HISTORY AT NUI GALWAY. FIRST-YEAR HANDBOOK 2018-19 - PLEASE READ THIS HANDBOOK CAREFULLY AND KEEP IT. YOU WILL NEED TO REFER TO IT THROUGHOUT ...

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HISTORY AT NUI GALWAY. FIRST-YEAR HANDBOOK 2018-19 - PLEASE READ THIS HANDBOOK CAREFULLY AND KEEP IT. YOU WILL NEED TO REFER TO IT THROUGHOUT ...
HISTORY AT NUI
         GALWAY.

    FIRST-YEAR HANDBOOK.

           2018-19.

PLEASE READ THIS HANDBOOK
CAREFULLY AND KEEP IT. YOU
WILL NEED TO REFER TO IT
THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

                      1
HISTORY AT NUI GALWAY. FIRST-YEAR HANDBOOK 2018-19 - PLEASE READ THIS HANDBOOK CAREFULLY AND KEEP IT. YOU WILL NEED TO REFER TO IT THROUGHOUT ...
SOME POINTS TO PONDER ON THE PURSUIT OF HISTORICAL STUDY.

 ‘The historian should, above all, be endlessly inquisitive and prying, constantly attempting to…cross
the frontiers of class, nationality, generation, period and sex. His [sic] principal aim is to make the
dead live.’
     - Richard Cobb, A Second Identity: essays on British and French history (Oxford University
         Press 1969), p.47.

‘…the modern world was made by dirty clouts [cloths] and dish pans as much as it was by ideas.’
    - Carolyn Steedman, Labours Lost: domestic service and the making of modern England.
       (Cambridge University Press 2009), p.49.

                                                  2
INTRODUCTION
 Welcome to First Year History at NUI Galway. This handbook, which provides you with basic information
 about the structure of First Year history, should be your first port of call if you have queries. You will also be
 required to buy (from MediaLinn in the basement, beside the Bialann, near the Student Union shop) reading
 packs which relate to the four distinct academic components of your first-year history course. This handbook
 is the basic structural information about First Year History and all its modules and requirements.

 Essential supplementary information will be posted regularly
     • on Blackboard under HI1103 (http://blackboard.nuigalway.ie/)
     • sent directly to your university e-mail address.

 Additional information can be found on the
    • History Department website (http://www.nuigalway.ie/history/ugrads/first.html)
    • First Year notice board in the History Department. (Outside Room 405, Tower 1, Floor 2)

 WHEN YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE HISTORY COURSE
     •   First check this Handbook, postings on Blackboard and/or the History website:
         http://www.nuigalway.ie/history/
     •    If you have not found the answer, consult your tutor (HISK1101 and HISK1102, or HI1100).
     •    The history administrator can also help you with some enquiries (Room 405, Tower 1, Floor 2)
     •    You can e-mail your lecturer from Blackboard if you have specific questions on his/her topic.
     •   If you wish to meet a lecturer, make an appointment by e-mail or come to the office during office
         hours. Lecturers have their office hours posted on their doors.

 BLACKBOARD
     •   Blackboard is an online teaching and learning resource which allows us to contact you and to
         make further information available.
     •    It can be accessed at http://blackboard.nuigalway.ie
     •    You access it using the same username and password as for your NUI Galway email.
     •   Lecture slides which may appear on Blackboard are merely skeletal guides/visual accompaniments
         to lectures and are no substitute for attending lectures and taking personal notes. Material
         posted on Blackboard should be read in conjunction with lecture notes and tutorial
         reading/discussion.

YOUR UNIVERSITY EMAIL
 You will all be issued with an NUI Galway email address. You should check this every weekday, as it
 is to this address that information and alerts will be sent, not to any other email address you use outside
 college. If corresponding with your lecturer or tutor, use your university email.

You may also like to follow History on Facebook and Twitter
                           https://www.facebook.com/NUIGalwayHistory

                         @ historyatgalway

                                                        3
FIRST YEAR HISTORY LECTURERS.

Lecturers HI1103 & HI1104

        Dr Caitriona Clear
        HI1103, Ireland (Sem 1)
        First Year Co-Ordinator
        caitriona.clear@nuigalway.ie

        Dr Gearóid Barry
        HI1103, Europe (Sem 1)
        gearoid.barry@nuigalway.ie

        Professor Dáibhí O Cróinín
        HI1104 Ireland (Sem 2)
        daibhi.ocroinin@nuigalway.ie

        Dr Pádraig Lenihan.
        HI1104: Europe (Sem 2)
        padraig.lenihan@nuigalway.ie

                                       4
FIRST YEAR HISTORY TUTORS

                            Dr Carmel Connolly
                            carmel.connolly@gmail.com

                            Dr Tomás Finn
                            tomas.finn@nuigalway.ie

                            Dr Jackie Uí Chionna
                            juchionna@gmail.com

                            Jane O’Brien

                            j.obrien57@nuigalway.ie

                            Liam Alex Heffron

                            l.heffron1@nuigalway.ie

                            Dara Folan

                            d.folan5@nuigalway.ie

                            5
WHERE IS THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY?
 The department of history is located in Tower 1, Floors 1 & 2, of the Arts/Science Building. Entrance
 to Tower 1 is opposite the main door of the Concourse, behind the Blackstone office and between the
 two entrance doors to the Kirwan Theatre.

Tower 1, Floor 2, Arts/Science Building.
   • Administrator’s Office: 405. Administrator: Ms Helena Condon: email helena.condon@nuigalway.ie
   • Office of the head of the History Department, Professor Enrico Dal Lago.
   • Offices of the First-Year lecturers and tutors, including First-Year Co-Ordinator, Dr. Caitriona Clear.
   • Year Bulletin Boards, timetables, essay submission forms and other printed documentation.

Tower 1, Floor 1, Arts/Science Building.
   • History Tutorial Rooms (306, 310, 316). There are also tutorial rooms numbered 301-307 in Tower 2;
       if the room title begins with TB, that means Tower 2; Tower 1 is specified. We regret the confusion!

 LEARNING REQUIREMENTS FOR FIRST-YEAR HISTORY:
 Students must
     •   attend 3 lectures a week for 24 weeks and 2 tutorials weekly for 20 weeks;
     •   read the recommended material in advance of the tutorials and in tandem with the lectures;
     •   participate actively in the tutorials, i.e discuss what is being learnt;
     •   write essays and complete in-class writing, online and oral assignments;
     •   develop writing & study skills;
     •   meet deadlines (see ‘Important Dates’ back page).
     •
 LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR FIRST-YEAR HISTORY:
 By following all the steps above, students should
     •   acquire a broad knowledge of important developments in Irish and European history in specific
         periods over two millennia;
     •   appreciate the debates and differences of opinion among historians about the causes of historical
         events and phenomena;
     •   develop a critical approach to reading historical narrative;
     •   develop a clear writing style and the ability to structure an argument;
     •   begin to understand how to read a historical document.

What is a lecture?
The origin of the word ‘lecture’ is the French word, ‘la lecture’ which means, literally translated, ‘the reading’.
In a university lecture the lecturer gives you the benefit of his/her broad and deep reading and research on the
subject/period, on which s/he is an expert. Students’ lecture notes should form the foundation of their course
work, which they then build on by independent reading. Speedy, accurate and intelligible note-taking is one
of the most important skills you will acquire in your university career.
 Questions are always welcome in, or at the end of, a lecture, but real class discussion is impossible in such a
large group and usually takes place in a tutorial.

What is a tutorial?
A tutorial is a small-group class (12-18) where discussion is facilitated by the tutor, who is an expert in
understanding historical change. Discussion can happen only if students have prepared in advance; to prepare
for tutorials students must, firstly, attend lectures and secondly, read something, usually from the reading pack
or textbook and more widely from the reading list if possible, on the topic being discussed. Tutors will give
more guidance on the work required in tutorials, once they begin. See p.9 for more details.

                                                        6
Attendance at lectures and tutorials is compulsory, yet it cannot be enforced. Students who do not attend always
have the following problems:
    • they conceive of the course or module simply as a series of facts (‘what happened when’) rather than as
        a way of apprehending the past through diverse arguments, different perspectives and a variety of
        sources. Knowledge of dates and facts is a minimum requirement, but it does not suffice, on its own,
        for success in examinations/assessments.
    • they never develop the skill of rapid apprehension and summarizing of an argument or point of view, a
        skill acquired in lectures.
    • they never develop the skills of oral historical argument, and they never learn how to evaluate historical
        documents, skills acquired in tutorials.
    • they miss out on vital course information transmitted by lecturers and tutorials – changes to key dates,
        deadline reminders, amendments to reading lists, last-minute unavoidable cancellations and so on.
    A NOTE ON TIME-KEEPING: Lectures and tutorials begin punctually on the hour (e.g. at 1100 on the
    minute) and finish at between ten or seven minutes to the following hour, so as to enable students to go
    from one class to another. Sometimes tardiness cannot be avoided; it is preferable to arrive late than
    not to arrive at all. You are welcome into the lecture-hall at any time.

 STRUCTURE OF FIRST-YEAR HISTORY:
 First Year history is divided into FOUR (or, for BA Connect students, THREE) modules.

 HISK1101 and HISK1102 (or for BA Connect Students, just HI1100): Skills for Historians. These are
 TUTORIAL courses. They involve two (or in the case of BA Connect students, one) one-hour small-group
 classes per week for ten weeks in Semester One and ten weeks in Semester Two. They are taught by the
 tutors.
 Tutorials begin some weeks later than the beginning of lectures and run in tandem with the lectures
 throughout the two semesters: HISK1101 in Semester One and HISK1102 in Semester Two, HI1100
 throughout the year. (See important dates at back of handbook).
 The tutorial timetable will be organized in the first two weeks. You will sign up online and be assigned a
 tutor. See Tutorials Explained, p.9.

HI1103: Ireland and Europe 1789 -1914. This is a LECTURE course in Semester One. Dr Caitriona Clear
will teach Ireland 1789-1914 from weeks one to week six, inclusive, and Dr Gearóid Barry will teach Europe
1789-1914 from weeks seven to twelve, inclusive.

 HI1104: Ireland and Europe from Medieval to Modern. This is a LECTURE course in Semester Two.
 Professor Dáibhí O Cróinín will teach Medieval Ireland: the Problem of St Patrick 5th-6th century A.D., from
 weeks one to six, and Dr Pádraig Lenihan will teach Europe: Reformation and General Crisis 1517-1715,
 from weeks seven to twelve.
 There will also be two Writing Skills lectures by Dr Timothy Keane early in Semester Two – date to be
 decided.

LECTURE TIMETABLE:
There are THREE History lectures each week all of which must be attended (i.e. it
is not the same lecture repeated, as in the introductory week). They take place at the
following times and places:
MONDAY 11-12 Kirwan Theatre, Arts & Commerce Building, near Concourse
entrance.
WEDNESDAY 11-12 Anderson Theatre, Arts & Commerce, near Bank of Ireland.
THURSDAY 2-3 Kirwan Theatre.

                                                            7
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR STUDENTS of SINGLE-SUBJECT HISTORY (BA11) and BA
CONNECT PROGRAMMES:

 1BA11: BA (History) i.e Single Subject History students take exactly the same History modules as
 1BA1 students in First Year. In subsequent years they take additional modules. They will, however,
 meet as a group early in the semester; their academic co-ordinator is Dr Mary Harris, who will
 contact them during Orientation Week.

 BA CONNECT STUDENTS, i.e. BA (Creative Writing), BA (Film Studies), BA (Human
 Rights), BA (Irish Studies), BA (Latin American Studies), BA (Children’s Studies), BA
 (Journalism), BA (Theatre and Performing Arts), and other BA Connects not mentioned:
 Students on these courses take the two lecture courses HI1103 and HI1104 in exactly the same way
 as other students and are assessed in exactly the same way. Their tutorial course, however, is
 entitled HI1100 and they are required to attend only ONE history tutorial (and it must be the first
 of the two bonded slots, see p.9) every week, for the same weeks as the other students. They also
 write four essays over the course of the year but their assessment differs slightly from that of other
 students. Tutors will clarify everything with them in the early weeks. BA Connect students should
 register for tutorials in exactly the same way as other students in the first two weeks, and it is crucial
 that they, like all students, attend the first of their tutorials in the week starting Sept 24.

                                      ASSESSMENT FOR FIRST
                                          YEAR HISTORY

           • Each module (HI1100, HISK1101, HISK1102 & HI1103 and HI1104) is worth 5 ECTS and
               has equal weight for your final year mark.
               (ECTS stands for European Credit Transfer System. It is a way of measuring the weight of
               academic components in different universities so that they will be roughly equal across
               different institutions and states. Your entire First Year is worth 60 ECTS, though it breaks
               down somewhat differently for HI1100 and HISK1101/HISK1102 students).
           • Your mark for HI1103 and HI1104 is based on your final written exams, one in each semester.
               The December examination is for HI1103 and the April/May examination is for HI1104. More
               detail is given below.
           • Your mark for HISK1101 and HISK1102 is based on FOUR essays, written over the course of
               the year, and on some other oral and online components, explained in greater detail below. BA
               Connect students, your mark for HI1100 is based entirely on the four essays.

 How the Examinations for HI1103 & HI1104 work:
 In the examination at the end of each semester (December, and April/ May) you will sit one examination and
 answer THREE questions on each paper - a compulsory one from both Section A and Section B of the
 module, and an additional question from either Section A or Section B.
The examination papers are structured so that you cannot restrict yourself to either Ireland or Europe, in either
semester.

                                                         8
TUTORIALS EXPLAINED
 The tutorial modules, HISK1101 and HISK1102: Skills for Historians, are linked to the content covered in
 HI1103 and HI1104. BA Connect students’ tutorial module is called HI1100 but it is contained within the
 same timetable, and has the same tutors, and essays, as HISK1101 and HISK1102.

     •   These modules are taught in small groups called tutorials. Here you will discuss historians’
         research, evaluate historical documents, and receive guidance and feedback on your essays,
         and you will do some examination preparation.
     •   You will sign up online for ONE tutorial group. Each group meets for TWO HOURS per week for
         10 weeks in Semester 1 and for TWO hours per week for 10 weeks in Semester 2 (see below for
         sign-up process). The same group meets in the same two hours every week all year, e.g. the group
         that meets on Monday 10-11 has its second meeting on Tuesday 9-10 every week for the two
         semesters, or the group that meets on Monday 4-5 has its second meeting on Wednesday 4-5.
         These hours (and all the tutorial hours, which span the entire week) are bonded; there can be
         no switching between groups. This is not only because it is important to get to know your tutor
         and your group and to stick with him or her over the year, but because different learning and
         teaching experiences take place in Hour One and Hour Two every week. BA Connect students only
         attend the first of these two hours.
     •   These are continuous assessment modules. Your work for this module will be reading, participation
         in discussion and essay writing. (see below for more explanation).
     •   Separate reading packs on Ireland and Europe should be purchased in Media Linn in the basement at
         the beginning of each semester.

     GET TO KNOW YOUR TUTOR’S NAME IN WEEK ONE: WRITE IT DOWN AND
       REMEMBER IT.

 Assignment to your tutorial group
    • Signing-up online for your personal tutorial time will take place as outlined below.
      (This is not to be confused with the separate process of registration of your three subject choices
        (including History) with the University.

     Assessment for HISK1101 and HISK1102, and for HI1100:

 HISK1101 Semester 1: Essay 1, 40%, essay 2, 40%; online resource 10%; oral presentation 10%.
 HISK1102 Semester 2: Essay 1, 40%,essay 2 40%; writing skills exercise 10%, oral
 presentation 10%.
 HI1100: Students taking HI1100 (BA Connect) are assessed entirely on the essays.
 Deadlines for essay submission: see Important Dates, back page.

SIGNING UP FOR YOUR HISK1101 and HISK1102 (and HI1100)
TUTORIAL GROUP:
Signing up for your tutorials will take place online through Blackboard. Go to HISK1101, or for BA Connect
students, HI1100, and find link on menu to the left of the page. Be sure to register for hours that do not clash
with any of your other subjects.

IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO SIGN YOURSELF UP ONLINE FOR A TUTORIAL
PLACE. If you are having difficulty, come to see Ms Helena Condon in Room 405, Floor 2, Tower
1.

Online Sign-up for Tutorials will begin on Wednesday September 12 at 10 am. You will need to sign up
before Friday,September 21 in order to be able to attend your first tutorial in week beginning September 24.

                                                       9
SUBMISSION OF ESSAYS
 These are guidelines for the presentation of written assignments in History, but tutors will reinforce this in
 class. You should make sure you submit all written assignments required. ESSAYS SHOULD BE
 SUBMITTED BY 2359 HOURS ON THE DAY OF THE DEADLINE, ON TURNITIN ON
 BLACKBOARD, and in hard copy to tutors at the nearest available tutorial to this date. Students who do
 not attend tutorials cannot therefore submit their essays, and will not have them marked.

 Presentation and Layout (this will be covered in tutorials also):
    - One paper copy must be handed in, with a title page and it must also be submitted electronically
        through Blackboard on Turnitin. (This will be explained by tutors).
    - All written assignments must be typed or word-processed
    - All written assignments must be 1.5 or double-spaced and in 12 point font
    - Insert page numbers
    - Page 1 is the first page of your text, not the title page.
    - Every written assignment should have a title page including the following
        information:
    Title of Essay;
        Name of Student;
        Student ID NUMBER!!! There could be three or four students called Laura Fahy or Conor Kelly.
        Course Name and Number: HISK1101/HISK1102 Skills for Historians; HI1100.
        Name of Tutor for this Assignment:
        Word Count:
        Date of Submission:
    - For every written assignment also fill in the official First Year Evaluation Sheet and staple it to the
        front. This is available outside room 404 and is also downloadable; tutors will have copies.
    - Always proof-read your essay for grammar and spelling mistakes.
    - Staple the pages of your assignment together.
    - Always keep a hardcopy of your assignment as well as an electronic copy.
    - Always back up your work.

 Special courses are available to Arts students who wish to improve their computer skills. See
 http://www.nuigalway.ie/arts/itoffice/index.html

 The Academic Writing Centre in the Library also offers advice on writing, including drop-in sessions. See
 http://www.library.nuigalway.ie/support/academicwritingcentre/.

 SEE NEXT PAGE FOR LIST OF BOOKS ON ESSAY-WRITING, ESPECIALLY FOR HI1100
 STUDENTS WHO DO NOT COVER THIS IN TUTORIALS.

Late Submission of Essays
 You will be penalised for late submission, unless you provide the First-Year Co-Ordinator or your tutor with
 an adequate explanation for the delay. For details of penalties see the History Department Policy on Late
 Submission of Assignments.

                                                       10
BOOKS ON ESSAY-WRITING, READING AND LEARNING.

Students taking HISK101 and HISK1102 will be taught how to write essays in the Tutorial B, i.e. the second
tutorial of the week. For College of Arts timetabling and subject-weighting reasons, BA Connect students do
not take Tutorial B, so the following books, of which there are multiple copies in the library around the 808
section, might be useful.
All students, indeed, would benefit from reading these books.

1. Peter Levin, Write Great Essays! (Berkshire: Open University Press 2004, 2009).
This book teaches you not only about academic writing, but academic learning too. Levin argues that the three
stages in academic learning are
    (i)      Taking notes in lectures and tutorials, and from your reading.
    (ii)     ‘Translating’ what you read and find, into your own understanding and your own words.
    (iii)    Gaining understanding – questioning what you read, wondering how the author is making these
             claims, looking at the sources s/he uses, comparing his/her conclusions with those of others.
             (Levin, pp.7-9).
The author also deals engagingly and lightly with different kinds of reading and different kinds of writing.

2. Bryan Greetham, How To Write Better Essays (London: Palgrave Study Guides 2001).
This is a bit more discursive in the opening chapters; lovely to read, so go ahead, but I would advise getting
straight into the meat of the book, from Chapters 6-10 inclusive, on how to study, and then after that, the
chapters on planning and writing. There is a lot that is very useful in this book, but taken all at one go it could
be indigestible. A little at a time is recommended.

3. Kathleen McMillan & Jonathan Weyers, How to Write Essays and Assignments (London: Pearson
2007, 2011).
Attractively-laid-out with lots of sidebars and boxes; clear and no-nonsense. Good on how to read and how to
examine the structure of a text; very good on spelling, grammar and punctuation. Don’t bother with the
‘enhancing your vocabulary’ chapter, but do look at the guides for editing and revision.

4. Robert Barrass, Students Must Write: a guide to better writing in coursework and examinations
(London: Routledge 2005).
This is very good on note-taking and writing as a memory aid, specially pp.11-21, on reading too (pp.26-29),
and question analysis. It is particularly good on avoiding circumlocution (i.e. going all around the houses to
express a simple thought), pp.72-77: many academic writers would benefit from reading this.

5. John Peck & Martin Coyle, Write it Right: a handbook for students (London: Palgrave 2005).
This is good on sentence structure and has a good chapter on ‘tricks of the trade.’ Chapter 5, boldly headlined,
‘If it looks wrong and sounds wrong, it probably is wrong’, is indispensable.

SUGGESTION: If students, while browsing 808, come across any other books on writing which they find
useful, they should by all means use them, and share the details with fellow-students, tutors and even the First-
Year Co-ordinator.

                                                        11
STYLESHEET & REFERENCING (this will be covered in tutorials).

 For every source you use in an essay, you must give the complete bibliographical information so your reader
 knows where you got your information. Provide this information in footnotes at the bottom of the page.
 When reading for an essay, students should record all bibliographical information they will need for
 footnotes, including page numbers.

 Inserting footnotes: (in Microsoft Word toolbar under “References”, or on a MAC under Insert, go to
 insert footnote/headnote and footone. It will automatically number consecutive footnotes).

 The following are examples of how to cite works used.

     1) Book - title is always italicized.
 Bryan Fanning, Histories of the Irish Future (London: Bloomsbury 2015), p.22.
 For a multi-authored book, include both names in alphabetical order, e.g.
 Nicky Leap & Billie Hunter, The Midwife’s Tale: an oral history from handywoman to professional midwife
 (London: Scarlet Press 1993), p.89.
 ALWAYS SUPPLY A PAGE NUMBER FOR A FOOTNOTE.

     2) Article/chapter in an edited book/scholarly journal is always in quotation marks/inverted
     commas.
 M. Clancy, ‘Women of the west: campaigning for the vote in early twentieth-century Galway’ in L.Ryan &
 M.Ward (eds.) Irish women and the vote: becoming citizens (Dublin 2007), pp.45-59.
 Hew Strachan, ‘The War Experienced: Command, Strategy, and Tactics, 1914-18’ in John Horne (ed.), A
 Companion to World War I (Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010), pp.35-48.
 C.Clear, ‘Woman’s Life magazine and women’s lives in Ireland in the 1950s’ in Saothar: journal of the
 Irish Labour History Society 38 (2013), pp,73-81.

 Note how the article titles are in quotation marks but the titles of the books in which they appear are in
 italics.

 In all these cases, for second and subsequent references, use a short-title reference, for example:
 Fanning, Future, p. 53.
 Strachan, ‘The War Experienced', p.40.

     4) Newspapers and magazines count as books, and titles are in italics.
 Irish Press, 17 February 1934.
 M.A. Bauer, ‘Dress and Fashion’ Irish Messenger of the Sacred Heart Vol. XLIX (August 1936).

     5) Article/chapter on a website database
 If you are citing a source that originally appeared in print and is reproduced in the exact same
 form on JSTOR or Project Muse or another web database, cite it as you would the print version.

     6) Website material with named author
 Dr Dan Todman, ‘World War One: Misrepresentation of a Conflict’, BBC History Series,
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/perceptions_01.shtml, accessed 23/08/2012.

     7) Website material without named author
 ‘Home Front: World War One’, BBC History Series,
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/britain_wwone/, accessed 23/08/2012. KEEP THIS KIND OF
 CITATION TO A MIMIMUM AND NO WIKIPEDIA PLEASE.

                                                        12
Bibliography
 The Bibliography should be on a separate page(s) at the end of the essay. It should contain a list of all the
 works cited in the footnotes. Only include in the bibliography works that you have actually consulted to
 write your essay. Entries should be in alphabetical order by author’s surname, e.g.: Curtin, C. All other
 details should be in the same format as those stipulated.
 Example:
          Curtin, C. & Varley, A. ‘Marginal men? Bachelor farmers in a west of Ireland community’ in
          C.Curtin et al (eds.) Gender in Irish Society (Galway 1987), pp.287-308.
          Hufton, Olwen The Poor of Eighteenth-century France (Oxford 1974).

POLICY ON PLAGIARISM

 All work submitted by students for assessment purposes is accepted on the understanding that it is their own
 work and written in their own words, except where explicitly referenced (i.e. put in quotation marks, or
 otherwise marked out, and a source given) using the accepted norms and formats of the appropriate
 academic discipline.

 What is Plagiarism?
 Plagiarism (as understood in the University’s Code of Practice) is the act of copying, including paraphrasing
 or directly quoting from, the work of another person (a published author or another student or the internet or
 any other place) without acknowledgment. The submission of plagiarised materials for assessment is
 fraudulent and all suspected cases will be investigated and dealt with appropriately by the University
 according to the Code of Practice for Dealing with Plagiarism.

 Students who knowingly permit others to copy their work or who copy others’ work shall also be
 subject to the procedures outlines in the Code of Practice.

 Avoiding Plagiarism in your essays.
    • Acknowledge your sources. This means that you should use footnotes to indicate where you got your
        information.
    • Use your own words as much as possible. When we mark your assignments, we want to know what
        you know, what you think about what you know, and how well you can express this.
    • If in doubt, ask your tutor.

More guidance will be given over the course of the year.

LOOKING FOR HELP
 If you fear you are going to have trouble fulfilling the requirements for a module (participation/attendance,
 essays or examination), the best thing to do is talk to (or email) your tutor or the co-ordinator of First Year,
 Dr Caitriona Clear. If you discuss your problems with the tutor or co-ordinator before they become serious
 (e.g. before you have actually missed any, or too many, deadlines or classes), they may be able to help you
 work out a way to complete the module. The important thing is to flag difficulties when they arise, not to
 wait until results come out when the semester or year is over, and nothing can be done.
 If you have a good reason (such as illness, bereavement or overwhelming family responsibility) for needing
 an extension to the deadline for a piece of coursework, you should contact the lecturer well before the
 deadline and explain your problem. Taking holidays in teaching term, or extended weekends away, is not a good
 reason, and students should not expect to be given any special consideration for these reasons.
 Please note: the university’s examination structure places some absolute limits on the length of extension that
 might be possible: for instance, you are unlikely to be able to have an extension beyond the examination
 period for a semester. In other words, an essay due in Semester One that is not submitted by Christmas (for
 whatever good reason), will have to be held over for marking in the autumn repeats.

 There are two other sources of advice you might find helpful:

                                                       13
•   Your Academic Advisor: every first-year student is assigned an Advisor. This Advisor, who can be
         contacted in the first few weeks, is there for you throughout your university career, should you need
         him or her.
     •   Counselling: if your problem is mostly personal rather than academic, you might want to talk about it
         with the student counselling service, at 5 Distillery Road. They operate a drop-in service during term-
         time, from 2.15pm to 3.45pm on weekdays (on a first-come, first served basis). See
         http://www.nuigalway.ie/student_services/counsellors/. Your student handbook will give you more
         information on the help available from these and other services including the Chaplaincy.

PASSING, FAILING, DEFERRING
 The requirements for passing History are the same as for other Subjects in First Arts. For further details, see
 http://www.nuigalway.ie/academic-
 records/new_website/marks_standards/creating_marks_and_standards.htm. See also pp.14-18 below.

 Deferral of a Module:
 If you need to defer one or more of your modules - i.e. to put the examination off until the autumn session for an
 unavoidable reason (for instance, if you fall ill), you need to contact the College of Arts. Only the College of
 Arts can grant a deferral. Contact Ms Catherine McCurry in the College of Arts: e-mail:
 catherine.mccurry@nuigalway.ie or phone number 091 493958. The College will communicate the
 decision to the Department and to the individual lecturers. If you defer, you will sit the exam during the
 Autumn exam session (in August) and/or complete the coursework before then.

 Repeating First-Year History
 If you fail History at the first sitting in April/May, you will have another opportunity in August to sit the
 exams, HI1103 and HI1104, and to submit work for HISK1101, HISK1102 and HI1100. The dates of the
 exams and the deadline for written work will be set nearer the time. Even if you do fail History, you may not
 need to repeat all modules. Check Blackboard for details, once the results are issued. If your marks are
 veering towards the low end of 40% and you have doubts about whether you will pass the year overall, do
 not arrange to work abroad for the summer.

 For more details on repeating History, see Marks and Standards at
  http://www.nuigalway.ie/academic-
 records/new_website/marks_standards/creating_marks_and_standards.html and Exams
 http://www.nuigalway.ie/exams/FAQ

 NOTE FOR STUDENTS CONSIDERING SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHING
 To comply with the rules of the Teaching Council, for students entering the Professional Master of
 Education from September 2017, a substantial element of their degree in History should consist of Irish
 and European History. A minimum of 15 ECTS in Irish History must be taken as part of the overall
 degree (taken over three years). First Year goes part of the way towards fulfilling this.

FINAL WORD
Here in the History Department we do not promise you an easy or effortless year, but we promise you a
challenging and interesting one, and we can assure you that if you do your part – work hard, read widely,
participate actively in your tutorials and attend your lectures – you will reap the reward, not only in marks, but
in a richer and deeper understanding of the world around you and how it has been shaped over the centuries.

                                                         14
MARKING SCALE AND ASSESSMENT
         CRITERIA NUI GALWAY

             15
Module Grade Descriptors for Undergraduate Degree Programmes
A module may have a number of different assessment elements, such as an end-of-module written
examination, a mid-term in-class test, a multiple-choice type test, an essay, weekly homework,
practice assessment, laboratory assessment, or an oral examination. Each of the module assessment
elements contributes, in a pre-defined structured manner, towards the overall mark of the module as
a whole.

The award of an overall mark to a module is a matter of academic judgement against agreed
criteria (the module learning outcomes and agreed grade descriptors) and should not be simply a
mathematical exercise.

In the module grade descriptor system, as described over the following pages,
    • an A grade corresponds to a H1 level of performance;
    • a B grade corresponds to a H2.1 level of performance;
    • a C grade corresponds to a H2.2 level of performance;
    • a D grade corresponds to a H3 performance in the final undergraduate or a Pass
        performance in the earlier years;
    • an E grade corresponds to a fail performance;
    • F and G grades correspond to fail performances.

Grade descriptors act as guidelines for students and academic staff. The grade descriptors
following are provided as general guidance and may be adapted for particular modules.
Grade      Grade Criteria relevant to modules in             Additional criteria more relevant to
and        1st Year and in the 2nd Year of 4 year            modules in the later programme years
Marks      programmes
Band
A          Excellent A comprehensive,                        A deep and systematic engagement with the
70 – 100   highly-structured, focused and concise            assessment task, with consistently impressive
           response to the assessment tasks, consistently    demonstration of a comprehensive mastery of
           demonstrating some or all, as appropriate, of     the subject matter, reflecting;
           the following:                                    • a deep and broad knowledge and critical
           • an extensive and detailed knowledge of              insight as well as extensive reading;
               the subject matter                            • a critical and comprehensive appreciation of
           • a highly-developed ability to apply this            the relevant literature or theoretical,
               knowledge to the task set                         technical or professional framework
           • evidence of extensive background                • an exceptional ability to organise, analyse
               reading                                           and present arguments fluently and lucidly
           • clear, fluent, stimulating and original             with a high level of critical analysis, amply
               expression                                        supported by evidence, citation or quotation;
           • excellent presentation (spelling,               • a highly-developed capacity for original,
               grammar, graphical) with minimal or no            creative and logical thinking
               presentation errors
B          Very Good A thorough and well-organised           A substantial engagement with the assessment
60 – 69    response to the assessment tasks,                 task, demonstrating
           demonstrating some or all, as appropriate, of     • a thorough familiarity with the relevant
           the following:                                        literature or theoretical, technical or
           • a broad knowledge of the subject matter             professional framework
           • considerable strength in applying that          • well-developed capacity to analyse issues,
                knowledge to the task set                        organise material, present arguments clearly
           • evidence of substantial background                  and cogently well supported by evidence,
                reading                                          citation or quotation;
           • clear and fluent expression                     • some original insights and capacity for
           • quality presentation with few                       creative and logical thinking
                presentation errors
C          Good An adequate and competent response           An intellectually competent and factually sound
50-59      to the assessment tasks, demonstrating some       answer, marked by,
           or all, as appropriate, of the following:         • evidence of a reasonable familiarity with the
           • adequate but not complete knowledge of              relevant literature or theoretical, technical or
                the subject matter                               professional framework
           • omission of some important subject              • good developed arguments, but more
                matter or the appearance of several minor        statements of ideas, arguments or statements
                errors                                           adequately but not well supported by
           • capacity to apply knowledge                         evidence, citation or quotation
                appropriately to the task albeit with some   • some critical awareness and analytical
                errors                                           qualities
           • evidence of some background reading             • some evidence of capacity for original and
           • clear expression with few areas of                  logical thinking
                confusion
           • writing of sufficient quality to convey
                meaning but some lack of fluency and
                command of suitable vocabulary
           • good presentation with some presentation
                errors
Grade     Grade Criteria relevant to modules in            Additional criteria more relevant to
and       1st Year and in the 2nd Year of 4 year           modules in the later programme years
Marks     programmes
Band
D+        Satisfactory An acceptable response to the       An acceptable level of intellectual engagement
45 – 50   assessment tasks with                            with the assessment task showing
          • basic grasp of subject matter, but             • some familiarity with the relevant literature
              somewhat lacking in focus and structure          or theoretical, technical or professional
          • main points covered but insufficient               framework
              detail                                       • mostly statements of ideas, with limited
          • some effort to apply knowledge to the              development of argument
              task but only a basic capacity or            • limited use of evidence, citation or quotation
              understanding displayed                      • limited critical awareness displayed
          • little or no evidence of background            • limited evidence of capacity for original and
              reading                                          logical thinking
          • several minor errors or one major error
          • satisfactory presentation with an
              acceptable level of presentation errors
D         Acceptable The minimum acceptable                The minimum acceptable level of intellectual
40 – 44   standard of response to the assessment tasks     engagement with the assessment task with
          which                                            • the minimum acceptable appreciation of the
          • shows a basic grasp of subject matter but         relevant literature or theoretical, technical or
              may be poorly focussed or badly                 professional framework
              structured or contain irrelevant material    • ideas largely expressed as statements, with
          • has one major error and some minor                little or no developed or structured argument
              errors                                       • minimum acceptable use of evidence,
          • demonstrates the capacity to complete             citation or quotation
              only moderately difficult tasks related to   • little or no analysis or critical awareness
              the subject material                            displayed or is only partially successful
          • no evidence of background reading              • little or no demonstrated capacity for
          • displays the minimum acceptable                   original and logical thinking
              standard of presentation (spelling,
              grammar, graphical)
E         Marginal A response to the assessment tasks      A factually sound answer with a partially
35 - 39   which fails to meet the minimum acceptable       successful, but not entirely acceptable, attempt
          standards yet                                    to
          • engages with the subject matter or             • integrate factual knowledge into a broader
              problem set, despite major deficiencies in       literature or theoretical, technical or
              structure, relevance or focus                    professional framework
          • has two major error and some minor             • develop arguments
              errors                                       • support ideas or arguments with evidence,
          • demonstrates the capacity to complete              citation or quotation
              only part of, or the simpler elements of,
              the task
          • an incomplete or rushed answer e.g. the
              use of bullet points through part/all of
              answer
Grade     Grade Criteria relevant to modules in             Additional criteria more relevant to
and       1st Year and in the 2nd Year of 4 year            modules in the later programme years
Marks     programmes
Band
F         Unacceptable A response to the assessment         An unacceptable level of intellectual
20 – 34   tasks which is unacceptable, with                 engagement with the assessment task, with
          • a failure to address the subject matter         • no appreciation of the relevant literature or
              resulting in a largely irrelevant answer or      theoretical, technical or professional
              material of marginal relevance                   framework
              predominating                                 • no developed or structured argument
          • a display of some knowledge of material         • no use of evidence, citation or quotation
              relative to the question posed, but with      • no analysis or critical awareness displayed
              very serious omissions/errors and/or             or is only partially successful
              major inaccuracies included in answer         • no demonstrated capacity for original and
          • solutions offered to a very limited                logical thinking
              portion of the problem set
          • an answer unacceptably incomplete
              (e.g. for lack of time)
          • a random and undisciplined
              development, layout or presentation
          • unacceptable standards of presentation,
              such as grammar, spelling or graphical
              presentation
          •
G         Wholly unacceptable                               No intellectual engagement with the assessment
0 – 19    • complete failure to address the subject         task
              matter resulting in an entirely irrelevant
              answer
          • little or no knowledge displayed relative
              to the question posed
          • little or no solution offered for the
              problem set
IMPORTANT DATES 2018-19.

September 4-7: Orientation/Introductory Week: Introduction to the Subject of
History:
See College of Arts introductory handbook for details on times and venues.

Semester One:
Lectures begin: Monday Sept 10 2018. (lecture times and places p.7)
Tutorials begin: Monday Sept 24.
First essay due: Wednesday Oct 17.
Second essay due: Wednesday Nov 14.
Teaching (lectures and tutorials) ends: Saturday December 1.
Study Week: December 3-December 8.
Examinations begin: December 10. (You will be informed of the exact date of
your History examination some time in November).
Examinations finish: Friday December 21.

Semester Two:
Lectures begin: Monday Jan 14 2019. (timetable as in Semester One).
Tutorials begin: Monday Jan 28.(timetable as in Semester One).
Third essay due: Wednesday Feb 20.
Fourth essay due: Wednesday March 20.
Teaching (lectures and tutorials) ends: Saturday April 6.
Study week: April 11-April 18.
(Easter is April 19-22).
Examinations begin: Tuesday April 23.
Examinations finish: Friday May 10.

Final results for the entire year are released by the Examinations Office in the
last week of June.
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