University of Edinburgh

School of Social & Political Science Politics & International Relations

2017 – 2018

Comparative Politics in a Globalized World PLIT08008

Semester 2, Year 2

Key Information

Course Organiser Professor Nicola McEwen Email: n.mcewen@ed.ac.uk Room 3.01, St John’s Land, Holyrood

Guidance & Feedback Hours: Thursdays 13.00 – 15.00 Lecturers Dr Lucy Abbott Email: Lucy.Abbott@ed.ac.uk

Room 3.10, Chrystal Macmillan Building, George Square Guidance & Feedback Hours: Tuesdays 15:30-17:30 Professor Christina Boswell Email: Christina.Boswell@ed.ac.uk Room 3.21 Chrystal Macmillan Building, George Square Guidance & Feedback Hours: Mondays, 13:00 - 14.30 Dr Pontus Odmalm Email: Pontus.Odmalm@ed.ac.uk Room 3.20 Chrystal Macmillan Building, George Square Guidance & Feedback Hours: Thursdays, 12:00 - 14.00

Location Mondays 10.00 – 10.50

George Square Lecture Theatre

Thursdays 10.00 – 10.50 George Square Lecture Theatre

Senior Tutor Judith Sijstermans Email: judith.sijstermans@ed.ac.uk Course Secretary Kasia Pietrzak Email: K.Pietrzak@ed.ac.uk Undergraduate Teaching Office Assessment Deadlines

Research Briefing: 12:00, Monday 26 February 2018

Essay: 12:00 Thursday 29th March 2018

Exam: To be confirmed

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Contents Key Information ................................................................................................ 1

Learning Outcomes .......................................................................................... 3

Teaching Methods ........................................................................................... 3

Lectures ........................................................................................................... 3

Tutorials ........................................................................................................... 3

Assessment ..................................................................................................... 4

Research Briefing ............................................................................................ 5

The Exam ........................................................................................................ 9

Resits ............................................................................................................... 9

Communication and Feedback ........................................................................ 9

Reading Materials and Resource List ............................................................ 10

Appendix 1 – General Information ................................................................. 13

Students with Disabilities ........................................................................ 13

Learning Resources for Undergraduates ................................................ 13

Discussing Sensitive Topics ................................................................... 13

Tutorial Sign-up ...................................................................................... 14

External Examiner .................................................................................. 14

Appendix 2 - Course Work Submission and Penalties ................................... 15

Penalties that can be applied to your work and how to avoid them. ....... 15

ELMA: Submission and Return of Coursework ....................................... 15

Extensions: New policy-applicable for years 1 -4 .................................... 15

Exam Feedback and Viewing Exam Scripts: .......................................... 16

Plagiarism Guidance for Students: Avoiding Plagiarism ......................... 16

Data Protection Guidance for Students .................................................. 17

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Learning Outcomes

Comparison is one of the core tools of the political analyst. By comparing and contrasting different cases, scholars can gain important insights into the causes, dynamics and effects of different aspects of politics and international relations. Comparison can involve examining similarities and differences between political regimes, democratic practice, governments and parliaments, political cultures, levels of government, public policies, or political mobilisation. This course will equip students with the knowledge and skills in how to compare, what to compare and how to use comparison for explaining and understanding political processes, events and outcomes. We will also explore how comparison is challenged by the process and context of globalisation. By the end of the course, students will be able to:

demonstrate knowledge of comparative methods and their applications

show familiarity with key texts in the field of comparative politics

critically analyse political processes and developments in comparative perspective

articulate an informed view about current debates and questions surrounding comparative politics.

Teaching Methods

Lectures

There are two 50 minute lectures every week:

Mondays 10:00-10:50 in George Square Lecture Theatre

Thursdays 10:00-10:50 in George Square Lecture Theatre The lectures give students an overview of the comparative method, which is applied throughout the course. Lectures are structured around three core themes: comparing political regimes; comparing democracies; and comparing public policy. Building on feedback from previous students, these themes have been designed to enable students to develop a depth of understanding of the thematic areas as well as a systematic opportunity to see the different ways in which comparison, as a method in the social sciences, can be used to enhance knowledge and understanding.

Tutorials

Tutorials provide an opportunity for you to discuss your own ideas and your reaction to the readings and lectures. The tutors will also assist you developing understanding of the comparative method, and applying it in practical ways. Tutorials are also intended to help you with the organisation of your assignments and preparation for the exam at the end of year. Each tutorial consists of 12-15 students. Tutorials meet weekly, starting in the second week of the course. Your first tutorial will take place in week 2, starting Monday, 22 January 2017. Please note that pressure of work or problems of time management are not considered an acceptable reason for non-attendance at tutorials or for late submission of work. A list of tutors and contact email addresses will be made available on Learn during the first week of teaching. A tutorial topic booklet will also be posted on Learn.

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Assessment

Students will be assessed by:

Assessment

Word count limit*

Do not exceed the

word limit or penalties will

be applied

Weighting Submission date Return of feedback

Research Briefing

1000 words 20% 12:00 Monday 26 of February 2018

19th of March 2018

Essay 2000 words

max (excluding bibliography)

40% 12:00 Thursday

29 of March 2018 19th of April

2018

Exam (2 Questions,

2 Hours) NA 40%

Exam dates are set by Student Administration.

Exam diet information can

be found at: http://www.ed.ac.

uk/student-administration/exa

ms/exam-diets Students are

responsible for knowing the time, date and location of their exams.

Dates will be published closer

to the time Please also see Exam feedback information in appendix 2

Note: All coursework is submitted electronically through ELMA. Please read the School Policies and Coursework Submission Procedures which you will find here. *Word count limits: Please note, headings, footnotes, tables, charts, etc, are all included in the word count. DO NOT USE JPEG images in an attempt to get around this rule. Bibliographies (list of references cited in the paper) are not included in the word count.

2017-18 Comparative Politics in a Globalized World 5

Research Briefing The Research Briefing will provide 20% of your course mark. This assignment is designed to develop skills of political analysis and presentation. It involves thinking yourself into the role of a professional civil servant, official or research practitioner working on an aspect of policy development, applied research or political strategy. You are given a task that requires you to provide information, analysis and/or recommendations to political actors. You need to consider what sort of content will be appropriate, how best it should be presented, and how to ensure you get across the key points in a succinct and accessible way.

STUDENTS ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO READ THE BRIEFING PAPER

GUIDANCE PROVIDED ON LEARN BEFORE BEGINNING THIS

EXERCISE. Tasks: Students must choose ONE of the following assignments, in each case making explicit use of comparison:

1. You are an official within the European Commission, and have been tasked

with writing a briefing paper for the DG External Relations and the DG Enlargement. Your paper should address the following question: “Are we seeing a new wave of secessionism within and beyond Europe?”

2. You have been seconded to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and are tasked with producing a briefing paper explaining the factors behind the success or failure of revolutions.

3. Produce a briefing paper for the Global Institute for Democracy and Strategic Studies addressing the question as to whether we can draw a sharp distinction between regimes that are democratic and those that are not?

Deadline for Submission: 12:00, Monday 26th February 2018 Word Length: This assignment should not exceed 1000 words in length (excluding bibliography). Briefing papers above 1000 words will be penalised using the Ordinary level criterion of 1 mark for every 20 words over length: anything between 1000 and 1020 words will lose one mark, between 1020 and 1040 two marks, and so on. You will not be penalised for submitting work below the word limit. However, you should note that shorter briefing papers are less likely to achieve the required depth and that this will be reflected in your mark. Papers should be typed using a clear 12 pt font. You are encouraged to make use of bullet points, charts, tables and/or images as appropriate, but you must also interpret any data you present. Please note appendices and bibliography are not included in the word count whilst in text references, tables, charts, graphs and footnotes ARE counted. PLEASE DO NOT USE JPEG OR SIMILAR IMAGES TO INSERT TABLES, CHARTS OR GRAPHS in an attempt to get around word limit restrictions.

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Assessment Criteria: The following are the criteria through which the assignment will be marked. However, it is important to note that the overall mark is a result of a holistic assessment of the assignment as a whole

Does the policy brief address the task set, and with sufficient focus?

Does it show wide-ranging knowledge of the relevant policy context?

Does the policy brief describe and analyse political issues and challenges in an analytical and concise manner?

Does it arrive at conclusions and/or policy recommendations based on sound arguments and evidence?

Is the policy brief well written (spelling, grammar and style), and clearly presented in terms of layout and referencing?

The briefing paper is marked by your tutor. The course organiser will review a sample of papers from each tutorial group to ensure appropriate and equal marking standards across tutorial groups. Coursework is submitted online using our electronic submission system, ELMA. You will not be required to submit a paper copy of your work. Marked coursework, grades and feedback will be returned to you via ELMA. You will not receive a paper copy of your marked course work or feedback. Please refer to the assessment and submission procedure information which you will find in appendix 2

The Essay

The Essay will provide 40% of your course mark. The essay is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your knowledge of the comparative method, by applying it to the one of the themes addressed in the course. The central objective of any academic essay is to answer a research question. Therefore, make sure that you read the essay question carefully, think about what aspects you need to address to answer it, and plan your essay accordingly. You are also required to develop and set out an appropriate comparative research design for your essay. STUDENTS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO READ THE ESSAY GUIDANCE ON LEARN BEFORE BEGINNING THIS ASSIGNMENT. In completing your essays, you should discuss and demonstrate how you ADOPT THE COMPARATIVE METHOD to address ONE of the following questions:

1. Why have populist parties emerged in some countries but not others?

2. Why has there been an increase in competitive authoritarian regimes after the Cold War?

3. What explains cross-national variation in efforts to address climate change?

4. Why are young people less likely to vote than others? (You should include at least two cases in your answer)

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Deadline for Submission: 12:00 Thursday 29th March 2018 Word Length: The essay should not exceed 2000 words (excluding bibliography). Essays above 2000 words will be penalised using the Ordinary level criterion of 1 mark for every 20 words over length: anything between 2000 and 2020 words will lose one mark, between 2020 and 2040 two marks, and so on. You will not be penalised for submitting work below the word limit. However, you should note that shorter essays are unlikely to achieve the required depth and that this will be reflected in your mark. Essays should be typed using a clear 12 pt font and be one-and-a-half spaced. Please note appendices and bibliography are not included in the word count whilst in text references, tables, charts and footnotes ARE counted. Assessment Criteria All assessments in SSPS are graded according to set criteria or ‘marking descriptors.’ It is a good idea to familiarise yourself with what the markers of your work will be looking for. These are summarised below, and set out more fully at: http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/undergrad/current_students/teaching_and_learning/assessment_and_regulations/marking_descriptors .

80%+ An authoritative answer that achieves excellence in the quality of its

research, analysis and presentation. It provides a fully effective response

to the question, shows a command of the literature, integrating and going

beyond that literature, high quality and insightful analysis, and critical and

committed argument. Papers achieving marks of 90+ would be considered

of publishable quality, in terms of scholarship and originality.

70-79 A sharply-focused answer of high intellectual quality, which adopts a

comprehensive approach to the question and maintains a sophisticated

level of analysis throughout. It should show a willingness to engage

critically with the literature and move beyond it, using the sources

creatively to arrive at its own independent conclusions.

60-69 The essay should be well-researched, well-written, with very good use

and referencing of appropriate sources. The questions should be addressed

directly and fully. There should be very good engagement with wide-

ranging literature, with the work of other authors presented critically, and

no significant errors of fact or interpretation. The essay should be well

structured and proceed coherently to a convincing conclusion.

50-59 A satisfactory answer with elements of the routine and predictable. It

should demonstrate basic understanding of the question. The essay should

include evidence that is generally accurate and firmly based in the

reading, though it may lean towards description instead of critical

analysis. Factual errors and misunderstandings of concepts and authors

may occasionally be present but should not be a dominant impression.

The quality of writing, referencing and presentation should be acceptable.

40-49 A passable answer which understands the question, displays some

academic learning and refers to relevant literature. The answer should be

2017-18 Comparative Politics in a Globalized World 8

intelligible and in general factually accurate, but may well have

deficiencies such as restricted use of sources or academic argument, over-

reliance on lecture notes, poor expression, and irrelevancies to the

question asked. The general impression may be of a rather poor effort,

with weaknesses in conception or execution. It might also be the right

mark for a short answer that at least referred to the main points of the

issue.

Less

than 40

An answer with evident weaknesses in understanding of the question,

underpinning research, structure and/or presentation, and which may

demonstrate inadequate knowledge of the subject and relevant issues.

In addition to these generic criteria, your essay will also be evaluated for its use of

comparison and the comparative method, including how well you explained and applied

a comparative research design.

The extract from the feedback sheet below also provides insight into the things your

marker will take into account when awarding a mark:

Overview

Aspect of performance + Avg -

Thinking skills (criticism, analysis, interpretation, logic, argumentation, evaluation, use of comparison, anticipating counter-arguments, etc.)

Comprehension (accuracy in facts, details and representation of author’s views, breadth of reading, grasp of major issues, etc.)

Writing skills (structure and organisation, clarity, precision, grammar/spelling, referencing, use of illustration, style, etc.)

Major advice to student

Main strength(s) of the essay

Main weakness(es) of the essay

This and future essays could be improved by…

The essay is marked by your tutor. The course organiser will review a sample of essays from each tutorial group to ensure appropriate and equal marking standards across tutorial groups. Coursework is submitted online using our electronic submission system, ELMA. You will not be required to submit a paper copy of your work. Marked coursework, grades and feedback will be returned to you via ELMA. You will not receive a paper copy of your marked course work or feedback. Please refer to the assessment and submission procedure information which you will find in appendix 2

2017-18 Comparative Politics in a Globalized World 9

The Exam

The Examination consists of one paper and takes place at the end of the semester. It will provide 40% of your course mark. The Exam will be based on course content throughout the semester, and will include questions on both the comparative method and the substantive topics discussed in lectures, tutorials and key readings. Past papers are available on Learn. In your tutorials, towards the end of the course, you will have the opportunity to prepare for the exam by reviewing course materials, considering revision strategies, and so on. The course convenor will also hold a revision session on Monday 23rd April. Note: Registration for examinations is handled automatically by the University’s student record system. Details of the exam will be made available at the following link: http://www.ed.ac.uk/student-administration/exams/exam-diets . Overall Course Result Your final grade will be decided by your tutor, the course organiser, and the Board of Examiners. Please note, all marks are provisional until confirmed by the Board of Examiners. In the course of the tutorials you will have the opportunity to discuss criteria and processes of assessment.

Resits

For those who fail to pass the course, the resit will consist of an examination that will run in the August resit diet. The resit exam will cover content from all modules of the course.

Communication and Feedback

All information relevant to the course will be posted on Learn. You are strongly encouraged to consult this material as it may already answer your queries. To seek further information relating to lectures or the course, you are welcome to email lecturers and strongly encouraged to make use of lecturers’ guidance and feedback hours. We shall use the announcements facility on Learn and your university email address to provide additional updated information to you. Please note, this is the ONLY email address we will use to communicate with you, and you should check it regularly. If you have any problems, they should be taken first of all to your tutor. The easiest time to see your tutor is just before or after a tutorial. Tutors can be contacted via email. More serious personal problems are best dealt with by your Personal Tutor or Student Support Officer, who will let us know, for example, if you have been ill or, for some other serious reason, unable to keep up with the work for part of the course. Administrative problems to do with the course can usually be dealt with by your tutor, but you may if necessary consult the course secretary, Kasia Pietrzak (K.Pietrzak@ed.ac.uk) or the Course Organiser, Professor Nicola McEwen (n.mcewen@ed.ac.uk). There are various avenues for you to provide us with feedback about the course:

2017-18 Comparative Politics in a Globalized World 10

At the end of each section, some tutorial time will be given over to feedback sessions on various aspects of the course, and the tutors will pass on your comments to the course organiser.

Each class will have one or more class representatives based on the size of the class. Class representatives (Class Reps) are a link between students and staff and will collect feedback for the course review meeting. They will also have opportunities to feedback to Staff Student Liaison Committees. Your Class Rep(s) contact details will be available on the course Learn page should you wish to contact them.

If you would like to apply to be a Class Rep, or are looking for more information, please see our Student Representation webpage.

At the end of the course, we ask all students to fill in a questionnaire about the various lecture blocks and other aspects of the course. We do hope you will take note of what you like and dislike as the course progresses, and that you then take the time to share your experience with us. We do our best to include your constructive suggestions into the program for subsequent years.

Please check Learn regularly for announcements and individual messages.

Reading Materials and Resource List

A comprehensive reading and resource list is available on Learn, including guidance on weekly readings and how to access these through the University Library.

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LECTURE SUMMARY

1 Monday 15th January - Introduction to Comparative Politics in a Globalized World (NM)

2 Thursday 18th January What and how to compare (NM)

3 Monday 22rd January Comparing Political Regimes I: Concept and Classification (LA)

4 Thursday 25th January Comparing Political Regimes II: Comparing Authoritarian Regimes (LA)

5 Monday 29th January - Comparing Political Regimes III: Comparing Democratic Transitions (LA)

6 Thursday 1st February Comparing Political Regimes IV: Comparing Revolutions (LA)

7 Monday 5th January Comparing Political Regimes V: Why some states fail (LA)

8 Thursday 8th February Comparing Democracies I: Secessionist challenges in democratic states (NM)

9 Monday 12th February Comparing Democracies II: Comparing Elections and Electoral Systems (NM)

10 Thursday 15th February Comparing Democracies III: Comparing Political Participation (NM)

FLEXIBLE LEARNING WEEK

11 Monday 26th February Comparing Democracies IV: Comparing Parties and Party Systems (PO)

12 Thursday 1st March Comparing Democracies V: Comparing Populist Parties (PO)

13 Monday 5th March Revisiting the Comparative Method I: Developing a comparative research design (NM)

14 Thursday 8th March Revisiting the Comparative Method II: Issues in Comparative Politics (CB)

15 Monday 12th March Comparing Public Policy I: Comparing Social Policy and Welfare States (NM)

16 Thursday 15th March Comparing Public Policy II: Comparing environmental & climate change policy (NM)

17 Monday 19th March Comparing Public Policy III: Comparing Immigration Policies (CB)

18 Thursday 22nd March Comparing Public Policy IV: Comparing Policies on Integration and Citizenship (CB)

19 Monday 26th March Comparing Public Policy V: International Regional Cooperation in Comparison (CB)

20 Thursday 29th March Comparison in a Globalized World: Comparison and Global Governance (CB)

MONDAY 23 APRIL – EXAM REVISION SESSION (NM)

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TUTORIAL TOPICS (FOR A DETAILED OUTLOOK OF TUTORIAL TOPICS AND HOW TO PREPARE, SEE THE

TUTORIAL BOOKLET ON LEARN)

Week 2 Why, how & what to compare

This introductory tutorial will review discussion and readings on the comparative method, and how it will be used in the tutorials and the course.

Week 3 Classifying political regimes

Students will work in groups to identify, discuss and debate different regime types and their key features.

Week 4 Do revolutions have common causes?

Students will work together to identify the key characteristics (measurement indicators) of revolutions, and contexts within which these emerge.

Week 5 Comparing Secession and Secessionism

Students will discuss the concept of secession and related concepts (independence, autonomy, self-determination, self-government, etc), and how states and the international community respond to demands for secession.

FLEXIBLE LEARNING WEEK – NO TEACHING FOR THIS COURSE

Week 6 Why are young people less likely to vote than others?

Students will hypothesise and explore variation in youth voting, and discuss models of voting behaviour.

Week 7 What makes a populist party populist?

Students will discuss the concept of populism on the left and right of the political spectrum, and consider the variable significance of populist parties.

Week 8 Essay writing workshop: developing a comparative research design

Tutors will discuss with students options for developing a comparative research design for their essay, including issues of case selection and the logic of comparison.

Week 9 Classifying welfare regimes

Students will discuss typologies of welfare regimes, and methods of comparing welfare regimes and policies.

Week 10 What underpins divergent European policy responses to immigration and refugee flows?

The tutorial will begin with a brief discussion of the Exam.

Students will reflect upon the conceptual, policy and discursive distinctions between immigrants and refugees, explore the explanations for variable European responses to these challenges.

2017-18 Comparative Politics in a Globalized World 13

Appendix 1 – General Information

Students with Disabilities

The School welcomes disabled students with disabilities (including those with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia) and is working to make all its courses as accessible as possible. If you have a disability special needs which means that you may require adjustments to be made to ensure access to lectures, tutorials or exams, or any other aspect of your studies, you can discuss these with your Student Support Officer or Personal Tutor who will advise on the appropriate procedures. You can also contact the Student Disability Service, based on the University of Edinburgh, Third Floor, Main Library, You can find their details as well as information on all of the support they can offer at: http://www.ed.ac.uk/student-disability-service

Learning Resources for Undergraduates

The Study Development Team at the Institute for Academic Development (IAD) provides resources and workshops aimed at helping all students to enhance their learning skills and develop effective study techniques. Resources and workshops cover a range of topics, such as managing your own learning, reading, note-making, essay and report writing, exam preparation and exam techniques. The study development resources are housed on ‘LearnBetter’ (undergraduate), part of Learn, the University’s virtual learning environment. Follow the link from the IAD Study Development web page to enrol: www.ed.ac.uk/iad/undergraduates Workshops are interactive: they will give you the chance to take part in activities, have discussions, exchange strategies, share ideas and ask questions. They are 90 minutes long and held on Wednesday afternoons at 1.30pm or 3.30pm. The schedule is available from the IAD Undergraduate web page (see above). Workshops are open to all undergraduates but you need to book in advance, using the MyEd booking system. Each workshop opens for booking two weeks before the date of the workshop itself. If you book and then cannot attend, please cancel in advance through MyEd so that another student can have your place. (To be fair to all students, anyone who persistently books on workshops and fails to attend may be barred from signing up for future events). Study Development Advisors are also available for an individual consultation if you have specific questions about your own approach to studying, working more effectively, strategies for improving your learning and your academic work. Please note, however, that Study Development Advisors are not subject specialists so they cannot comment on the content of your work. They also do not check or proof read students' work. Students can book a study skills consultation http://www.ed.ac.uk/institute-academic-development/postgraduate/taught/study/study-on-campus Academic English support can also be accessed at http://www.ed.ac.uk/english-language-teaching/students/current-students

Discussing Sensitive Topics

The discipline of Comparative Politics in a Globalized World addresses a number of topics that some might find sensitive or, in some cases, distressing. You should read this Course Guide carefully and if there are any topics that you may feel distressed by you should seek advice from the course convenor and/or your Personal Tutor.

2017-18 Comparative Politics in a Globalized World 14

For more general issues you may consider seeking the advice of the Student Counselling Service, http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/student-counselling

Tutorial Sign-up

You will be automatically assigned to a Tutorial group. This allocation is done using Student Allocator a tool which will randomly assign you to a suitable tutorial group based on your timetable. The benefits of this system are that students will be able to instantly view their tutorial group on their personal timetable and timetable clashes will be more easily avoided. Please check your timetable regularly in week 1 to see which group you have been assigned. Guidance on how to view your personal timetable can be found at

http://www.ed.ac.uk/student-administration/timetabling/students/timetabling-systems

If you have any issues, please contact the Course Secretary.

External Examiner

The External Examiner for Years 3 AND 4 Politics and International Relations programme is: TBC

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Appendix 2 - Course Work Submission and Penalties

Penalties that can be applied to your work and how to avoid them.

There are three types of penalties that can be applied to your course work and these are listed below. Students must read the full description on each of these at: http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/undergrad/current_students/teaching_and_learning/assessment_and_regulations/coursework_penalties Make sure you are aware of each of these penalties and know how to avoid them. Students are responsible for taking the time to read guidance and for ensuring their coursework submissions comply with guidance.

Incorrect submission Penalty When a piece of coursework is submitted to our Electronic Submission System (ELMA) that does not comply with our submission guidance (wrong format, incorrect document, no cover sheet etc.) a penalty of 5 marks will be applied to students work.

Lateness Penalty If you miss the submission deadline for any piece of assessed work 5 marks will be deducted for each calendar day that work is late, up to a maximum of seven calendar days (35 marks). Thereafter, a mark of zero will be recorded. There is no grace period for lateness and penalties begin to apply immediately following the deadline.

Word Count Penalty The penalty for excessive word length in coursework is one mark deducted for each additional 20 words over the limit. If the limit is 1500 words then anything between 1501 and 1520 words will lose one point, and so on. Word limits vary across subject areas and submissions, so check your course handbook. Make sure you know what is and what is not included in the word count. Again, check the course handbook for this information. You will not be penalised for submitting work below the word limit. However, you should note that shorter essays are unlikely to achieve the required depth and that this will be reflected in your mark.

ELMA: Submission and Return of Coursework

Coursework is submitted online using our electronic submission system, ELMA. You will not be required to submit a paper copy of your work. Marked coursework, grades and feedback will be returned to you via ELMA. You will not receive a paper copy of your marked course work or feedback. For details of how to submit your course work to ELMA, please see our webpages here. Remember, there is a 5 mark incorrect submission penalty, so read the guidance carefully and follow it to avoid receiving this.

Extensions: New policy-applicable for years 1 -4

From September 2016, there will be a new extensions policy that applies to all courses in the school from years one to four.

2017-18 Comparative Politics in a Globalized World 16

If you have good reason for not meeting a coursework deadline, you may request an extension. Before you request an extension, make sure you have read all the guidance on our webpages and take note of the key points below. You will also be able to access the online extension request form through our webpages.

Extensions are granted for 7 calendar days.

If you miss the deadline for requesting an extension for a valid reason, you should submit your coursework as soon as you are able, and apply for Special Circumstances to disregard penalties for late submission. You should also contact your Student Support Officer or Personal Tutor and make them aware of your situation.

If you have a valid reason and require an extension of more than 7 calendar days, you should submit your coursework as soon as you are able, and apply for Special Circumstances to disregard penalties for late submission. You should also contact your Student Support Officer or Personal Tutor and make them aware of your situation.

If you have a Learning Profile from the Disability Service allowing you potential for flexibility over deadlines, you must still make an extension request for this to be taken into account.

Exam Feedback and Viewing Exam Scripts:

General exam feedback will be provided for all courses with an examination. General feedback will be uploaded to the relevant course learn page within 24 hours of the overall marks for the course being returned to Students. Students who sit the exam will also receive individual feedback. The relevant Course Secretary will contact students to let them know when this is available and how to access it. If students wish to view their scripts for any reason, they must contact the relevant Course Secretary via email to arrange this.

Plagiarism Guidance for Students: Avoiding Plagiarism

Material you submit for assessment, such as your essays, must be your own work. You can, and should, draw upon published work, ideas from lectures and class discussions, and (if appropriate) even upon discussions with other students, but you must always make clear that you are doing so. Passing off anyone else’s work (including another student’s work or material from the Web or a published author) as your own is plagiarism and will be punished severely. When you upload your work to ELMA you will be asked to check a box to confirm the work is your own. All submissions will be run through ‘Turnitin’, our plagiarism detection software. Turnitin compares every essay against a constantly-updated database, which highlights all plagiarised work. Assessed work that contains plagiarised material will be awarded a mark of zero, and serious cases of plagiarism will also be reported to the College Academic Misconduct officer. In either case, the actions taken will be noted permanently on the student's record. For further details on plagiarism see the Academic Services’ website:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/arts-humanities-soc-sci/taught-students/student-

conduct/academic-misconduct

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Data Protection Guidance for Students

In most circumstances, students are responsible for ensuring that their work with information about living, identifiable individuals complies with the requirements of the Data Protection Act. The document, Personal Data Processed by Students, provides an explanation of why this is the case. It can be found, with advice on data protection compliance and ethical best practice in the handling of information about living, identifiable individuals, on the Records Management section of the University website at: http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/records-management-section/data-protection/guidance-policies/dpforstudents