German Department Feedback Arrangements for Assessed Work and Exams
The German Department is firmly committed to the academic and personal
development of students during their time at Warwick and believes that constructive
and detailed formative and summative feedback is a key aspect of teaching and
learning. We provide feedback on performance in a variety of ways, e.g., in addition
to the standard criterion-referenced essay-feedback sheet (attached), in seminars, on
presentations, in personal tutor meetings, etc.
Feedback on Assessed Essays
Before submission:
The Department encourages all students to seek out their module tutor’s comments on
essay plans prior to the writing of an essay. Module tutors are available for individual
consultation, and feedback on draft plans can be sought either, in the first instance, via
email correspondence, i.e. by sending the module tutor a draft plan in the form of a
word document attachment, or, if that proves insufficient, via a one-to-one meeting
requested by the student. The latest date by which this consultation should take place
is two weeks before the essay deadline.
After submission:
The Department aims to return the first marker’s written comments for all assessed
essays on the standard assessed essay feedback sheet within twenty university
working days of submission, in conjunction with university policy. Essays submitted
at the end of the autumn term will be returned in the first week of the following term.
If an extensions is applied to a specific module, this will be communicated to all
module participants.
In the first year assessed essays are returned to the student with an assessed essay
feedback sheet carrying the Department’s assessment criteria and the marker’s
detailed comments. A copy of this feedback sheet will be held on your file for
consultation by your personal tutor.
For all honours modules, i.e. from the start of year two, the original essay is
retained in the Department and a copy of the marked essay, together with an assessed
essay feedback sheet with the Department’s assessment criteria and first marker’s
detailed comments and a provisional mark is returned to the student. A copy of the
feedback sheet is retained on your file. All assessed work in honours modules is
subject to a process of either second marking or moderation. In addition, all assessed
work at honours level is subject to the approval of the external examiner who retains
the right to raise or lower marks. Essay marks by first markers should therefore be
treated as provisional and indicative only.
How to read the Department’s feedback sheet.
Four marking categories with three subcategories are displayed in a grid on top of the
Department’s Assessed Essay Feedback Sheet (Structure, Analytical Ability,
Contextualisation and Expression/Presentation) with evaluations ranging from ‘poor’
to ‘excellent’. These evaluations relate broadly to performance class, and not
precisely to a numerical mark, i.e. ‘excellent’ indicates first class, ‘good’ indicates
upper second, ‘satisfactory’ indicates lower second and ‘poor’ indicates third class
and below. The essay’s overall numerical mark relates to the marks in the twelve
overall sub-categories, although it should be noted that unsatisfactory performance in
any marking category (e.g. in presentation/footnoting/bibliography) can have a
lowering effect on the overall essay mark, especially in borderline cases.
The marker’s comments in the space below the mark grid relate to the essay’s overall
quality, its strengths and weaknesses, and should incorporate suggestions for
improvement of performance. The comments pick up and elaborate on issues relating
to the criteria displayed at the top of the mark sheet and explain the reasons for the
essay’s overall mark.
If you are unsure as to how the marker arrived at his/her evaluation of the essay you
are invited to contact the marker for further feedback. University regulations entitle
students to request explanation of marks awarded, but not to challenge the academic
judgement of markers, i.e. to request that the essay be re-marked.
Exams:
Feedback on written/oral exam performance in summer exams is only given on
request, except in cases where the student’s exam performance gives cause for
concern, where it is part of a personal tutor meeting in the following autumn term.
Students wanting feedback on exam performance should contact the module
tutor/examiner. Students can see their exam scripts in the presence of the marker/tutor
in the Department on request.
Formative feedback, e.g. language class work,
You will receive on-going formative feedback in your language classes throughout
the year in the form of marked homework for essay and translation classes, usually on
a fortnightly basis. The homework is normally returned to you in the week after
submission, or, in the case of second-year translation classes, and second year and
final year essay writing classes within two weeks of submission.
Personal Tutorial Meetings:
Please note that a key aspect of the role of the personal tutor is the opportunity to
provide feedback on your overall academic, and personal, development. Personal
tutorial meetings are your chance to have a confidential conversation with someone
who understands your course and its requirements, and who can, if necessary,
recommend ways of addressing any concerns you may have about any aspect of your
work. These conversations normally take place at your regular scheduled personal
tutorial meetings, but if you have particular concerns at other times, about your
academic work, or about external factors that may be impacting significantly on your
ability to manage your workload effectively, you are strongly encouraged to contact
your personal tutor by email, with a view to arranging a meeting, if necessary.