Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POC2041: The Political Psychology of Elites

This module descriptor refers to the 2016/7 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
Group presentations (based on readings or topics to prepare for class)	10 mins (about 4 over the 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
90	0	10

...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	10	Over the 11 seminars	4,5,7-10	Written feedback at the end of Week 5. Written feedback with mark at the end of the term.
Essay	70	4,000 words	1-8,10,11	Written feedback
2 x 500 word critiques	20	1,000 words	2,4,6,7,10	Written feedback
	0
	0
	0
	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 (4,000 words)	1-8,10,11	August/September assessment period
2 x 500 word critiques	1,000 words	1-8,10,11	August/September assessment period
Seminar participation	30 minute viva	4,5,7-10	August/September assessment period

Re-assessment notes

If you have failed the module despite attaining pass marks in the essay and critiques, your ‘seminar participation’ will be re-assessed. If you have failed the module due to a failure to pass your ‘seminar participation’ and either or both of the essay and critiques, then your re-assessment will initially be limited to the written component(s) only. In this circumstance, your ‘seminar participation’ will only subsequently be re-assessed if you have completed the referred written work and still failed the module. Re-assessment of your participation in seminars, as a result of referral/deferral processes, will take the form of a viva involving a 10-minute oral presentation on a question submitted in advance, followed by 20 minutes of questioning by the module convenor.