Assessment brief for MTHM036 reassessment coursework.

This is a report of length 4000 words (±10%) (as a guide this will be around 10-12 pages of text). This coursework is worth 100% of the module grade.

Please self-declare your word count at the start of your report and include an abstract. The title, abstract, self-declaration of word-count, captions and your references list do not count toward the final word count. Word count will be calculated by assessors using the Turnitin count (ignoring references), anything that requires further investigation will undergo a direct count. For Mathematical symbols and equations, please allow one word for an in-text symbol, 3 words for an in-text equation and 7 words for an equation on its own line.

Pay attention to this guidance as you prepare and write your report:

Content: You should connect your topic to an appropriate level of mathematical and/or scientific detail for the theme. The report should be written so that a fellow 3rd year maths student could understand it. Your report should be highly accurate and avoid generalisations.

Structure: A strong report will have an Introduction and a Conclusion. The Introduction should develop the background and motivation for your report. It should explain the broader context of your specific topic. The conclusion should connect the ideas you explored in your report back to the motivation. The rest of the report should be logically ordered to give more details about the topic. A good report will be organised around sub-topics, rather than reporting back information from the literature one source at a time. A good rule of thumb is to use sections with headings to help guide the reader through your report. You can think of your report as having an hourglass shape: Start broad in the introduction, then narrow your focus in the middle of the report, and end with a broad conclusion.

Figures and Tables: It is up to you whether including figures and tables are appropriate for your chosen topic. In general, figures can help explain or illustrate the topics you discuss in your report. They also make the report more visually appealing. Here are things to consider if you do include figures or tables: State the source. Figures should be of a high quality (not blurry). Include a caption which provides all the information needed for the reader to understand the figure/table. A strong report will also refer to the figure/table during the report, so it’s clear how it fits into the context of the report.

Scope and references: Your research should include sources from beyond those covered within the weekly class meetings. For the referencing style, you can find further guidance on styles here:

https://libguides.exeter.ac.uk/referencing and this includes a link to Cite Them Right, which is a good online tool for checking the guidelines for your chosen style.

Submissions and due date:

•           All submissions are through ELE and will be checked through the Turnitin system.

•           The assignment is due by noon on Monday 29 July 2024

Essay topics by theme

Note: For all themes, it is acceptable to write your report on the topic you cover for your group presentations.

Biological Oscillators:

Write a report, including an exploration of the mathematical modelling aspects, on one of these four topics discussed in the lectures (undulatory locomotion, gaits and CPGs, or entrainment and excitability, collective phenomena). You can also propose your own topic (after discussion with the theme lead). The essay should have a logical structure, it should detail the background/motivation of your chosen topic, and include an extended discussion about some result that you find particularly interesting.

Normal numbers:

Write a report discussing the existence of normal numbers in subsets of the real numbers and/or how sensitively (or not) the normality of a number is dependent on the base in which it is expressed. As we have been discussing in the classes, you may wish to focus on the existence of normal numbers in particular fractal sets and the size of such sets with respect to self-similar measures. [You again may assume the definition of Lebesgue measure on the reals to be understood and you do not need to define this in your report.]

MARK SCHEME FOR 2023-24

Markers: Please give a mark and, where possible, comment on the following aspects of the report, including comments in suitable form. for transmission to the students.

Theme:

Candidate number:

Coursework: Reassessment report

Labels and References:

If included, are figures and tables accurately labelled with captions and legible plot legends, axes, etc.? Are the figures of a high enough quality that they are not blurry? Are all terms in the equations defined? Are equations consistently and correctly numbered throughout the report?

Are references are done correctly? The style. chosen by the student doesn’t matter but work should be cited consistently throughout and the reference list should include all relevant information.

There should be no question of plagiarism.

Mark out of 10:

Ambition:

Has the student gone above and beyond the material covered in the lecture? Did the student show any independence or creativity in framing the scientific or mathematical question addressed in their report? Does the report explore anything that is maybe unusual but still highly relevant to the remit  of the assignment?

Mark out of 10:

Originality:

Has the student delved deeper into the sources provided for the theme? Have they used information gained from researching a wide range of sources beyond those used in the theme?

Has the student conducted any independent research or analysis to complement the current understanding presented in the report? Has the student expressed the ideas in their own words or have they just relied on quotes from sources?

Mark out of 10:

Total Mark out of 100:

The following paragraphs are a guide for report markers and they also give the students an idea of standards for each category.

Mark < 40. Fail. The report is incomplete or demonstrates a serious misunderstanding of the assignment and / or the topic. The student has not shown intellectual curiosity in understanding and synthesizing the current research in this topic.

40 < mark < 50. Fail. Not at pass standard because the project fails to satisfy one or more of the criteria described in the “Pass” paragraph below.

50 < mark. 2.2 / Pass The report addresses the topic and is largely correct. Student demonstrated a reasonable understanding of core material, but there is not a high level of mathematical or scientific detail in the report, and/or the report does not go far beyond what was covered during the lectures. The report is a coherent description of the topic with some attempt to discuss the current understanding.

60 < mark. 2.1 / Merit The report goes beyond taught material covered in the lectures, and there is some evidence of the student demonstrating their own initiative or intellectual curiosity. The report is correct overall with relatively few minor errors. The work is presented competently and makes adequate reference to published work.

70 < mark. First / Distinction. The report demonstrates that the student has mastery of the topics, with only a few minor errors. There is a clear and logical structure. The discussion of the research   topic weaves together multiple sources (the majority of which were not referenced in the lectures).   Where appropriate, figures are used to illustrate more complex topics.

80 < mark. First / High Distinction. The majority of the report is written to a standard that is expected for academic journals or technical reports. There is a clear and logical structure. The report is correct in almost all details. The discussion of literature and framing for the report puts the student’s work into context comprehensively. There is evidence of outstanding understanding of the material, and the student has shown intellectual curiosity by describing the current understanding of the topic, including details of mathematical approaches to understand it. The report draws mostly upon material that they sourced themselves (not only citing sources from the lectures). The report is correctly referenced. Where appropriate, figures are used to illustrate more complex topics. The figures are of good quality and complement the text of the report.