Assessment

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General Assessment Advice

Under the University’s policies on plagiarism, you may not reproduce work that you have already presented for a summative piece – as this would be counted as self-plagiarism and is a serious issue that may lead to penalties on your work or studies (see here for more details:https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/undergraduate/assess-plagiarism/#plagiarism). In practice, what this means is that you should try to explore different topics in each of the written assessments in this module (1500 word essay, 3000 word essay, and Timed Take-home assessment).

All word limits for assessments are absolute (i.e., they are word limits– there is NO 10% extra allowance!), and these do NOT include titles, footnotes, or bibliography. Essays that exceed the word limit will be penalised according to the department’s policies.

See the History department’s pages on Academic Referencing and Style Guide, and the MHRA Style Guide for advice on how to format your work. You should also take a look at the History department’s advice pages on marking assessment criteria, advice for essay writing and how to avoid plagiarism.

Your seminar tutors are available to speak with about any assessments or element of this module. You can either email them with questions, or speak with them in their weekly office hours (contact your seminar tutor for details of their office hours).

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1500 word essay (10%)

For the 1500 word essay, please select an essay title from the various seminar questions. These are all available on the module MoodleLink opens in a new window page and Talis Reading ListLink opens in a new window, and you may choose any question from any seminar throughout the module. A good place to start would be to think about which topic you want to write/present about, and then look at the related seminar questions to choose from. You are welcome to formulate your own question, but you MUST approve the title with me first if doing this.

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3000 word essay OR a 'zine (40%)

For this assessment you have two options: a more 'traditional' 3000 word essay, or an applied assignment where you make a zine. The choice is completely up to you although this is your chance to submit something creative and different than a 'regular essay' that I encourage you to seize!

A zine is brief, handmade publication, usually numbering around 8 pages that can include a mix of writing, artwork, poetry, photography, or anything else to get a message across. As The Creative Independent put it, at the centre of 'zine-making ethos are subversion, freedom of thought, and a DIY attitude.' This is your chance to be creative, get out the craft paper and scissors, glue sticks etc., or digital design tools. This reflects some of the key approaches to the themes and histories we'll be discussing, and you are encouraged to make a creative and radical document that speaks to some of the key themes or weeks we've studied. Your zine must also include a 1,000 word reflection/introduction on why you chose to present what you have, which historians you are drawing from, and how the format fits your chosen topic or theme.

You MUST discuss your proposed zine theme or topic with me before starting to ensure that it is feasible and fulfils the assessment criteria. There will be a bespoke zine-making workshop / session so you are fully aware of the format, what you could do, and how to start, so you don't need any prior knowledge to get stuck in! You can also look at The Creative Independent's webpage here for somewhere to start: https://thecreativeindependent.com/guides/how-to-make-a-zine/Link opens in a new window

For the 3000 word essay, you are encouraged to design your own title/question. You MUST discuss your proposed essay title/question with me before starting to research/write it. When thinking about a question make sure it is answerable within the word count and consider how to phrase it: you don't want too leading a question but likewise you want to avoid overly broad or aimless questions.

This is your chance to really engage with a topic you're interested in, share your amazing ideas and skills, and approach one of the topics we've covered with your own spin/slant.

All other guidance above about word counts, referencing, and marking criteria, are applicable here too.

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Timed take-home assessment (40%)

The 7-day take-home exam asks you to pick two questions to answer from a list of ten questions. Students must answer the questions within the word limit of 1500 words for each answer. You are not able to get extensions for these assignments and must submit by the deadline. Submission is via Tabula as with your other assessments.

Information on exams (timetable, how they work this year) and general guidance from the History Department is available hereLink opens in a new window. You can also find a past paper hereLink opens in a new window - this is indicative of the kinds of questions that might come up but obviously your exam paper will be different in questions.

Key Information:

• You have 7 calendar days to complete each paper
• You should spend approximately one hour on each question
• You will be asked to choose two questions to answer
• Answers should 1500 words per question max (not including footnotes and bibliography)
• You should provide footnotes and a bibliography
• You are able to consult course materials and seminar/revision notes
• You must include a bibliography of all sources you consulted at the end of the answer

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Seminar contribution (10%)

The final assessment for this module is the quality of your contribution and engagement over the duration of the module as a whole. This mark will be decided in part by your seminar tutor assessing your contributions in our weekly seminars, but also through a your submission of a structured self-evaluation form (of up to 1000 words). This form contains a set of questions prompting you to self-reflect on various aspects of your seminar contributions, as well as a suggestion of the mark you feel you deserve for your contribution and engagement over the course of the module. The mark will be one of the points on the university’s 20-point marking scale, and marking criteria for ‘seminar contribution’ can be found here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/undergraduate/assess-coursework/#seminarcontribution.Link opens in a new windowThe best self-evaluation forms will include strong elements of critical reflection. This assessment is asking you to really think about your overall input to the module and our seminars, to identify what you think you have achieved and contributed, as well as reflecting on challenges faced and lessons you have learned about your own performance.This assessment is NOT simply about the quantity of your contributions to this module (i.e., how often you spoke or answered questions in seminars), but about the quality of your engagement (for instance: clarity of expression; how respectful and inclusive you have been, such as allowing others to speak and respectively engaging with their opinions or perhaps encouraging contributions by posing questions that help develop conversations; your reading and preparation for seminars; etc.). Similarly, the self-evaluation forms achieving the highest marks will be those that do not simply list what you think has gone well, but also reflect on what you have learned to do differently or identify areas that you think you could develop in the future (and suggestions for how you might do so).

• Be critical: just saying what you did is not enough – ‘So what?’ is the question that should guide your reflections.
• Keep it formal(ish): you can take a less formal approach than usual essays, but this is still a scholarly and critical piece of work.
• Be specific: select pertinent and significant examples/aspects and relate these to your experience and seminar contributions.

Download the HI2D4 Seminar Contribution Self Evaluation Form hereLink opens in a new window.