Note: Assessments AND Submission dates differ between U/Gs and P/Gs

UG students:

The programming exercise corresponds to 50% of the final mark. You must hand in a 1,500 word program report plus the code you've written.  See here for more details.  The essay (2,000 words) corresponds to other 50% of the final mark.  Pick one of the titles from the selection here.  General advice on writing essays is given below.

Programming Exercise:- Initial choice -- choose your program topic and email this to Inman (inmanh@gmail.com) by Friday 26th Feb 2010, end of week 7. You should include a brief outline of how you intend to tackle it.
Essay:- Initial choice -- choose your essay topic and email this to Xabier (xabier.academic@barandiaran.net) by Friday 26th Feb 2010, end of week 7, You should include a brief abstract, and list 3 key references you will be citing. Important: if you want to propose a topic not close to anything on the list, needing more feedback, you should do this earlier -- by Friday 19th Feb.

Submission date for BOTH these U/G assignments: 4pm Thursday Week 1 of Summer Term. Thu 22nd April 2010, 4pm.

PG students:

Final assessment is by a  3,500 word term paper (100%) based on a suitable programming project. You are strongly encouraged to develop your own idea for a project, and check it with Inman Harvey. See here for more details and suggested starting points.

Initial choice -- choose your program topic and email this to Inman (inmanh@gmail.com) by Friday 26th Feb 2010, end of week 7. You should include a brief outline of how you intend to tackle it, and list 3 key references you will be citing.

Submission date for P/Gs:- 4pm Monday Week 1 of Summer Term. Mon 19th April 2010, 4pm.

What makes a good essay?  (for UG students)

Structure and narrative flow are key to a good essay. They cannot be achieved without careful thought and planning. There are no fixed rules on what constitutes a good essay, but a series of loosely coupled regurgitated opinions and quotes will not achieve a good mark. You should justify your arguments using the literature on the topic. Comparing and contrasting opinions and theories and coming to your own conclusions is a tried and trusted technique. The highest marks will be given to coherent well argued essays that have a clear and distinctive voice, this cannot be achieved by just summarising other peoples' views. The classic beginning middle and end structure is never a bad idea. The essay would start by introducing the topic and outlining the central aims of the piece. The main arguments are then carefully developed in the bulk of the essay before drawing the strands together in a punchy and insightful conclusion.