Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ARA3107: Politics of Semi-democratic and Authoritarian Countries

This module descriptor refers to the 2022/3 academic year.

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessmentSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Essay Plans (x2)500 words each1-3, 5, 6, 8, 9Written

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

CourseworkWritten examsPractical exams
10000

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment% of creditSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Essay (x2)602000 words1-3, 5-6, 8-9Written
Book Review301500 words1-3, 6, 8, 9Written
Attendance and in-class participation10Assessed weekly during the 2 hour class1-3, 4-7Written (once a term)
0
0
0

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessmentForm of re-assessmentILOs re-assessedTimescale for re-assessment
EssayEssay (2000 words)1-3, 5-6, 8-9August/September reassessment period
Book ReviewBook Review (1500 words)1-3, 5, 8, 9August/September reassessment period
Attendance and in-class participationNo re-assessment, please see below

Re-assessment notes

Students in this module will be awarded 0.5% toward their final module mark for every class that they attend and are willing participants during class discussion – up to a maximum of 10 percentage points.  There are 11 sessions per term and this module runs across 2 terms.  All students are permitted to miss two classes across two terms; for these absences there will be no penalty.  This means that students should attend 20 classes across 2 terms (0.5% for attendance and participation per class) unless they have legitimate and documented reasons for not doing so. If students miss class for legitimate and documented reasons (i.e. sick, family emergency) then they will still be awarded the relevant percentage point(s) toward their final module mark.  Being a willing participant means that the student participates in class discussion either as an entire class or in small group discussion.  This scheme will exclude students whose ILPs suggest that attending class and/or participating is difficult.  For these students, they will be awarded the relevant percentage points even if they miss more than two classes and/or do not participate.