Course Handbook - Faculty of History - University of Cambridge

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context, and to current debate); research content (i.e. identification and study of primary sources); use of quantitative methods, where appropriate the work should demonstrate knowledge and confidence in the use of the taught research methods; quality of argument (i.e. analysis of historical sources, development of analytical arguments demonstrating knowledge of qualitative methods, or reconsideration of existing accounts); and awareness of limits of knowledge. Candidates are also expected to present work which is clearly and correctly written and which has an adequate scholarly apparatus. The decision to balance judgment on content and presentation in marking MPhil essays, on how to mark relatively for weaknesses either of argument or of prose and presentation rests with the examiner. Examiners should consider the organization of the narrative and the argument; capacity to summarise findings; style and clarity of prose and precision in documentation (including footnotes and bibliography). SPECIAL NOTE ON PLAGIARISM, FOOTNOTES AND WORD COUNT: The word limit of 20,000 may not be breached under any circumstances. The word count must include appendices and statistical tables at 150 words per table, but excludes all footnotes, references and bibliography. Candidates are required to note the total word count on the cover sheet bound with the dissertation and to submit an electronic version of the dissertation on a CD so that if necessary the word count may be verified; examiners should note any failure to do so in their report. The Economic and Social History Course Handbook stipulates: ‘No penalty will be imposed for an excess of 50 words (for an essay) or 150 (for a dissertation) over the maximum word limit, but this allowance should not be abused. The MPhil sub-committee acting as a Board of Examiners has the discretion to penalise essays and dissertations which exceed the word limit. The word limit (within the 50 / 150 words grace allowance) must therefore be strictly observed. Students can expect to be severely penalised for exceeding the word limit. Normally the penalty will be the deduction of up to 5 marks from the essay/dissertation, but in severe cases the work may be marked as failed. Footnotes should be restricted to the documentation of claims and the registration of relevant caveats or observations in relation to the literature. Footnotes must not be used to circumvent the word limit of the essay or dissertation. Students can expect to be severely penalised for abusing the proper use of footnotes in this way. Normally the penalty will be a deduction of up to 5 marks from the essay or dissertation, but in severe cases the essay or dissertation may be marked as failed.’ The Course Handbook, which is available on the Faculty website, also gives clear instructions to candidates about avoiding plagiarism. Examiners who believe that a dissertation infringes the course rules in respect of plagiarism, use of footnotes, or word count, are required to state this in their report but to award a mark independent of these issues. An Examiner must not penalise an essay. The MPhil Sub- Committee sitting as Board of Examiners will then make a determination of whether violation of the rules has occurred and, if so, impose the appropriate penalty. Normally the penalty will be up to 5 marks, but in severe cases the dissertation may be marked as failed. 4. PART I: INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS OF ASSESSMENT 4.1 Central Concepts Essay (10%) This is a term paper of up to 3,000 words based on questions dealing with themes discussed in the sessions, and handed in at the end of the Michaelmas term. There will be approximately two questions per session. The purpose of these essays is to examine a central problem or issue discussed in the relevant secondary literature in a critical way. They should demonstrate sound knowledge of the literature in question, but should be more than a narrative summary. The essays are generally quite broad ranging and should be based both on readings listed in the individual bibliographies for each session as well as additional more specific readings supplied by the session teachers. 19
4.2 Research Methods (10%) Research Methods Training Course (6%) Students will submit workbooks. These are marked by the instructors involved in the Joint Schools Research Methods Course on a fail, pass or high pass basis. For the purposes of its marking scheme, this MPhil adopts the following convention: fail = 55%, pass = 67%, and high pass =75%. Dissertation Proposal Essay (4%) This essay, of up to 4,000 words, is intended to help students define the scope of the dissertation as well as the sources and methods to be adopted. It is primarily an historiographical investigation of the secondary literature, which contextualises the topic which is to be investigated, in the dissertation. This is done by drawing on a relevant aspect of the qualitative and quantitative methods teaching in the joint schools’ courses. The approach places the planning of the research in a broad context that defends choices of methods. The student should also deal with how their proposed research will attempt to answer the questions arising from the historiographical investigation, but it is not intended that the course of research should be described in detail here. When marking this essay, examiners should note that students will have had only limited time to consult their archives at this point because the first two terms concentrate largely on the course work element of the Mphil. Thus, some aspects of the proposed research will have to be formulated in a preliminary way and the candidate should not be penalised for this. It is more important that the candidate understands the nature of the questions that the research will address. 4.3. Advanced Papers (10% each) These papers are taught using a mixture of lectures and seminars amounting to 16 contact hours each, and are based on more specialized topics than the central concepts essay, and should be more specific. All Advanced Papers are examined in the last week of Lent Term (NOTE: The week after ‘Full Term’ finishes) by term papers based on the specific topics discussed in the course. Both of these essays, however, will be written during a limited time period of one week. These essays will be 3-4000 words in length each and will be based on a topic or topics discussed in the course, and students will be expected to cite a reasonable selection of secondary or/and primary sources discussed. Two copies of each essay are required. The essays should normally be word processed, double-spaced, and written with footnotes and a bibliography, although examiners should take into consideration the limited amount of time available for each essay. 5. PART II: THE DISSERTATION Dissertations are researched and written over a five month period from April to August and should reflect research which could reasonably be expected to be done in this period. The criterion for assessment in 3. above should be followed. In some cases involving an extensive amount of data collection (such as, for instance, parish reconstitution) where the student intends to continue the project with the PhD, and it is impossible to collect more than a part of the data in the short time available for research during Easter Term and Summer, it is permissible for the student to present only part of the data for analysis. In such cases this should be clearly stated in the introduction, and there must be enough data and analysis presented for the examiner to be able to judge the candidate’s analytical skills even if it might be impossible to draw firm conclusions based on the partial data available. The dissertation should be marked on this basis and the candidate should not be penalised for this. A MARK OF 67 OR ABOVE SHOULD BE AWARDED IF THE CANDIDATE MIGHT REASONABLY BE EXPECTED TO GO ON TO COMPLETE A SUCCESSFUL PHD. 6. NON-NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS Many candidates are not native English speakers. They are expected to make use of all available resources to ensure that both essay work and dissertation are written in correct English. Examiners should acknowledge the special difficulties faced by non-native speakers, while commenting on 20
Page 1 and 2: 0 Course Handbook MPHIL IN ECONOMIC
Page 3 and 4: INTRODUCTION Welcome to the MPhil i
Page 5 and 6: Senior Secretary, History Degree Co
Page 7 and 8: M. Foucault, Power/Knowledge (ed. C
Page 9 and 10: 2.2.4 MPhil Classes and Lectures Th
Page 11 and 12: methods. The student should also de
Page 13 and 14: Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and
Page 15 and 16: technological and financial innovat
Page 17 and 18: Bosworth, R. J. B. (1998), The Ital
Page 19 and 20: APPENDIX A: LIST OF ACADEMIC STAFF
Page 21: APPENDIX B: MPHIL IN ECONOMIC AND S
Page 25 and 26: 11. FAILURE IN PART I In the case o
Page 27 and 28: moderated by a member of the MPhil
Page 29 and 30: APPENDIX C LENGTH NOTES ON THE APPR
Page 31 and 32: esearchers, you must acknowledge th
Page 33 and 34: commas. Longer foreign passages sho
Page 35 and 36: FOOTNOTES Notes should be kept brie
Page 37 and 38: Abbreviations Note the following co

Course Handbook - Faculty of History - University of Cambridge

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