BS312: Assessment

The assessment for module BS312 is as follows:

Examination (May/June 1999)	75%
Essay	15%
Seminar presentation	5%
Seminar report	5%

Seminar and Essay Programme

The seminar and essay programme is designed to introduce you to a range of infectious and immunological diseases and processes, and so to complement the material covered in the lectures. Your seminar and essay topic has been allocated to you and the title appears in the attached module timetable.

Starting in week 3, there will be eight seminar sessions running on two days each week. Seminars taking place in a particular week will in general have a common theme, Thursday sessions are concerned with infectious diseases and Friday sessions with immunological diseases and processes.

Attendance

Attendance at Lectures is compulsory. It is hoped that the seminar programme will be sufficiently interesting that you will want to attend all the sessions. However, it is appreciated that this is a busy time of year and that there are may calls on your time, and so attendance at all the seminar sessions is only advisory, and not compulsory. The minimum requirement is that you attend:

The session in which your seminar is scheduled
All sessions relating to diseases or process of the other category from that allocated to you, i.e. if you are allocated an infectious disease topic, you must attend all the sessions on immunological diseases, in order that you can choose a theme for your 200 word report.

Please note that registers of attendance will be taken.

Seminar presentations

You are expected to prepare a 15 minute talk on the topic allocated to you and present it at the time indicated on the timetable. An additional 5 minutes are allowed for questions. Please note that you must not read a script when giving your seminar. An overall mark will be awarded based on the contents and presentation of the seminar, use of the time available and the confidence with which you cope with questions from the audience.

Essay

Your essay will be on the same topic as your seminar. Essays should be no longer than 2000 words (excluding Figures, Tables, Legends and References) and should be typed in 12pt font, double spaced, on one side only of A4 paper. The deadline for submission of the essay (to Mrs. Mackley in the Microbiology & Immunology Office (MSB 124)), is Monday the 23rd November 1998 at 12.00 noon. The penalty for handing in your essay late will be the deduction of 5% per day (excluding weekends) from the mark awarded. Please note that it is unacceptable to go to a textbook and copy out the relevant chapter on your topic and that there are severe penalties for plagiarism. The best marks will be awarded for seminars and essays that emphasise up-to-date research in the field. You are, therefore, advised to use BIDS, Current Contents, etc. to locate the most recent reviews and primary research papers. These must be properly cited in the text of your essay and listed in a bibliography at the end in an appropriate format.

Seminar report

You are also expected to write a short article of no more than 200 words, on a particular seminar session of your choice. This article should be in the format of a journalistic piece along the lines of a conference report for New Scientist or Nature. Do not focus your article on a single disease or process; write a report that emphasises aspects of the whole session (i.e. diversity of diseases, a common trend, state of the art research, etc.).

The only restriction is that if your seminar and essay topic is concerned with an infectious disease, then you should write a seminar report on an immunological session and vice versa.

The deadline for submission of the report (to Mrs. Mackley in the Microbiology & Immunology Office (MSB 124)), is Monday the 23rd November 1998 at 12.00 noon. The penalty for handing in your essay late will be the deduction of 5% per day (excluding weekends) from the mark awarded.

Summay of seminar & essay programme

If assigned to seminar session:	This is a seminar session on the subject of:	Attend these sessions in addition to the one with your own seminar:	Write your seminar on report on one of these sessions:
SI	Immunology	SIII, SIV, SV, SVII	SIII, SIV, SV, SVII
SII	Immunology	SIII, SIV, SV, SVII	SIII, SIV, SV, SVII
SIII	Infection	SI, SII, SVI, SVIII	SI, SII, SVI, SVIII
SIV	Infection	SI, SII, SVI, SVIII	SI, SII, SVI, SVIII
SV	Infection	SI, SII, SVI, SVIII	SI, SII, SVI, SVIII
SVI	Immunology	SIII, SIV, SV, SVII	SIII, SIV, SV, SVII
SVII	Infection	SI, SII, SVI, SVIII	SI, SII, SVI, SVIII
SVIII	Immunology	SIII, SIV, SV, SVII	SIII, SIV, SV, SVII

Other Information

Open surgeries:

A short session has been set aside for the lecturers to address any problems and questions you may have with the taught material or course work. These informal sessions are not compulsory but you are encouraged to make full use of these opportunities to clarify problems with any aspect of the module. Assistance and advice on the module is available at other times from any of the module contributors by appointment.

Transferable skills training:

Guidance on oral presentation will be provided by a member of the Universitys Educational Development and Support Centre. The Student Learning Centre (SLC) based in College House on the campus also produces a wide range of literature that may be of use to you in this module. Student Study Guides are currently available to you on the following subjects: Organising your time, Making the most of lectures, Effective note taking, Thought mapping, Improving reading skills, Revision and exam skills, Planning essays, Writing essays, Referencing & bibliographies, Avoiding plagiarism, Writing for science, Planning a powerful presentation, Delivering a powerful presentation, Using visual aids, and Poster presentations.

Communication:

Information about late changes to the timetable etc. will be distributed via an e-mail distribution list. Please ensure that you check your e-mail regularly.

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