Assessment by Long Essay for Level 3 Students

Examination by Long Essay is only available to Level 3 students.

Each 3rd year module includes the option of being assessed on the basis of a single long essay in place of the usual coursework/exam. This is to enable students to pursue a chosen topic in greater depth than normal, and to test out their aptitude for graduate-level work.

The long essay is worth 100% of the final grade for the module.

Single Honours Philosophy

Students can opt to have up to three modules in their third year examined by long essay over the academic year.

Single honours students may take no more than a total of three modules that are either Project modules or modules assessed by Long Essay.

No student may submit long essays for more than two modules in any one semester.

Dual Honours Philosophy

Dual-honours Philosophy students may submit Long Essays for up to two modules in their third year over the academic year.

Dual honours students may take no more than a total of two modules that are either Project modules or modules assessed by Long Essay.

Notification of intention to submit a Long Essay

Students are required to complete the google form Long Essay Application form which is received by the Student Experience Team for processing. This form requires a Long Essay outline and title in a document uploaded with the google form and have already been discussed and approved by the course teacher. (Titles should bear a close relation to the topics covered in the module, in such a way that no additional readings need to be set). No student will be permitted to opt for assessment by long essay after this point.

Approval is not automatic and is dependent on prior grades, performance on the course, and quality of the submitted plan. In the event that your tutor is unavailable at the Long Essay approval deadlines, an email detailing approval by the tutor is acceptable and should be uploaded to your application form.

Long Essay Approval Deadlines

Autumn Semester

The deadline for approval for long essays is 2pm on MONDAY 18th NOVEMBER 2024

Spring Semester

The deadline for approval for long essays is 2pm on MONDAY 31st MARCH 2025

Students should note that the module lecturer may be away during reading week in Autumn Semester [week prior to the deadline] , and may not be in the Department on the day of this deadline. The students are advised to confirm the lecturer’s availability well before the deadline. Inability to contact the lecturer will not ordinarily be accepted as an excuse for missing the deadline.

IMPORTANT

Applications received after the long essay approval deadline will be subject to a 15 point penalty. Applications received after 22ND November 2024 (Autumn) and 4TH April 2025 (Spring) will not be considered.

Notification of Withdrawal

Students have the option of returning to the standard form of assessment for the module (shorter-essay-plus-exam) at any time up to the submission-deadline for the short essay by notifying the department in writing. Please bear in mind, if you revert to the short essay at this late stage you will not be entitled to an extension.

The Long Essay Process

Advisory tutorials

Students are required to attend one half-to-one-hour session with the course teacher to discuss a draft of their essay. A shorter initial meeting will also need to be held to discuss the proposal before approval, sometime before the start of week 7, either in office hours or by arrangement.

Students should note that advice offered in advisory tutorials can have a very significant (positive) impact on the mark attained. You are strongly urged to make use of this facility.

Deadline & Penalties

The deadline for submission of long essays is :

Autumn Semester the deadline for submission is 2pm on Thursday 23rd January 2025

Spring Semester the deadline is 2pm on Thursday 22nd May 2025

Penalties for late submission are the same as for coursework essays. Long Essays are uploaded to the modules Blackboard page in the same way as end of term essays.

Format

Each long essay should be 4000 - 5000 words in length (inclusive of notes but exclusive of bibliography). With a +/- 10% leeway being allowed before any penalties are applied. Markers will cease reading over length essays at the point where they judge the essay to exceed the word limit. Long essays must be typed, double spaced, with margins on each side of at least an inch. All long essays must be accompanied by an accurate word count.

Essays of this length are considerably more difficult in structure and organisation than are standard-length coursework essays. You should consider using sections and section headings. And you should ensure that the essay pursues an overall strategy, which is clear, well thought out, and well signposted.

IMPORTANT

Examination by long essay is not an easy option. Although it might look a lot easier to work up just one topic rather than three, in fact essays of this length are much more difficult to control and structure.

As a rough rule of thumb, we would advise you only opt for examination by long essay if you have obtained a 1st class mark for a coursework essay at some point in the past (either in 2nd year or earlier in 3rd). Also please note that if you opt to do two long essays in one semester, this may cause difficulties in terms of workload, and you will be committing yourself to this mode of examination for two courses without trying it out in only one first.

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