides resources and workshops aimed at helping all students to enhance their learning skills and develop effective study techniques. Resources and workshops cover a range of topics, such as managing your own learning, reading, note-making, essay and report writing, exam preparation and exam techniques. The study development resources are housed on ‘LearnBetter’ (undergraduate), part of Learn, the University’s virtual learning environment. Follow the link from the IAD Study Development web page to enrol: www.ed.ac.uk/iad/undergraduates Workshops are interactive: they will give you the chance to take part in activities, have discussions, exchange strategies, share ideas and ask questions. They are 90 minutes long and held on Wednesday afternoons at 1.30pm or 3.30pm. The schedule is available from the IAD Undergraduate web page (see above). Workshops are open to all undergraduates but you need to book in advance, using the MyEd booking system. Each workshop opens for booking two weeks before the date of the workshop itself. If you book and then cannot attend, please cancel in advance through MyEd so that another student can have your place. (To be fair to all students, anyone who persistently books on workshops and fails to attend may be barred from signing up for future events). Study Development Advisors are also available for an individual consultation if you have specific questions about your own approach to studying, working more effectively, strategies for improving your learning and your academic work. Please note, however, that Study Development Advisors are not subject specialists so they cannot comment on the content of your work. They also do not check or proof read students' work. Students can book a study skills consultation https://www.ed.ac.uk/institute-academic-development/undergraduate/services/quick-consultations Academic English support can also be accessed at https://www.ed.ac.uk/english-language-teaching

Discussing Sensitive Topics The discipline of *Enter Subject Area* addresses a number of topics that some might find sensitive or, in some cases, distressing. You should read this Course Guide carefully and if there are any topics that you may feel distressed by you should seek advice from the course convenor and/or your Personal Tutor. For more general issues you may consider seeking the advice of the Student Counselling Service, http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/student-counselling

http://www.ed.ac.uk/student-disability-servicehttp://www.ed.ac.uk/iad/undergraduateshttp://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/student-counselling


Tutorial Allocation

Students on our semester 2 level 8 and level 7 courses (year 1 and 2 courses) will have been automatically assigned to a tutorial group. This allocation was done using Student Allocator software which will randomly assigned you to a tutorial group based on your timetable. It is important you attend the group on your personalised timetable, attending a different group will mean that you will not appear on the register making your attendance difficult to track which could lead to further difficulties for you. Please check your timetable for semester 2 over the next few days so you know what your timetable will look like after the Christmas vacation. Guidance on how to view your personal timetable can be found at https://www.ed.ac.uk/student-administration/timetabling/personalised-timetables.

Requesting a group change

Please note that there are limited spaces in tutorial groups and there will be little room for movement. If you are unable to attend the tutorial group you have been allocated for a valid reason, you can submit a change request by completing the online Group Change Request form. You can access the form via the Timetabling webpages here (https://www.ed.ac.uk/student-administration/timetabling/personalised-timetables )

Attendance Monitoring In accordance with the University general degree regulations you are expected to attend all teaching and assessment events associated with all courses that you are enrolled on. The College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences undertakes routine monitoring of attendance at tutorials and seminars for all students enrolled on courses delivered by Schools within our College. We undertake monitoring of attendance and engagement to enable us to identify where individual students may be experiencing difficulties and to ensure that timely and appropriate intervention can be delivered to provide support and guidance. We also undertake monitoring for sponsored students specifically to meet our obligations to the UKVI. If you miss one or more of your tutorials and/or seminars you may be contacted by your local Student Support Team and be asked to provide an explanation for your absence. All data is gathered and stored in line with the University policies and guidance on data handling and you can view the privacy statement at: https://www.ed.ac.uk/student-systems/use-of-data/policies-and-regulations/privacy-statement

Course Work Submission and Penalties Appendix 2 - Course Work Submission and Penalties

Penalties that can be applied to your work and how to avoid them. Below is a list of penalties that can be applied to your course work and these are listed below. Students must read the full description on each of these at: http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/undergrad/current_students/teaching_and_learning/assessment_and_regulations/coursework_penalties Make sure you are aware of each of these penalties and know how to avoid them. Students are responsible for taking the time to read guidance and for ensuring their coursework submissions comply with guidance.

• Lateness Penalty If you miss the submission deadline for any piece of assessed work 5 marks will be deducted for each calendar day that work is late, up to a maximum of seven calendar days (35 marks). Thereafter, a mark of zero will be recorded. There is no grace period for lateness and penalties begin to apply immediately following the deadline.

https://www.ed.ac.uk/student-administration/timetabling/personalised-timetableshttps://www.ed.ac.uk/student-systems/use-of-data/policies-and-regulations/privacy-statementhttp://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/undergrad/current_students/teaching_and_learning/assessment_and_regulations/coursework_penaltieshttp://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/undergrad/current_students/teaching_and_learning/assessment_and_regulations/coursework_penalties


• Word Count Penalty

Your course handbook will specify the word length of your assessments. All coursework submitted by students must state the word count on the front page. All courses in the School have a standard penalty for going over the word length; if you are taking courses from other Schools, check with them what their penalties are. The penalty for excessive word length in coursework is a 5-mark penalty. These 5 marks will be deducted regardless of how many words over the limit the work is (whether it is by 1 words or by 500!). In exceptional circumstances, a marker may also decide that any text beyond the word limit will be excluded from the assignment and it will be marked only on the text up to the word limit. In most cases, appendices and bibliography are not included in the word count whilst in-text references, tables, charts, graphs and footnotes are counted. In most cases, appendices and bibliography are not included in the word count whilst in-text references, tables, charts, graphs and footnotes are counted. Make sure you know what is and what is not included in the word count. Again, check the course handbook for this information and if you are unsure, contact the Course Organiser to check. You will not be penalised for submitting work below the word limit. However, you should note that shorter essays are unlikely to achieve the required depth and that this will be reflected in your mark.

ELMA: Submission and Return of Coursework

Coursework is submitted online using our electronic submission system, ELMA. You will not be required to submit a paper copy of your work. Marked coursework, grades and feedback will be returned to you via ELMA. You will not receive a paper copy of your marked course work or feedback. For details of how to submit your course work to ELMA, please see our webpages here. Please note that all submissions to ELMA should be formatted as a Word document (doc or.docx.). If you are permitted or required to submit in a different format, this will be detailed in your course handbook. Any submission that is not in word format will be converted by the Undergraduate Teaching Office into word where possible. By submitting in any format other than word, you are accepting this process and the possibility that errors may occur during conversion. The UTO will do everything possible to ensure the integrity of any document converted but to avoid issue, please submit in Word format as requested.

Extensions

If you have good reason for not meeting a coursework deadline, you may request an extension. Before you request an extension, make sure you have read all the guidance on our webpages and take note of the key points below. You will also be able to access the online extension request form through our webpages.

• Extensions are granted for 7 calendar days. • If you miss the deadline for requesting an extension for a valid reason, you should submit your

coursework as soon as you are able, and apply for Special Circumstances to disregard penalties for late submission. You should also contact your Student Support Officer or Personal Tutor and make them aware of your situation.

http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/undergrad/current_students/teaching_and_learning/assessment_and_regulations/submission_guidancehttp://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/undergrad/current_students/teaching_and_learning/assessment_and_regulations/requesting_an_extensionhttp://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/undergrad/current_students/teaching_and_learning/assessment_and_regulations/requesting_an_extension


• If you have a valid reason and require an extension of more than 7 calendar days, you should submit your coursework as soon as you are able, and apply for Special Circumstances to disregard penalties for late submission. You should also contact your Student Support Officer or Personal Tutor and make them aware of your situation.

• If you have a Learning Profile from the Disability Service allowing you potential for flexibility over deadlines, you must still make an extension request for this to be taken into account.

Exam Feedback and Viewing Exam Scripts: General exam feedback will be provided for all courses with an examination. General feedback will be uploaded to the relevant course learn page within 24 hours of the overall marks for the course being returned to Students. Students who sit the exam will also receive individual feedback. The relevant Course Secretary will contact students to let them know when this is available and how to access it. If students wish to view their scripts for any reason, they must contact the relevant Course Secretary via email to arrange this. Two weeks after the final mark for the course has been published on EUCLID students who took a year 1 or 2 course with a centrally arranged examination can request to collect their exam script from the Undergraduate Teaching Office. If you wish to collect your exam script, please contact the Course Secretary directly. The Course Secretary will respond to your email to confirm your script has been located and is ready for you to collect. Please be sure to bring your student card with you when you come to collect your exam script as proof of identity. Important note - school exam script retention policy Please note that uncollected exam scripts for year 1 and 2 courses with a centrally arranged examination will be destroyed according to the below schedule:

• December examination diet - Destroyed after the 30th of April • May examination diet - Destroyed after the 31st of October

Plagiarism Guidance for Students: Avoiding Plagiarism

Material you submit for assessment, such as your essays, must be your own work. You can, and should, draw upon published work, ideas from lectures and class discussions, and (if appropriate) even upon discussions with other students, but you must always make clear that you are doing so. Passing off anyone else’s work (including another student’s work or material from the Web or a published author) as your own is plagiarism and can be punished severely.

Copying part of one of your own assignments previously submitted for credit for the same or another course is self-plagiarism, which is also not allowed. This is an important consideration if you are retaking a course; an assignment submitted the previous year cannot be resubmitted the next, even for the same course.

When you upload your work to ELMA you will be asked to check a box to confirm the work is your own. All submissions will be run through ‘Turnitin’, our plagiarism detection software. TurnItIn compares every essay against a constantly-updated database, which highlights all plagiarised work. Students who are found to have included plagiarised (including self-plagiarised) material in their work will be reported to an Academic Misconduct Officer for further investigation, and grade penalties can be applied. In extreme cases, assignment grades can be reduced to zero.

For further details on plagiarism see the Academic Services’ website:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/arts-humanities-soc-sci/taught-students/student-conduct/academic-misconduct

http://www.ed.ac.uk/arts-humanities-soc-sci/taught-students/student-conduct/academic-misconduct


Data Protection Guidance for Students In most circumstances, students are responsible for ensuring that their work with information about living, identifiable individuals complies with the requirements of the Data Protection Act. The document, Personal Data Processed by Students, provides an explanation of why this is the case. It can be found, with advice on data protection compliance and ethical best practice in the handling of information about living, identifiable individuals, on the Records Management section of the University website at: https://www.ed.ac.uk/records-management/guidance/data-protection/dpforstudents

https://www.ed.ac.uk/records-management/guidance/data-protection/dpforstudents

Teaching Team and Administrative Contact DetailsAssessment at a glanceCourse ScheduleCourse Aims and OutcomesCourse ContentCourse StructureBootcampCourse AssessmentAssessment Criteria

Essay ReferencingAdministrative GuidanceAppendix 1 – General InformationStudents with DisabilitiesLearning Resources for UndergraduatesDiscussing Sensitive TopicsTutorial AllocationRequesting a group changeAttendance Monitoring

Appendix 2 - Course Work Submission and PenaltiesPenalties that can be applied to your work and how to avoid them.ELMA: Submission and Return of CourseworkExtensionsExam Feedback and Viewing Exam Scripts:Plagiarism Guidance for Students: Avoiding PlagiarismData Protection Guidance for Students

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