Politics

American Democracy and the Challenges of the 21st Century
Module POC3096 for 2017/8

Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POC3096: American Democracy and the Challenges of the 21st Century

This module descriptor refers to the 2017/8 academic year.

Please note that this module is only delivered on the Penryn Campus.

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Seminar questions based on readings or topics to prepare for class (emailed 24 hours in advance)	3-5 questions (1 a term)	4-5, 7-10	Verbal feedback from module convenor and other members of the class.

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
50	0	50

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Seminar participation	15	Over the 22 seminars	4-5, 7-10	Written feedback at the end of Term 1. Written feedback with final mark at the end of Term 2.
Essay	50	3000 words	1-8, 10	Written feedback
1 x 15 minute policy presentation	35	15 minutes + slides + 2 page handout	4-5, 7-9	Written feedback
	0

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Essay	Essay (3,000 words)	1-8, 10	August/September re-assessment period
Policy presentation	30 minute viva (15 min presentation + questions)	4-5, 7-9	August/September re-assessment period
Seminar participation	15 minute viva	4-5,7-10	August/September re-assessment period