Feedback and appeal
| Feedback |
Feedback on your work is provided in various ways. Comments on your progress and how you might improve will often be given in the form of written feedback when your work is returned to you. Many tutors also arrange 'feedback sessions' which provide an opportunity on a one-to-one level to discuss oral presentations to the class, seminar participation or essay work. In addition, all tutors have weekly term-time office hours during which they are available to give feedback and discuss your academic progress. Some generic points arising from coursework may be covered in general feedback to the class as a whole, by e-mail, as part of seminar discussion that week, or delivered through MOLE. Some tutors also use elements of peer-feedback and assessment in their teaching. All feedback is most effective as part of a dialogue, so if there are things you want clarified or areas on which you would like more guidance, please do not feel shy about asking your tutor. It may seem an obvious point to make, but make sure that you read the comments on your work, and don’t just look at the mark! Even a very good mark will normally be accompanied by suggestions for improvement and further development.
All students receive written feedback on their essays and other written work. To facilitate feedback on student essays, the Department has adopted an ‘Essay Feedback form’.
This form should be used as a cover sheet for your essay and can be downloaded from MOLE: History Online or here.
Headings on this form cover many of the more important features that tutors consider when marking written work. Knowing how the essay was judged (on a scale ranging from ‘poor’ to ‘excellent’) on each of these criteria can help you understand the overall mark assigned and identify areas for future improvement.
| Appeals |
If you feel that a mark does not adequately reflect the merit of a piece of assessed work, you should speak either to your module tutor or to your Personal Tutor. If you wish to make a formal request for a piece of assessed work to be re-marked, this must be initiated within two weeks of the receipt of the mark. The assessed work will then be examined by another member of staff (the moderator for that module). When work is re-marked it may be awarded a mark higher or lower than initially awarded.
The University has an official Appeals procedure to handle student grievances. Details may be found in the University Calendar.
You may also find useful information in the Charter for Students on the University website.