NST II Neuroscience

Assessment

Allocation of marks:
Critical analysis: 8%;
Research project: 20%;
Written paper: 72% (6% per question)

Critical analysis: A report, of not more than 2000 words, on the chosen paper must be handed in by 2.30 pm on 27 Jan 2012 (the second Friday in
the Lent Term). Failure to hand your report in on time may lead to deduction of marks.

Research projects: See previous pages for details. Each student must submit a write-up on their research project, no longer than 5000 words, written in the style of a scientific paper. Reports must be handed in by 2.30 pm on 27 April 2012 (the first Friday of the Easter term). Failure to hand your report in on time may lead to deduction of marks.

Project Seminars: You will be expected to give a 10 minute oral presentation on your project during the Easter term. This will count for 15% of the project mark (3% of the total exam). Your project will be judged on the report and the seminar and the viva, if any. Roughly equal weight will be given to the Introduction, Results and Discussion. You will not be penalised if, for reasons beyond your control, the project fails to produce clear results. The examiners also take note of your supervisor's opinion of your performance.

Written examination: There will be four 3-hour written papers (shared with Part II PDN). The papers will be divided into sections corresponding to the lecture modules. The first two papers will contain questions from the 4 Michaelmas Term modules, and the second two papers will cover the 4 Lent Term modules. On each paper, you must answer three questions, which can be from any module, but you must not answer more than two questions from any one module. Papers from previous years will be available on the web site, and will be useful for providing
you with practice essay topics, as the style of questions will be largely the same (The exam format was new in 2007/08: specimen papers were issued then.) However you should be aware that (i) as the modules may have been rearranged, some topics from previous years may not be relevant; (ii) there may also be some questions asking for discussions of experimental design, or for interdisciplinary essays.

Vivas: The examiners may wish to viva some or all students, on the subject of your project, including the relevant background in neuroscience.