A Level Coursework

Guidance for Students & Parents

Your coursework is a major part of your AS or A-level qualification, so it is vital that you put your best efforts into making it the best reflection of your ability in the subject. This guide sets out what is expected of you and your teachers to ensure that the coursework meets the requirements of the examination board. The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) represents all the examination boards, and publishes regulations for the conduct of examinations and internal assessment. A copy of their Notice to Candidates can be found at:

http://jcq.redspa.co.uk/Download/exams-office/information-for-candidatesdocuments/information-for-candidates-coursework-2012-2013

The JCQ also publishes a detailed document on Instructions for Conducting Coursework, the full text of which can be found at:

http://jcq.redspa.co.uk/Download/exams-office/coursework/instructions-for-conductingcoursework-2011-2012
Ofqual, the government agency that regulates all qualifications and assessment has produced a number of guides for teachers, parents and students on avoiding plagiarism to help ensure that coursework is completed and assessed fairly: Student guide: http://www2.ofqual.gov.uk/files/2009-12-24-plagiarism-students.pdf Parent guide: http://www2.ofqual.gov.uk/files/2009-12-24-plagiarism-parents.pdf

Over the past few years we have had occasional problems with students engaging in malpractice, in some cases without fully realizing that they were doing anything wrong. This has led to students needing to redo work completely, receiving zero marks for their coursework, or even withdrawing completely from the subject concerned. It is therefore vital that you are familiar with the Notice for Candidates, the coursework requirements laid out in the exam board specification for your course, and with any specific instructions given by your teachers.

How much help should I expect from my teacher(s)?

An expectation has grown up among some students that it is their teachers responsibility to get them through their coursework. However, the JCQ Notice to Candidates ends very clearly, in bold type and capital letters: REMEMBER ITS YOUR QUALIFICATION SO IT NEEDS TO BE YOUR OWN WORK

The Instructions for Conducting Coursework lay down some very clear guidelines for teachers on how much intervention we can make in your coursework. These include:

Teachers may review coursework before it is handed in for final assessment. Provided that advice remains at the general level, enabling the candidate to take the initiative in making amendments, there is no need to record this advice as assistance or to deduct marks Generally one review should be sufficient to enable candidates to understand the demands of the assessment criteria. Advice may be given in either oral or written form. Having reviewed the candidates coursework it is not acceptable for teachers to give, either to individual candidates or to groups, detailed advice and suggestions as to how the work may be improved in order to meet the assessment criteria. Examples of unacceptable assistance include: detailed indication of errors or omissions; advice on specific improvements needed to meet the criteria; the provision of outlines, paragraph or section headings, or writing frames specific to the coursework task(s); personal intervention to improve the presentation or content of the coursework Once work is submitted for final assessment it must not be revised: in no circumstances are 'fair copies' of marked work allowed. Adding or removing any material to or from coursework after it has been presented by a candidate for final assessment will constitute malpractice. (JCQ 2009, p1)

In summary, then, you cannot expect your work to be reviewed more than once by your teacher. If your teacher feels it is necessary they may review work more than once to help you improve, but that is entirely at their discretion. You should expect any feedback on how to improve to remain at the general level and not to take the form of detailed marking or correction.

How much help can I get from parents, or relatives?

The JCQ guidance makes it very clear that:

Parents/carers may provide their children with access to resource materials and discuss the coursework with their children, but they must not give direct advice on what should or should not be included (JCQ 2009, p3)

When and where should I do my coursework?

Coursework provides an opportunity for you to develop your own independent learning, and it is accepted that you may do much of the work in your own time. However, your teachers will also devote some lesson time to coursework, and may set interim tasks or deadlines for the completion of different components or stages of the work.

The exam board specifications and the Instructions for conducting coursework all state: some direct supervision is necessary to ensure that the coursework submitted can be confidently authenticated as the candidates own. (JCQ 2009, p5) Both you and your teacher are required to sign a coursework record form which includes a declaration that the work is entirely your own, or declaring any additional support you have received (in which case the marking must take account of this). It is therefore vital that you follow the directions given by your teacher, work in class when required to do so, and ensure that you keep your teacher(s) up to date with the progress of your coursework continually, to ensure that they can honestly say that they know the work is your own. It is not acceptable for you just to say that you work best at home, and to do all the work out of school. The most common problem we have is when a student produces a complete piece of work little, if any, of which has been done in class or discussed previously with the teacher. If this happens, the coursework does not meet the requirement for some direct supervision noted above, and therefore it cannot be accepted for submission, however much you may protest that it is your own work. Another problem that can occur is when a student has received help from someone such as a parent, sibling, friend or private tutor. Remember that direct advice on what should or should not be included is prohibited. If the content or quality of your work is significantly different from what you have shown in class, this is likely to raise suspicion. The Instructions for conducting coursework state that it is a requirement that teachers/assessors confirm to the awarding body that all of the work submitted for assessment was completed under the required conditions and that they are satisfied that the work is solely that of the individual candidate concerned. If they are unable to do so, the work should not be accepted for assessment.(JCQ 2009, p4) If you fail to do sufficient work in class, miss deadlines, and do not show evidence of the progress of your work over the period that coursework is being done, then your work will not have been completed under the required conditions.

What forms of malpractice must I avoid?

The Instructions for conducting coursework state that candidates must not:

submit work which is not their own; lend work to other candidates or allow their work to be copied; allow other candidates access to, or the use of, their own independently sourced material or assist others in the production of coursework; (this does not mean that candidates may not lend their books to one another, but candidates must not plagiarise others research) use any books, the internet or other sources without acknowledgement or attribution; submit work word-processed by a third person without acknowledgement.

These actions constitute malpractice, for which a penalty (e.g. disqualification from the examination) will be applied. (JCQ 2009, p3)

How can I avoid being suspected of malpractice?

You must include a bibliography that includes details of all sources you have referred to whether in print or on the internet. Where you have used sources directly, this should be acknowledged in the work itself, and cross-referenced to your bibliography. The recommended method for doing this is known as the Harvard System, which is explained in the Using Sources guide mentioned above, along with guidance on how to find, use and cite sources. If your teacher agrees, it may be beneficial do your work using Google Documents, as there will be a permanent record of the entire drafting process in the revision history. This will help to confirm that the work is yours and has been completed appropriately. It will also allow your teacher to make comments and offer general advice or ask questions to further prompt your thinking directly within the work itself.