• Class Number 9169
  • Term Code 3060
  • Class Info
  • Unit Value 12 units
  • Mode of Delivery Online or In Person
  • COURSE CONVENER
    • Cameron Roles
  • LECTURER
    • Cameron Roles
  • Class Dates
  • Class Start Date 27/07/2020
  • Class End Date 30/10/2020
  • Census Date 31/08/2020
  • Last Date to Enrol 03/08/2020
SELT Survey Results

Students enrolled in Bachelor of Laws (Honours) programs from 1 January 2015 have the option to compete for places in Supervised Research Paper.  This course will enable a student to complete, over one semester, a 12 unit course where students write a 13000 word supervised research paper that will take the place of two standard one semester electives in the LLBHons program. Students will organise supervisors according to any supervised allocation process that is required in the semester before the commencement of Supervised Research Paper.
 

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

  1. undertake a focused but systematic study of a legal issue of the student’s own choosing;
  2. present the results of that study in a written form which is accessible to an interested, but not necessarily informed, legal reader;
  3. demonstrate critical thinking skills enabling review, analysis, consolidation and synthesis of knowledge to propose a somewhat original solution to a complex legal problem;
  4. demonstrate legal project management skills;
  5. research with some degree of independence within a supervisory relationship;
  6. develop their understanding of legal research methodology and its limits; and
  7. demonstrate an advanced understanding of relevant legal theory and legal doctrine.

Required Resources

Australian Guide to Legal Citation (Melbourne University Law Review Association Inc, 4th ed, 2018) available at: http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/mulr/aglc

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

  • written comments
  • verbal comments

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

Extensions late submission and penalties - https://law.anu.edu.au/current-students/policies-procedures/extensions-late-submission-and-penalties

Deferred examination: http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/assessments-exams/deferred-examinations

Special consideration: http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/assessments-exams/special-assessment-consideration

Penalties for excess word length: https://law.anu.edu.au/current-students/policies-procedures/word-length-and-excess-word-penalties

Distribution of Grades Policy: Effective from Winter Session and Second Semester 2018 (and until further notice), the current Grading Distribution Policy has been suspended pending the development of a new policy. For further information about the interim policy please see: https://law.anu.edu.au/current-students/policies-procedures/grading

Further Information about the Course: is available from the course WATTLE page. Students are required to access the WATTLE site regularly throughout the course for details on weekly classes and any announcement snd updates relating to the course.

Class Schedule

Week/Session Summary of Activities Assessment
1 There are no classes in this course. You should be meeting with your Supervisor on a regular basis.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task Value Due Date Return of assessment Learning Outcomes
Confirmation of research topic 0 % 21/09/2020 05/10/2020 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
Submission of full draft to the supervisor 0 % 05/10/2020 30/10/2020 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
Submission of Research Paper 100 % 02/11/2020 03/12/2020 1,2,3,4,5,6,7

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Integrity . In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Supervised Research Paper students are expected to devote, at the very least, the equivalent of half of a normal working week to the research and writing of their research paper. Therefore, it is both necessary and desirable that substantial progress has been made before the commencement of semester. Most students (and academics) find that legal research and writing is much more time-consuming than expected. Therefore, it is highly recommended that students reflect upon their other time commitments and make any changes necessary to accommodate the work required for this course.

Assessment Task 1

Value: 0 %
Due Date: 21/09/2020
Return of Assessment: 05/10/2020
Learning Outcomes: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7

Confirmation of research topic

Details of task:  Completion of this form (available on WATTLE) is to consolidate your work to date on your research paper. You will need to provide a working title for your research paper and confirm the research area and topic for your paper.

Nature of task: Compulsory. Failure to complete the task may put your progress in the course at risk.

Weighting: 0%

Release: The 'confirmation of research topic form' will be available on the course Wattle site.

Due date: Week 7, 1pm Monday, 21 September 2020 via Wattle. Late submissions will be accepted.

Word limit: N/A

Estimated return date: The Convenor will confirm having read and accepted the 'confirmation of research topic form' by 12 noon Monday 05 October 2020.

Assessment Task 2

Value: 0 %
Due Date: 05/10/2020
Return of Assessment: 30/10/2020
Learning Outcomes: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7

Submission of full draft to the supervisor

Details of task:  Submit the first full draft to allow your supervisor to read and comment on your research.

Nature of task: Compulsory. Failure to submit a full draft to your supervisor by this date may mean that you will not receive supervisor feedback on your draft before the required date for final submission.

Weighting: 0%

Due date: Week 9, 1pm Monday 5 October 2020 via a method negotiated with the supervisor. If you are not able to meet this deadline this should be raised with your supervisor and a new due date for this task negotiated.

Word limit: Between 11,000 and 13,000 words (including footnotes)

Estimated return date: As negotiated with your supervisor. All feedback from your supervisor on your research paper will be provided by Week 12, Friday 30 October 2020.

Assessment Criteria: The same criteria as for the research paper (see below Assessment Task 3)

Assessment Task 3

Value: 100 %
Due Date: 02/11/2020
Return of Assessment: 03/12/2020
Learning Outcomes: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7

Submission of Research Paper

Details of task:  Submission of the full and finalised research paper.  

Nature of task: Compulsory. Failure to submit this task will result in a 0 for this task.

Value or weighting: 100%

Release: N/A

Due date: 1pm Monday, 2 November 2020 via Turnitin. Late submission (without an extension) is permitted, although late penalties will apply.

Word limit: Between 11,000 and 13,000 words (including footnotes).

Estimated return date: release of final results, Thursday, 3 December 2020. Examiners report/s will be emailed to students by the CoL Student Administration team after this day.

Other requirements: 

Submission: We do not require hard copies of the research paper. We accept only electronic copies of the research paper that must be submitted to Turnitin on Wattle. The electronic copy must be in a word processing file format (.doc, .docx). Electronic copies in .pdf file format are not acceptable.

Library Copy: Where a research paper receives a High Distinction mark, a fresh copy will be printed from the electronic version and will be permanently book bound at the expense of the ANU College of Law. This copy will be held by the Law Library.  

Word Count: The research paper must record the total word count on the cover page of the research paper. It is not necessary to put a word count on each individual page. The electronic copy may be checked for word length compliance.   

Method for calculating word count:

  • the word count includes headings and footnotes;
  • the word count does not include the cover page, table of contents, acknowledgments and bibliography;
  •  the total word count must be calculated by the student using a word processing program applied to the text (including footnotes) and the total word count for the thesis must be recorded on the cover page of the thesis;
  • appendices will be treated as part of the text unless they merely reproduce primary materials for the aid of examiners. It is recommended that appendices are not used for supervised research papers.

Presentation: The text of the research paper must be 12 font and double spaced.  

Cover Page: The cover page should include the title of the paper and the author's student number only (Do not include your name). You are permitted – but certainly not required – to add artwork or vary the format of the cover page. A sample cover page is available from the course Wattle site.    

Bibliography: You must include a bibliography. A bibliography provides a list of sources or references used in the research for the paper (ie. not just sources used in the text of the paper). In addition, it may be appropriate to include in the 'Introduction' a description of the sources and research methodology (eg "British and Canadian as well as Australian case law was surveyed, as were parliamentary debates and newspaper reports for public discussion of the relevant legislation. Annual reports of the Commission for Legal Research and Writing were a valuable source on implementation of the legislative standards"). The bibliography is not included in the word count.  

Assessment Criteria: The ANU College of Law Guidelines on Supervision and Examination of the Supervised Research Paper set out the examination process. The assessment criteria are set out below. Two examiners are appointed for each thesis, one of whom is the supervisor. Students should be aware that either or both examiners may not be an expert in the legal area of the thesis. With that in mind, the thesis should be written for a legally trained generalist not a specialist audience. Students are entitled to know the names of their examiners and may contact the Course Convenor for this information. Examiners must consider and comment on the following matters, the importance of which will vary depending on the type of research paper, in addition to any other comments they may wish to make:

  1. quality of the arguments and reasoning (how persuasive was the thesis?);
  2. depth and breadth of research and range of research methods used;
  3. degree of difficulty in the topic and/or research methods used;
  4. degree of originality of the thesis and/or whether the thesis makes a useful contribution, and in what ways;
  5. structure and organisation of the thesis;
  6. consistency and accuracy of referencing and citations;
  7. literary style (including accuracy of spelling and grammar).

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.


The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.


The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

  • Late submission not permitted. If submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.
  • Late submission permitted. Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

Cameron Roles
+61 2 6125 3488
subdean.law@anu.edu.au

Research Interests


Cameron Roles

By Appointment
By Appointment
Cameron Roles
+61 2 6125 3488
subdean.law@anu.edu.au

Research Interests


Cameron Roles

By Appointment
By Appointment

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