There is one summative assessment for SMOAC. The assessment brief starts on page 7, but please read carefully all the information provided below.

Introduction

Please read this document carefully as it gives the information you need to complete your coursework for this module. We advise you to get in touch with your tutor as soon as possible if anything is unclear. During your studies with MLA College, you may be assessed through some or all of the following types of assessment:

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is a collection of questions and tasks to test your knowledge of the lectures you have just watched. Formative assessment questions can be found throughout the Total Learning Package (TLP) alongside the video lectures, after the lectures or included in the transcripts. They allow you to work through problems at your own pace to satisfy yourself that you have fully understood the teaching and learning which has been covered in the lecture.

We have provided all the answers to the formative questions, so that you can compare your answers with the ones provided and re-visit the lectures if necessary. You may also wish to discuss these in tutorials, or online with your fellow students in the discussion forum.

Your performance in these formative tasks is not marked by your course tutor and does not count towards the overall module mark. We highly recommend that you complete all the formative questions, as the module has been designed very carefully to use these questions to build your knowledge and understanding. Completing the formative questions will help you in writing your marked coursework – this is described in the section below.

Coursework

Coursework is submitted by fixed deadlines for marking and feedback. The marks that you achieve for your coursework count towards your overall module mark, and eventually, to your grade for the whole programme. Hence this type of assessment is often referred to as ‘summative’.

The assessment questions contained in this document focus on the learning outcomes of the module and this assessment document contains everything you need to prepare your module coursework. Please review the Learning Outcomes in the Module Record located on the TLP.

Support

Your course tutor is available for assistance and advice as required, although you are expected to work autonomously throughout, conducting your own research to produce answers of an acceptable standard. This is a requirement of both distance learning and residential students.

The TLP contains several documents in the ‘Study Help’ section to support you with your learning and to help you complete your coursework. Please read through all of these documents carefully prior to attempting the assessment.

Your course tutor will be in touch at appropriate times throughout the module and will provide feedback on any draft work completed (see further advice on this below). In general, it is your responsibility to contact the tutor if you have any concerns, academically or otherwise.

Before you start writing

Before you start writing your coursework:

• listen to, read or watch the relevant lectures.

• know the learning outcomes for the module (as stated in the module record).

• understand the marking scheme (presented at the foot of this document).

Technical matters and formatting

Please ensure that you include the coursework cover sheet with your coursework. A copy of this is included below.

Present your answers logically in your coursework document and write clearly and succinctly. Don’t forget to spell check your work and proofread it carefully before submission.

Please read Plymouth University’s plagiarism policy (https://bit.ly/2CMKh1F). If you are in any doubt as to what plagiarism means or consists of, contact your tutor immediately.

Please also watch the following videos that have been produced specifically to help you understand plagiarism, and importantly, how to use Turnitin to submit your coursework (see below): Plagiarism video tutorials

Word count

Word counts are deliberately challenging, and you are expected to remain within (+/-) 10% of the stated limit. It demands succinct, clear and effective writing. Review every sentence critically and make sure every word is needed.

The following components are not included in your word count:

• coursework cover sheet

• list of contents or index

• lists of abbreviations or acronyms

• index of figures, tables and diagrams

• tables, figures and diagrams embedded in the text

• bibliography or list of references

• appendices

Referencing

All academic work must be referenced using the Harvard Referencing System. Read the relevant ‘Guide to Referencing.pdf’ in the TLP and contact your tutor if anything is unclear.

Submission of your coursework

Each coursework must be submitted as a SINGLE word-processed document containing all your answers. Submission of your written coursework will be via Turnitin. Read the following steps and take action as appropriate:

1. You will receive an emailed invite to the module or class area from Turnitin. For new or first-time users, you may have to create an account but don’t worry – full instructions will be provided on the emailed invitation.
2. The invite from Turnitin contains a link to the assessment submission section for your module. You will need to upload your document following the instructions contained in this guide: Turnitin quick start guide
3. For non-written assessments (e.g. video presentations or practical exercises) please read carefully the submission instructions included within each question.
4. Should you have any difficulty in accessing Turnitin, please speak to your tutor without delay.

Finally, just some points about the level of available support and the marking process:

Formative feedback

You have the opportunity to submit a single draft of your assessment, or each question, prior to the formal submission deadline, allowing your tutor to give some formative feedback and advice on whether your answers are on-track. Please note, however, the following points:

Whilst tutors will be available for general advice and support at all times, it is unlikely you will be in a position to implement changes to your coursework when draft work is submitted very close to the submission deadline. Further, Tutor availability in the week leading up to the submission deadline is limited. As such, please do not request comments on draft work any later than the end of week 12.

Additionally, please note that your work should be your own and not a collaborative effort between you and your tutor! The principal role of the tutor is to guide and support you through the module. The expectation is that you will ask questions and seek clarification on any technical matters as opposed to requesting that your tutor proof- reads your work. As such, you should not expect them to confirm if draft work is correct and/or likely to pass. It is your ability to address the learning outcomes of the module that is being assessed.

You should submit your draft answers via Turnitin; look out for the instructions that will follow from your tutor. A further advantage of this is that you will be able to check your answers for similarities with other sources (e.g., those from the internet) and correct

for this as necessary. Note that you will receive detailed feedback of your marked coursework, usually around four weeks from the submission date.

Accessing your final (summative) marks and feedback

Your final marks, comments and feedback will be available a few weeks after the submission date of each assessment, and access to these is through Turnitin. Within the Turnitin class, you will see a module ‘post-date’. This is the date that your provisional module marks and feedback will be released. No other correspondence concerning your provisional grade will be issued; however, through Turnitin you do have the facility to print your marked coursework, including all tutor comments and feedback, for your own records.

Marking scheme

At the beginning of the assessment questions there are tables showing how the marks are allocated across the coursework. A Marking Criteria table is included at the end of this document, which is used when marking your coursework. You should familiarise yourself with these criteria and understand what is required to achieve the highest possible mark.

Please note that your assessment may be marked and/or moderated by a member of the academic teaching team other than your tutor. The marks awarded during your study of this module are provisional and will be confirmed at the next MLA College/Plymouth University Subject Panel and Award Board.

MLA College Coursework cover sheet

PLEASE NOTE THAT A COPY OF THIS COVER SHEET SHOULD BE DOWNLOADED BY CLICKING ON THE LINK IN THE ASSESSMENT PAGE OF THE TLP.

YOU MUST COMPLETE THE COVER SHEET AS INDICATED AND SIGN THE DECLARATION AT THE BOTTOM. ATTACH THE COMPLETED COVER SHEET TO THE FRONT OF YOUR COURSEWORK PRIOR TO UPLOADING AS A SINGLE DOCUMENT TO TURNITIN.

Student Name
Module code
Module name
Submission deadline
Submission word count
Tutor name
Programme (e.g., Sustainable Maritime Operations)
Please note that the MLA College Academic Regulations are contained within the student handbook on the MLA College website here: student handbook.
Student declaration: I have read the guidance on Academic Dishonesty in the student handbook and watched the tutorials on plagiarism and how to use Turnitin. I understand that plagiarism is an Academic Offence. I declare this work to be my own original effort and not the work of others. I acknowledge the use of any and all Artificial Intelligence (AI) sources in my work and include details of such in an Appendix. The work has not been previously submitted for another assessment. I have credited all sources of information and ideas, where appropriate, by use of citation.Signed (Typing your name is acceptable): Date:

SMOAC Coursework word count allocation

CHAPTER	Coursework	Question	Word count (± 10%)
Research Skills	Literature Research	1	–
	Annotated Bibliography	2	600
1The Energy Business	Critical Analysis	3	Table + 400
2Marine Technologies	Report Analysis	4	400
3Managing the Marine Environment	Law of the Sea	5	Diagram + 250
4Managing Sustainable Maritime Operations	Essay	6	500
Personal Reflection	Reflective Essay	7	500
Total			2650

Include visual aids (figures, tables) in your answers where relevant. Support statements and opinions with references, preferable from primary literature (peer reviewed articles). References must follow the Harvard style of referencing. Guidance on referencing, critical thinking, and essay and report writing, are available in the ‘study help’ section of the TLP.

SMOAC Assessment Brief

Question 1

Literature Research

You are asked to demonstrate basic skills on academic research, finding and retrieving publicly available peer reviewed articles.

SMOAC is not part of the SMO programme proper. As so, you are not yet registered as a University of Plymouth student, not having full access to the University of Plymouth online library (Primo). However, you have at your disposal other publicly available research tools, like Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/).

• Perform a search in Google Scholar, to find articles on environmental impact of seafloor mining.
• Filter your results to show only articles, published after 2020 (inclusive).
• Capture the image of your screen (see technical note) like the one included below, showing the first results obtained and the search filter applied (note that the searching keywords and filter on this image are not the same you are asked to apply). Copy the image obtained to your coursework, as being your answer to Q1.
• At the right of the results page, the presence of a PDF or HTML link, means that a full copy of the article is publicly available.
• From the results obtained, access and download three peer reviewed articles of your choice (these will be used on question 2 of the assessment).

Technical Note: you can capture an image of your browser window by:

• Windows computers:
  • Using the Snitch & Sketch App, standard in Windows or
  • Capture the window into the clipboard [Alt] + [Prt Sc] and then paste the copied image into your Word document with [Ctrl] + [V]
• Mac computers
  • Built-in snipping tool [Shift] + [Command] + [5]; paste the captured image into your Word document with [Command] + [V]

Question 2

Annotated Bibliography

Word count: 200 words for each article (excluding references).

The ‘Study Help’ section of the TLP contains several guides on academic writing and referencing, as well as links to external resources that provide guidance on how to write an Annotated Bibliography. You should familiarise with these guides first.

Your task is to write an Annotated Bibliography of the three articles downloaded in question 1. You should start the annotated bibliography for each of the articles with the full reference of the article. The referencing style used at MLA College and the University of Plymouth is the Harvard style of referencing, which you should use, not only for this task but for all coursework submitted to the College and the University. Below is an example of the reference of the first article listed in the figure included in question 1.

Davila, A.F. and Schulze-Makuch, D., 2016. The last possible outposts for life on Mars. Astrobiology, 16(2), pp.159-168. https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2015.1380.

Note that we have included the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) of the article at the end of the reference. Peer reviewed articles available online always have a DOI, which are indicated in the article’s page. DOIs are permanent links, so there is no need of adding the access date (which is required if you are referencing, for example, a web page, which might change in the future).

(Hint: you can obtain the correct Harvard reference by clicking the citation button (“) as shown in the figure below.

Critical Analysis

There are different technologies to harvest sustainable energy from the oceans. Construct a table where, for each of the technologies considered, you attribute a score (e.g., 1, 2, 3…) that reflects the level of:

• technology maturity
• cost
• innovation over the past 5 years
• potential scale of the market for deployment

Next, write a short essay that critically discusses the data included in the table. You will need to conduct some research of your own in support of your answer.

Question 4

Report Analysis

As part of your duties, you are tasked to present information on possible energy saving propulsion devices for a gas carrier ship already in service with your company. Using information in Section 2 of the ABS guide (included in the TLP), select and discuss three different device types which might be fully or partially compatible with each other for use on the ship. Include information on potential benefits, savings, and improvements in efficiency plus any possible penalties / disadvantages.

Also, select and explain one device type that is incompatible with a gas carrier ship design.

You may like to conduct some research of your own in support of your answer.

Law of the Sea

With the use of diagrams, explain why the maritime boundaries of disputed island territories are particularly challenging to determine under the Law of the Sea Convention.

Question 6

Essay

Explain the difference between maritime operations and land operations, considering the aspects of physical attributes, legal considerations, technical elements, and commercial aspects. Additionally, analyse the unique factors that facilitate the categorization and subdivision of maritime operations. Support your explanations with relevant examples.

Question 7

Reflective essay

Write a reflective essay which describes your experience on this course, and what you hope to get out of this study programme. Reflect on any concerns you may have. These might include things like finding time for studying, remote study, resources for study, not having studied for a while or the level of expectation. Evaluate your own performance, and consider what you might have done differently, or what you might do differently in future, should you successfully obtain a place on the SMO programme.

Marking Criteria

	A	B	C	D	E	F
Content	Fully addresses the assessment brief using all relevant information with few errors	Addresses the assessment brief with most facts relevant and no significant errors	Addresses the assessment brief using core information but some gaps in subject knowledge	Addresses the assessment brief but containing a minimal amount of the required material	A marginal fail, does not contain enough relevant information to address brief and/or contains multiple errors	Clear fail that does not address assessment brief, with totally inadequate or irrelevant information
Understanding and Evaluation	Full understanding of topic within wider context. Full critical evaluation with arguments supported by evidence and examples.	Substantial understanding demonstrated. Critical evaluation present with arguments supported by evidence.	Adequate understanding demonstrated although evaluation may be limited with restricted use of evidence	Enough understanding demonstrated but with minimal evaluation and/or evidence offered	Marginal understanding demonstrated that lacks evaluation and evidence	A concerning lack of understanding and evaluation present.
Originality/ Independent Thinking	Evidence of considerable insight and independent thinking e.g. by including own views; making connections with other subject areas etc.	Substantially correct independent thinking with links to other areas/studies.	Some individuality within the assessment but not always fully explored	Own views minimally offered and/or displaying scientific naivety	Marginal originality and/or independent thought	No evidence of any valid independent thought
Data Analysis and Interpretation	An analytical/discriminating approach to the data, applying appropriate statistics. Comprehensive understanding of implications & limitations of the data	A sound approach to data analysis, applying valid statistical tests. Good understanding of data and associated limitations	Suitable approach to most aspects of data analysis. Valid interpretation but gaps evident	Data analysis attempted but limited, including weak interpretation	Marginal or insufficient data analysis and interpretation	No, or wholly inappropriate, data analysis and interpretation
Use of Literature	Evidence of consulting wide range of valid sources of information, especially primary literature. Uses findings to support facts and arguments. Appropriately references sources within the text and in the reference list	Evidence of consulting a range of literature to support facts and statements. Mostly cites references sources in correct format within the text and in the reference list	Evidence of consulting a limited range of literature, often with a reliance on textbook sources.References in text or list may contain errors	Some reference to literature evident but statements not well- supported. References often incorrectly cited and/or listed	Marginal reference to literature with little attempt to incorporate references into work and/or incorrectly cited.	No, or totally inappropriate reference to literature
General Communication Skills	Excellent overall standard of presentation, exhibiting a high standard of English and clarity of expression. Excellent layout and structure of material. Legible handwriting or appropriate use of fonts. Highly effective use of relevant visual material.	High standard of presentation, exhibiting a good standard of English and clarity of expression. Good layout and structure of material. Legible handwriting and use of fonts. Good use of relevant visual material.	Adequate standard of presentation, using acceptable standards of English. Some attention to layout, structure and formatting may be needed. Visual material may need some attention.	Low standard of presentation with grammatical errors. Layout and structure may reduce impact and communication. Use of visual material not well-incorporated	Marginal standard of presentation. Poor use of English with clumsy structure.   Handwriting may not be legible and/or inappropriate use of fonts. Visual material typically not relevant.	Totally unacceptable standard of presentation with concerning use of English. No, or totally inappropriate, use of visual material.
Independence and Use of Support	Completely self-motivated; works independently or in collaboration with others where relevant. Seeks appropriate support as necessary. Formulates problem and relevant questions prior to seeking advice. Is meticulous in acknowledging support and contributionof others.	Mostly self-motivated and able to work well alone or in team. Seeks appropriate support as necessary.Acknowledges support and contribution of others.	Able to work independently or in a team but may not always access enough support where necessary	Partly relies on others for motivation or to ensure progress and may be reluctant to seek necessary help. Weak team member. Does not always acknowledge sources ofsupport.	Depends on others for motivation or fails to seek necessary advice. Fails to work as member of a team. Work may be highly derivative and/or support not acknowledged.	Fails to start or progress with tasks. Does not seek and/or use help.Makes no contribution as member of a team. Does not acknowledge support and/or plagiarises.