Published

21 Jan 2025

Guidelines for coursework 1

General information

The goal of coursework 1 is to summarize a book chapter or review paper on a topic of the module. Your task is to summarize the paper, identify and define the key concepts, discuss it critically and develop some review questions aimed at understanding the concepts adressed in the text.

To stimulate teamwork, the coursework is carried out in tandems of two students, one which one is responsible for the written summary, and the other for creating and giving the oral presentation.

Each student is part of two different teams and is responsible for the written summary of the paper, and the oral presentation of another paper.

Why work in teams? One reason is to have a partner for the discussion of the chapter and to identify the arguments made, and also to have two different perspectives, which often helps in the criticism of written literature.

The main goals of this coursework is to utilize the knowledge provided in the class for a critical discussion of a book chapter or paper aimed at a general audience, to summarize it and to evaluate it cricially.

Written paper

Guidelines for the written paper

The written paper should provide the following information and should be structured accordingly.

  1. A short paragraph summarizing the content of the assigned text. What is it’s objective and key message(s)?
  2. A description of the key concepts presented in a single sentence.
  3. A critical evaluation of the assigned text in one paragraph. Justify any positive or negative criticism with arguments. Sentences like “I did not like Figure 1.” are not sufficient. Instead, write “Figure 1 has the following limitations:…
  4. Describe in one paragraph why and how the concepts introduced in the chapter are relevant for crop science.
  5. Formulate 2-3 questions for thinking and discussion you could ask other students and put the content of the chapter in a larger context that is relevant for crop science.

Your term paper should consist of a separate title page and the text of 2-3 pages (12pt font, single spaced in Times Roman, Arial or Helvetica font). On the title page, provide the following information:

  • Your immatriculation number (Do not put your name to avoid any conscious or unconscious bias in the grading process!)
  • The complete citation of the assigned text

No special formatting is needed for the title page (no Hohenheim logo required)!

Evaluation criteria

  • Your text is written in complete sentences
  • Written in correct English language without typing errors and correct grammar
  • Correct citation of any references in the text in a bibliography at the end of the coursework.
  • Do not reproduce figures or tables from the reviewed material, but you may create your own visualizations.

In your writing, be as specific and concise as possible.

The paper is evaluated according to the formal criteria described above and then ranked among all term papers with respect to style and quality.

All papers will be checked for plagiarism and excessive use of AI-tools like ChatGPT

We usually write down some comments on the term paper and make them available to you after grading to give you some feedback and to justify the evaluation.

Submission of the coursework 1 paper

Please upload the coursework 1 paper to the Coursework 1 paper folder on ILIAS as a single pdf.

Name the pdf file as 123456_coursework1.pdf where 123456 is your immatriculation number. Do not use your name to avoid any conscious or unconscious bias in the grading process.

Please remember to submit as a separate PDF the signed declaration of plagiarism, which you can download from here: https://www.uni-hohenheim.de/fileadmin/uni_hohenheim/PA/formulare/allgemein/Eigenstaendigkeitserklaerung_EN.pdf. It is fine if you print it out, sign it and take a scan with your smartphone or tablet.

The due date is given on the course website.

Oral presentation

Guidelines for the oral presentation

The purpose of the oral presentation is to demonstrate that you have thought about the are able to provide a comprehensible summary and critical evaluation of a book chapter/paper to a non-expert audience.

The presentation should last 10 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of questions

Evaluation criteria of the presentation

  1. Design of slides: Minimize the number of words and use visualizations (sketches, etc.) whenever possible.
  2. Do not read the words on the slides but speak freely
  3. Structure of presentation, which should roughly follow the written paper
  4. Ability to answer questions about the chapter, your presentation and related concepts as presented in the module classes
  5. Duration of your presentation.
  6. Quality of presentation

For the design of the slides, please use the official Powerpoint template of the University of Hohenheim: https://www.uni-hohenheim.de/en/template-powerpoint

Submission of the coursework 1 presentation slides

Please upload your coursework 1 presentation slides to the Coursework 1 presentation folder on ILIAS as a single pdf. Other formats are not allowed.

Name the pdf file as LASTNAME_coursework1_presentation.pdf where LASTNAME is your last name (no spaces in the file name).

Due date: Sunday, 28 January 2024 23:55.