THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER

SCHOOL OF LAW

GUIDELINES ON THE PRESENTATION AND SUBMISSION OF

POSTGRADUATE COURSEWORK 2008-2009

These guidelines are intended to clarify the School’s rules on the presentation and submission
of coursework. They apply to all forms of assessed coursework on the taught postgraduate
Criminology/Socio-Legal Studies programmes, but not to Masters’ degree dissertations.

A failure to comply with any of the rules laid out in these guidelines may result in the
examiners refusing to accept your work and a mark of zero being recorded. Furthermore,
breaches of certain of the rules, in particular those relating to plagiarism, are disciplinary
matters which may attract a further sanction. It is therefore important that you read and
understand these guidelines. A copy of these guidelines is on the ManLaw website. You
will be asked to sign a declaration that you have read these guidelines when you submit hard
copies your work. If you do not understand any part of these guidelines you should seek the
advice of the Postgraduate Examinations Officer.

1. PRESENTATION OF COURSEWORK

1.1 Anonymous Marking

All coursework is marked anonymously. Therefore, your name should not appear on the
work. Rather, your University membership card number must be entered on the cover sheet
and at the top of each page of the essay.

1.2 Presentation

(a) Your work must be typewritten or word-processed.

(b) Your work should be in 12-point Times New Roman script (or equivalent) and double-
spaced (the text, quotations and footnotes should all be in this format).

(c) Your work should be submitted on A4-size paper. The margins at the top and bottom and
the left and right of the page should be set at 1 inch.

(d) Sources of quotations used should be listed in a full bibliography at the end of the piece
of work.

1.3 Length

(a) Most course units from the postgraduate Criminology/Socio-Legal Studies programmes
are assessed by one assessed coursework essay.

The assessment scheme for individual course units is published on the Law website. See page
http://www.law.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/courses/modules/index.html.

(b) All word lengths given for assessed coursework essays are exclusive of footnotes and
bibliography. However, footnotes should contain material that is merely incidental to the
main text. Footnotes should not comprise any more than 10% of the total length of the work.
The inclusion of significant amounts of material in footnotes will be treated as an attempt to
circumvent the limits laid out in 1.3(a) above, and will be penalised.
c) The following penalties will apply if your work exceeds the limits set out above:
(i) if the work is less than 10% over the limit, there will be no penalty;
(ii) if the work is more than 10% but less than 20% over the limit, then 5 marks will
be deducted from the mark awarded;
(iii) if the work is more than 20% but less than 50% over the limit, then 15 marks will
be deducted from the mark awarded;
(iv) if the work is more than 50% but less than 100% over the limit, then 30 marks
will be deducted from the mark awarded; and
(v) if the work is more than 100% over the limit then the work will not be marked and
a mark of zero will be recorded.

1.4 Copies

To guard against the possibility of your work being lost once it is submitted you are strongly
advised to retain your own copy.

2. WHAT IS LOOKED FOR IN A COURSEWORK ESSAY?

(a) The main purpose of the exercise is to assess how well you have understood a topic by
writing on it at length in a clear, logical, and informed manner. You will be expected:
to have consulted, as a minimum, the principal sources of information;
to have read widely;
to analyse issues well;
to reason articulately;
to put forward your own arguments, ideas, and conclusions;
to write clearly and relevantly.

(b) Read the sources, starting with the general (e.g. textbooks) and working through more
focused material (e.g. relevant parts of Government Reports). You are going to need a
bibliography, so keep a careful note of your reading. When you have done your reading, plan
your answer. You may find that the essay can be broken down into distinct sections. By all
means use a few headings in the text.

(c) Answer the question set. You will get no credit for irrelevance. Be critical where you
think it is justified. Your reasoned opinions are important. Try to write simply and clearly.
Avoid long sentences.

(d) Whatever method of citation you use, be consistent.

3. SUBMISSION OF COURSEWORK

3.1 Submission Dates

(a) Coursework for semester one course units must be submitted on Wednesday, 21st January
2009* before 4.00pm to the Postgraduate Office (room 4.41a).

* except for course units Advanced Theoretical Criminology (LAWS70501) and Evaluating
Policy & Practice (LAWS70541). The submission date for these course units is 12th
December 2008.

(b) Coursework for semester two course units must be submitted on Wednesday, 20th May
2009 before 4.00pm to the Postgraduate Office (room 4.41a).
(c) Computers, discs, and printers go wrong. Such problems will not excuse late submission.
You should aim, therefore, to print out the final version some days before the deadline to give
you extra time to overcome any emergency. It would also allow time for you to read through
the essay again and to spot any lapses which may have eluded you.

3.2 Submission Formalities

You are required to submit your coursework as the paper version and electronically, via e-
mail, suitably labelled with your student number and course unit code. You must submit both
together, on time, for the work to count as being received on time. You will be asked to sign
a statement that the paper copy and electronic copy are identical, and to confirm that you are
aware that the electronic copy will be used in plagiarism detection software. Electronic copies
of the coursework should be sent to the following e-mail address:
crimesubmissions@manchester.ac.uk.

4. CONTACT DETAILS FOR YOUR QUERIES

• Postgraduate Examinations Officer

Dr. Angela Melville, room 4.23; tel 0161 274 3580;
e-mail angela.l.melville@manchester.ac.uk

• Programme Director for MRes in Criminology & Socio-Legal Studies

Dr. Juanjo Medina Ariza, room 2.14; tel 0161 275 3468;
e-mail juanjo.medina@manchester.ac.uk

• Programme Administrator
Mrs. Nuria Hortiguela, room 4.41a; tel 0161 275 3561;
e-mail nuria.hortiguela@manchester.ac.uk

• Head of Law School Postgraduate and Recruitment & Admissions Offices

Mrs. Kathleen Lacey, room 4.41a; tel 0161 306 1270;
e-mail kathleen.lacey@manchester.ac.uk

5. GUIDELINES ON PLAGIARISM AND OTHER FORMS OF ACADEMIC

MALPRACTICE

Students must familiarise themselves with the University’s guidelines on plagiarism and other
forms of academic malpractice, which can be found at:
http://www.campus.manchester.ac.uk/medialibrary/tlao/plagiarism-guidance-for-students.pdf.

The School requires students to submit all assessed coursework in both hardcopy and
electronic form. Work handed in by students for assessment will be subjected to electronic
systems for detecting plagiarism or other forms of academic malpractice. This includes the
JISC plagiarism detection service, details of which can be found at:

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/services/as_pas.aspx

The electronic copy and hardcopy of the work submitted must be identical. Penalties will be
imposed if this is not the case.
6. PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is presenting the ideas, work or words of other people without proper,
clear and unambiguous acknowledgement.

Remember: no matter what pressure you may be under to complete an

assignment, you should never succumb to the temptation to take a ‘short
cut’ and use someone else’s material inappropriately. No amount of
mitigating circumstances will get you off the hook, and if you persuade other students
to let you copy their work, they risk being disciplined as well.

Why you should not plagiarise:

• You WILL be caught!!

• The penalties can be very severe – eg exclusion, suspension, loss of credit
(you will only get a pass degree), resubmission, or reduction of marks (you
will be failed!)
• You will not have learnt anything
• Your ethics will be corrupted, which can be noted on your permanent
academic record
• Any proven charges will be reflected in any referees’ reports
• Your marks will not improve – you will get higher grades if you can develop
your own ideas, and not steal someone else’s.

You can be penalised even if you have not intended to plagiarise. Unintentional
plagiarism will still be dealt with severely.

The University plagiarism policy can be found in the School of Law Handbook, and
at:
http://www.campus.manchester.ac.uk/medialibrary/tlao/plagiarism-guidance-for-
students.pdf

You may also find it useful to look at the following:

http://www.law.manchester.ac.uk/manlaw/exams/documents/WritinganEssay-Velluti-
Nov2004_000.pdf

http://www.law.manchester.ac.uk/manlaw/courses/induction/default.htm

If in doubt, ask a member of academic

staff.