Three separate written forum entries constitute assessment #1 for EVST19008. Each forum will be

marked out of 10, meaning the three forums make up 30 marks and therefore 30% of your unit assessment.

The idea behind the forums is peer learning – basically you are learning from your colleagues (not the lecturer).

The forums are short answers and comments to address three questions that are explored in unit learning material during the term:

· Forum 1 – “The economy and the environment are not linked”.

· Forum 2 – “The term Cleaner Production just means companies have to recycle waste”.

· Forum 3 – “The best time to engage the public in an EIA is after all the environmental issues have been identified”.

The idea is that each forum requires two “actions” from you by the due date:

(1) submitted an opinion on the question raised of between 250 and 350 words; and

(2) debated reflectively and respectfully on the postings of colleagues.

The online forums in Moodle are set up so that you have to post your submission before you are allowed to view and

comment on your colleague’s postings.

You will have around two weeks in which to post an opinion. Ideally you will use the first week to write your post and

then the second week to comment on the posts of others. You don’t need to comment on everyone’s posts – a couple

will suffice (see assessment criteria).

If you make your post early within this time period, then your submission is available to others – for their (and your)

benefit. You will score well if you post your submission early and comment on others with a well written, but short reply.

Be respectful in your comments – the “student charter” refers. Note also that debate necessarily involves commentary

that disagrees with a post. This is fine, and expected – so long as the submission is respectful.

A score of 8 is achieved for any forum entry if you:

• posted a structured and engagingly written opinion drawing on unit materials;
• wrote between 250 and 350 words;
• ranged across more than 1 related concept;
• wrote with acceptable grammar and spelling;
• submitted your original post 5 days before deadline; and
• commented on one other student posts before the deadline.

A score of 9 or 10 is achieved if you:

• posted a particularly insightful, well-structured and engagingly opinion;
• drew on source materials beyond those the unit readings;
• wrote between 320 and 350 words;
• ranged across more than 2 related concepts;
• submitted your original post 7 days before deadline; and
• commented on two or three other student posts before the deadline.

Mark deductions for a forum entry are calculated as follows:

• 2 marks - wrote 200 to 250 or 350 to 400 words (not counting references, citations, headings, sign-offs etc – if you use them).
• 3 marks – wrote less than 200 or more than 400 substantive words.
• 1 to 3 marks – the degree to which a comment is disrespectful (note – this is not the same thing as disagreement – which in debating terms is expected).
• 1 to 3 marks – the degree to which the writing is less engaging - or exists as one “slab” of text (to make your forum entry an engaging piece of writing, it still needs to be a progressive development of argument, split into short paragraphs of one major thought each).
• 1 to 2 marks - the degree to which the post/comments are grammatically correct and spell checked.
• 1 to 2 marks – the degree to which unit learning or other scholarly material concepts are evident - any opinion is valid - so long as it is framed by “scholarly” material (note - formal citations/references are not required but you can use them if you want to – the lecturer will know when you have made use of unit learning).
• 1 to 2 marks – the degree to which the initial substantive post was submitted before the forum deadline (around 5 days).
• 1 to 2 marks – for not reflecting/commenting on one or two other student posts – or comments were “I agree” or something similar, without substantive thought.

As always – ask any question of the lecturer.

The three assessable quizzes consists of 10 multiple choice or true/false type questions. The questions for the assessable quizzes are selected from the prescribed text as follows:

Quiz 1 : Chapters 3 and 4;

Quiz 2 : Chapter 6; and

Quiz 3 : Chapters 8, 9 and 10.

The quiz questions are randomly selected - no student will receive the same question set. This quiz is available via a link in the Moodle learning management system site for the unit. You should answer all the questions.

You have only 1 attempt at each assessable quiz so review your answers before you submit the quiz.

The quiz will not be available past the deadline – time and date. If you are in the middle of the quiz when the deadline rolls around it will be submitted then and there. Finish it well before the deadline. The quiz will be “open” and available to you well before the deadline. Once you start the quiz you will have to complete it in that particular on-line session – you cannot “go back” to the quiz. If you exit the browser mid-attempt it will be submitted “half done” and you can’t go back to it. Don’t do the quiz on a computer with battery power only! If you do (because you have to) make sure the battery is well charged. Make sure your internet connectivity is robust.

The quizzes are essentially "open book" – so take your time and consider each question carefully. All quiz questions are from prominent sections of the text book – often (but not always) from figures or “boxes” (tables). The questions are not meant to be “obscure” – they are meant to test key sections of the unit.

These quiz are marked based on your knowledge of the work performed in the previous weeks identified.

Scope

Staged Progress

Mark Deductions

Paper Content

Scholarly Articles

Text Format

Figures and Tables

Proof Read

Your paper will be marked based on a criteria sheet that will be available for download from the Moodle site for this course.