Assessment

The module is assessed by the following means:

Seminar contribution (10%)
1500 word blog post (40%)
3000 word essay (50%)

For assessment deadlines, please see the Undergraduate HandbookLink opens in a new window

Assessed work is marked according to the department's assessment criteria. Please format your work according to the guidelines provided in the MHRA style guide particularly in regard to the footnotes and the bibliography.

Seminar Contribution

10% of your overall mark for the module will be determined by your contribution to seminars over the course of the year. Seminar contribution is not a measure of how much you speak in seminars, but is intended to assess your overall performance. When assessing your seminar contribution your seminar tutor will therefore take into account the following factors:

Oral contribution: not a measure of how much you say, but the quality of your contributions, taking into account clarity of expression, relevance, respectfulness and inclusivity, contributions that extend the discussion. Remember, asking pertinent and probing questions also counts here!
Knowledge and understanding: encompassing evidence of preparation, engagement and understanding of the relevant material.
Analysis: evidence that you can think about and evaluate, interpret and interrogate what you read and what is discussed, rather than simply repeating material from the lectures and readings; backing up statements, arguments and opinions with relevant evidence.
Evidence of the ability to understand and engage with different historiographical, theoretical and methodological approaches.

Your seminar contribution will be assessed on the basis of observation by your seminar tutor and the completion of a self-assessment form in which you will be asked to reflect upon your own performance throughout the year. You will receive some interim feedback part-way through the module to give you a sense of how you are doing and how you might improve your overall performance in the rest of the year.

If you have a medical condition or other good reason why you think that assessment through seminar contribution might be especially difficult for you please speak to your personal tutor about the possibility of arranging an alternative method of assessment.

1500 Word Blog Post

The first written assessment for the module is a 1500 word blog post, worth 40% of your mark for the module, which must be completed by all students.

Topic: Your blog post should be on some aspect of 'everyday life in the Weimar Republic'. This could be a discussion of employment and housing, what it was like to be young/old/female/male/trans/gay/straight/Jewish etc., the experience of cinema-going, playing or watching sport or what people chose to do in their leisure time or any other aspect of the social or cultural history of the Weimar Republic. If you are unsure of what to write about, please speak to your seminar tutor.

Blog posts are informal, sometimes conversational pieces rather than academic essays. They should still use full sentences and correct grammar, but are written for a public audience. You should think carefully about the language that you use and whether it is appropriate for the intended audience and avoid historical jargon.

You should also keep your paragraphs short and include images (or video) to break up the text.

You should still reference your sources, but you can embed relevant links in the text itself if you are using websites (use full footnotes for other sources). Give a list of the sources you have used at the end of your post.

Some examples of existing blog posts on subjects related to Weimar Germany can be found below (these are included for illustrative purposes only; please do not copy either the subject or the content of these examples):

3000 Word Essay

All students are required to write a 3,000 word essay on a topic of your choice, which will worth 40% of your total mark for the module.

It is important that you pick a topic that you find interesting and will enjoy researching. Essay topics should be focused, in-depth explorations of particular aspect of the history of the Weimar Republic. Please discuss prospective topics/questions with your seminar tutor.