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University
Assignments

  • Please keep in mind - none of these essays received 100% and was marked according to the UK system (A/First class above 70%). Essays have not been changed.

  • I share the short description of the assignments, essays and marks for both UK and international students, lecturers to see the grading system.

  • These essays have been submitted to Turnitin, please do not plagiarise. 

 

Year 1

Module: Introduction to Marine Biology

  • Mark: 87% 

  • Assignment: Chose one topic in mariculture 

  • Word limit: 1,500

  • Feedback: Best mark for a first-year student, proposed farming system is unique 

Module: British Wildlife and Conservation

  • Mark: 74% 

  • Assignment: Chose one topic - technological advancements in animal tracking

  • Word limit: 1,500

  • Feedback: Flagged for plagiarism - 'too much work for a first-year student' and had to defend it. The table needed to be more referenced (most of the articles were referenced in review paper). 

Module: Ecology

  • Mark: 82% 

  • Assignment: Write up one field trips - vegetation survey at Devil's Dyke in Cambridgeshire

  • Word limit: 1,000

  • Feedback: Good illustrations and extensive further reading. 

Year 2

Module: Invertebrate Biology

  • Mark: 80% 

  • Assignment: Compare invertebrate sampling techniques

  • Word limit: 1,500

  • Feedback: Good illustrations and extensive further reading. 

Module: Field Skills in Biology

  • Mark: 97% 

  • Assignment: Group project during field trip about shell shape in Devon

  • Word limit: 2,500

  • Feedback: Novel stats, maybe a bit too much and discussion is concise and short enough

Module: Climate Change: Plants, Animals and Ecosystems

  • Mark: 74% 

  • Assignment: Practical write up about Arabidopsis drought experiment

  • Word limit: 1,500

  • Feedback: Novel stats but not focused enough.

Module: Climate Change: Plants, Animals and Ecosystems

  • Mark: 65% â€‹

  • Word limit: 1,500

  • Feedback: "Unfortunate that some requested sub-topics appeared overlooked. The critical review section was very well prepared and also contributed a significant part of the overall mark."

Assignment description:
Section A (35%). The UK Environmental Change Network (ECN) site on Snowdon: Describe the i) purpose, ii) kinds of environmental measurements recorded and iii) trends revealed by data analysis of the accumulated time-series of those data from the UK ECN site on Snowdon. Also, iv) what historic and associated scientific research on the land around Llyn Llydaw and freshwaters of Nant Teyrn have added value to the LTER status of the ECN site on Snowdon?
Section B (45%). Long Term Ecosystem Research (LTER) and Earth observation in the UK, Europe and Internationally 

  • Mark: 87% 

  • Assignment: 

  • Word limit: 1,500

  • Feedback: Novel stats but not focused enough.

Module: Agronomy and Crop Improvement

Module: Applied Molecular Biology with Bioinformatics

  • Mark: 85% 

  • Assignment: Pick a topic - Gene expression methods

  • Word limit: 1,500

  • Feedback: "Some confusions and omissions but excellent effort"

Module: Applied Molecular Biology with Bioinformatics

  • Mark: 85% 

  • Assignment: Genes involved in the Green Revolution

  • Word limit: 1,500

  • Feedback: "Excellent work - could be written more clearly in some areas but otherwise lots of very nice extra detail."

Module: Research Methods

  • Mark: 92% 

  • Assignment: Write a review

  • Word limit: 1,500

  • Feedback: "Excellent effort, extensive further reading"

Module: Understanding Biological Research

  • Mark: 97% 

  • Assignment: Critique and evaluate a publication

  • Word limit: 1,500

  • Feedback: "Extensive research and re-analyzed data of the publication"

Module: Ecological Surveying

  • Mark: 97% 

  • Assignment: Group project in Aberystwyth

  • Feedback: "Excellent piece of work"

Year 3

Module: Conservation Genetics

Breakdown of marks (total=40%):
Introduction: 7%
Methods: 8%
Phylogenetic tree: 4%
Genetic diversity indices, bar chart and Tajima’s test: 7%
Genetic structure tables: 4%
Discussion: 10%

  • Mark: 90% 

  • Assignment: Produce a conservation plan for a species of your choice which takes into account genetic factors

  • Word limit: 2,000

  • Feedback: "Groups used in this analysis do not correspond to groups on the phylogenetic tree (why not?). Good use of AMOVA. The conservation plan is also excellent, explicitly based upon the ESUs identified in the genetic analysis."

Module: Terrestrial Ecology Field Course

  • Mark: 87% 

  • Assignment: Group project in Ireland

  • Word limit: 3,000

  • Feedback: "Excellent effort. Novel statistics answers an ecological question."

Module: Agri-environment

  • Mark: 87% 

  • Assignment: University farm audition

  • Word limit: NONE

  • Feedback: "Best mark awarded in this module, nice design and written in an appropriate language."

Students are provided with a whole farm conservation plan. They are expected to take the role of an Agri-environment Scheme Officer. The assignment should include: A summary statement; The quality of the auditing; The appropriateness of the management, rescription; The practicality of the timescales over the plan as a whole; What amendments you would suggest to improve the plan.
 

Module: Microbial Pathogenesis

Pathogenicity of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense on bananas

Module: Microbial Pathogenesis

The identification of Pseudomonas syringae pathovars based on PR1a-GUS tobacco response

  • Mark: 87% 

  • Assignment: Pick a pathogen and describe how it evades the host's defenses

  • Word limit: 1,500

  • Feedback: "Extensive further reading but not focused enough."

  • Mark: 87% 

  • Assignment: Lab practical to identify different Pseudomonas pathovars on tobacco plants

  • Word limit: 1,500

  • Feedback: "One strain was identified incorrectly."

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