To receive credit for this course, you must complete two essay assignments, which, cumulatively, are worth 40% of your final grade. Completing these assignments will help you to integrate the health information presented throughout the course, and adhering to the due dates suggested in the Study Schedule should help you to pace your work and to incorporate the feedback and suggestions received from your tutor into subsequent assignments. The assignments will be returned to you after they are marked; all information in them is completely confidential.

Both essay assignments require you to do research beyond the course materials provided. If you are unsure of your researching skills, contact your tutor. Refer to the “Guide to Online Literature Searches” and the “Library Services” sections of the Student Manual for more information on conducting research.

Review the “Assignment Guidelines” and the “Grading Criteria for Assignments” sections of the Student Manual. Then consult with your tutor if you have any concerns about the essay topic, instructions, and/or research strategies before you begin researching and writing. Your tutor can advise you on the adequacy of your information and may suggest other sources for you to investigate. If you receive a mark of less than D+ (55%) on either assignment, you will be required to revise the assignment and resubmit it.

Note: You may also submit your assignments by email. An online version of the “Tutor-marked Exercise” form is available on the AU website. Complete and attach a copy of the TME to your email submission. Consult with your tutor about an appropriate email format and address. Assignments submitted by email are likely to be returned more quickly than assignments submitted via regular post.

Assignment submission guidelines

Formatting

  • Use one-inch margins on all sides of the page (top, bottom, left, and right).
  • Include a title page with the essay title, your name, course name and number, your student ID number, and the date of submission.
  • Type or generate your assignments with a word-processor (they should not be hand written).
  • Double-space the lines in your document.
  • Use a standard, 12-point font.

Content

  • Follow all instructions, including those concerning word count.
  • Use the introduction to your paper to tell the reader what the paper will cover.
  • Conclude your paper with a summary of the paper.
  • Ensure that you have answered all required questions.
  • Use resource materials other than the course textbook; this is normally expected in a university course.
  • Properly reference all ideas that are not your own, including quotes and paraphrased information.
  • Critically analyze what you read (your own thoughts, feelings, ideas, and beliefs about the topic).
  • Stay on topic and ensure that your arguments proceed logically. Try leaving your essay for a few hours or days, then reading it again, editing and re-writing as necessary.
  • Include a reference list identifying all sources cited in the assignment.

Quality

  • Ensure that sentences flow smoothly from one to another, using appropriate transitions as needed.
  • Be correct and consistent with spelling and punctuation.
  • Write your papers in a tone appropriate for an academic setting (not chatty), free of slang expressions, clichés, and short, unconnected sentences.

Plagiarism

Take care to avoid plagiarism. Generally, when something is well established (such as that HIV is the cause of AIDS or that passive smoking causes disease), no reference citation is required. But where an idea is unproven or speculative, it is very important that you give one or more references. Without correct referencing you are taking someone else’s ideas and making it sound like they are yours. If you do not reference the ideas of others appropriately, it can be called plagiarism. If you are unsure about the meaning and parameters of plagiarism, ask your tutor. It is much easier to clarify than to have your work returned to you with a charge of plagiarism, which may come with serious penalties.

AU plagiarism policy

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