A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Enhancing academic and Practice

Supervising projects and dissertations
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3 Clarity
The report is unclear or written
badly. The write-up is disorganised.
Figures and figure legends are
of insufficient quality. The
presentation is poor. It is hard to
understand the core ideas.
4 Analysis/testing
For a software-based project there is
insufficient testing. Documentation is
poor. For a research-based project there is
no critical analysis of the results.
Weaknesses and improvements are not
considered.
5 Difficulty level and supervision
The project was easy to understand
and implement. The student required
close supervision and did not work
independently.
vs.
vs.
vs.
Report is carefully written.
Clear structure with a flowing,
logical argument. Figures and
legends are helpful for
understanding the project. It is
easy to understand the core
ideas.
For software-based projects there
is thorough testing. Analysis of
strengths/weaknesses present.
Detailed documentation. For
research-based projects there is
critical analysis of method and
results. Weaknesses and
possible extensions are
discussed.
The project was conceptually
and practically difficult. The
student worked independently
and did not overly rely on the
supervisor.
Your mark (average of above):
Agreed mark:
(Taken from the Computer Science website at University College London.
See the same site for details of the grade-related criteria used when allocating per cent
marks to each of sections 1 to 5. http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/
s.prince/IndivProject/UG2007/ProjectAssessment.pdf
(accessed 19 December 2007))
OVERVIEW
This chapter examined the greater use made of projects and dissertations across
disciplines and endeavoured to provide a working definition. Projects and dissertations
were described as offering a unique learning opportunity in that:
1 they are sufficiently time-bound to afford students the opportunity to demonstrate
their project management skills;