Exam Scripts

[SchizophrenicCabbage]

Does anyone have an answer to the following?: -

Exam question papers often have the line that you cannot write an answer on any material you've already used in your essays. However, given that scripts are anonymous, can they really put this 'rule' into practice? Or, after marking when they open up the slip on the front cover to see the person's name (I presume they do this to double check etc) does somebody then go and check the material you wrote about for your exam answer against your coursework?

[Bizarre Atheist]

A common question, with the usual answer that no, nobody cross references your continuous assessment with your exam, and you can get away with writing on the same topic twice.

It is certainly done fairly often by students of all disciplines. At a guess.

I do not, of course, advocate nor encourage anyone to cheat in any way in their degree. Unless you really want to.

[hr]

[KateBush]

I disagree. OF course they check to see who you are and what you wrote on- term time essays aren't anonymous, and these will be consulted to work out your overall module mark. So it's going to be clear if you have written on the same topic twice.

Just don't risk it.

[hr]

Intelligence can leap the hurdles which nature has set before us- Livy

[tg]

I would say don't overlap... unless you really really have to. If you get away with it, as I know alot of people do, then happy days, and you'll proabaly get a decent mark.

If you choose to write on (or re-write) an essay/topic you've done in the past, and it isn't absolutley necessary and you get caught, then you're fucked, and it can only be your fault.

[Thalia]

As a disclaimer, in psychology there is no rule that we can't reuse essay material in the exam so i don't know much about it.

Surely the better way would just be for the department to ensure that no continuous assessment question is the same as an exam question? Reusing material would make little difference in that instance since it would be being used for the purpose of answering a different question.



[hr]

You've been nothing but an angel every day of your life and now you wonder what it's like to be damned...

[ojk6]

I know somebody was penalised in the faculty of Divinity last year (or possibly the year before). I think the lecturer has to check "manually" and that in this case it was provoked by one of the three questions being significantly better (read: "amazing") compared to the other two.

That said, the disclaimer on scripts does say words to the effect of "students should not attempt questions that significantly reproduce work submitted for assessment...". So I guess it's on the interpretation of "significantly" - you could use material from an essay provided it wasn't the main thrust of your argument.

[WashingtonIrving]

I thought the point was more that you don't get any credit for what you reproduce, so you shouldn't focus on it, though you could tackle the same type of question in a different way. Thats what I was told in philosophy anyway.

It does annoy me actually, quite a few philosophy honours classes don't give you essay questions but let you choose your own, which I like, but it does mean that some people are more constrained than others going into the exam.

[hr]

"I said farewell honey, I'll see you Judgment Day"

[CheeseDaddy]

Ive never come across any disclaimers in any course Ive ever done. Which schools have this rule?

[The Dude]

English is the only one that I have run into which have that rule. When I did it they did not take off much at all though bu that was in a 1000 level modual. If you aren't sure e-mail your tutor as it would be awfule if you prepare an essay you have already done to find that you can't use it on the exam.

[Eskimo]

Quoting The Dude from 11:08, 11th Jan 2008
English is the only one that I have run into which have that rule. When I did it they did not take off much at all though bu that was in a 1000 level modual. If you aren't sure e-mail your tutor as it would be awfule if you prepare an essay you have already done to find that you can't use it on the exam.

You did an English module and you've managed to come up with both 'modual' and 'awfule'. This disturbs me greatly.

[Griggsy]

Must vary from subject to subject. There's never been such a rule in IR. But you would think that some degree of consistency across all subjects would clear things up.

[hr]

'I run wild in the shadowy jungle of erotic adventures.'

[lts2]

Your uni card number goes on the front anyway so if they want to check without opening the slip bit up, its easy enough...

[Guest]

I was told they are de-anonymized after marking, and then graded down.

Quoting Schizophreniccabbage from 13:57, 10th Jan 2008
Does anyone have an answer to the following?: -

Exam question papers often have the line that you cannot write an answer on any material you've already used in your essays. However, given that scripts are anonymous, can they really put this 'rule' into practice? Or, after marking when they open up the slip on the front cover to see the person's name (I presume they do this to double check etc) does somebody then go and check the material you wrote about for your exam answer against your coursework?

[Guest]

Both of my subjects don't care if you reuse things you've already written on. I do IR and Psychology. In IR they even say it explicitly to us, "If you get an exam question that is similar to what you wrote on then that's good luck for you; feel free to write on it".