For this assessment, students will form teams and will conduct research on the given geotechnical engineering topics. These topics are related to the advanced methods for estimating the bearing capacity of the soil for foundation design, stability analyses, retaining structures design and exploration of the related Australian Standards. In some cases, students may also require using related geotechnical software packages for their report. Students are required to submit their report and also present it orally as a team.

The following criteria will be assessed:

a) Format of the report and including cover page, table of contents, abstract, literature, conclusion and examples (if any);
b) Work breakdown among team members;
c) The coherence of the research;
d) Completeness of the research and its details;
e) Complete Referencing; and
f) Quality of the presentation.

Professional presentation will have the following features:

• The research is clearly identified;
• A clear statement of each topic and its details and requirements;
• Appropriate use of diagrams and clear diagrams;
• Correct use of terminologies; and
• Clear English in the explanation of the procedure and interpretation of the results.

Grades for the assessment will be determined based on the evidence and substantiation of attainment of the LOs (learning outcomes).

After submission of the team report, students must present their individual report orally (or recorded) to the class. Students must be well prepared to answer any questions raised by the lecturer during the presentation about the topic of their research.

Individual Student's Grade:

Each team submission will be assessed and a grade will be given to each member of the team based on the submitted report that forms 70% of the assignment 1 mark. Students will also be assessed based on their individual presentation that forms the other 30% mark of assignment 1.

A similarity check will be always done before marking the submitted assignments for all students. Upon detection of any plagiarism including i) similarity between submitted reports within the same cohort or ii) with the previous cohorts or iii) submitted works to other institutes or iv) using the material provided by cheating websites will result in failing that assignment without marking and the student will be reported to the CQU Academic Misconduct team for further actions.

Each question in this assessment will be assessed separately for the:

• Accuracy;
• Correct application of mathematics and arithmetic;
• Answers clearly identified; and
• Correct results.

In addition, the assessment as a whole will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Evidence of correct procedures;
• All necessary steps in the analysis are present in the correct order;
• Clear presentation of the mathematical and arithmetical working linking is given;
• Details of the problem with the results are obtained; and
• Evidence of checking results (mathematical, graphical, logic common sense) are presented.

Evidence of an understanding of the topic:

• Explanation of choices made in the analysis (why is the procedure required, why this particular procedure); and
• Interpretation of results.

A similarity check will be always done before marking the submitted assignments for all students. Upon detection of any plagiarism including i) similarity between submitted reports within the same cohort or ii) with the previous cohorts or iii) submitted works to other institutes or iv) using the material provided by cheating websites will result in failing that assignment without marking and the student will be reported to the CQU Academic Misconduct team for further actions.

• Each student must prepare a technical description of the test and associated procedures and should prepare a data sheet to be used to record the results during the test.
• Each student must prepare a short test report for each experiment. This includes calculations and discussion on the results and the test procedure description.
• Test reports must be short and precise to point out calculations/results/graphs and discussion. The limit for explaining the procedure, results and conclusions is a maximum of 3-5 pages (Word file).
• A complete submission for practical assessment includes 2 files:

a) An Excel File including all analyses and graphs. All cells must be formula-based to track the calculations,
b) Sample calculations must be included in the MS Word report file.
c) Word file to explain the procedure, results and conclusions (maximum of 3-5 pages).

Please also note that the practical report is an individual submission and each student should do their own analysis and explanations based on the test they have carried out. PDF files are not accepted for marking.

• A similarity check will be always done before marking the submitted assignments for all students. Upon detection of any plagiarism including i) similarity between submitted reports within the same cohort or ii) with the previous cohorts or iii) submitted works to other institutes or iv) using the material provided by cheating websites will result in failing that assignment without marking and the student will be reported to the CQU Academic Misconduct team for further actions.