School of Environmental Studies
Queen's UniversityENSC 501
Independent Environmental Study - Fall/Winter 2012/13
Course Coordinator:
Dr. Louise Winn
Office: Rm 3127 Biosciences Complex
Email: winnl@queensu.ca
PREREQUISITE: Open to students admitted to fourth year of an honours program in any discipline and with permission of the instructor of the course and of the department of the intended concentration.
COURSE RESOURCES: click on the links provided to navigate to sections of this page
- Course Schedule
- Marking Scheme
- Choosing a Supervisor
- Supervisory Responsibilities
- Choosing a Second Examiner
- Examiner's Responsibilities
COURSE SCHEDULE
| Date | Description of Activities |
|---|---|
| Early to mid-September (arranged by e-mail of registered students) | Introduction to the course; Review of requirements and marking scheme; Review of topic selection, sources of information; Selection of supervisors; Review of content of the project proposal and report outline |
| Mid November |
Submission of proposal and report outlines (to be submitted to your supervisor and the course coordinator) Review of any problems |
| Mid February |
Rough draft is due; Set up date and schedule for oral presentations |
| Mid March |
ENSC501* - Mini symposium (i.e. Seminar Day) |
| Late March |
Final Report due |
| Mid April |
Submission of Final Report - Based on comments on your final report by your examining committee, minor corrections should be made. You will then submit a PDF of your report to QSpace at (https://qspace.library.queensu.ca/ldap-login). Name your file according to the following convention: ensc_501_lastname.pdf Please ensure that you have accepted all changes and comments on your document prior to creating your pdf file. Otherwise these may show up in your submission. The course coordinator will be notified via qspace to approve your submission. |
MARKING SCHEME
Report proposal and outline (10%)
The proposed subject of the report must be discussed in a one-page summary that indicates the environmental issue at the heart of the paper, the aspect of interest to the student, the specific question(s) that will be addressed, and why it is important. Following the one-page summary, an outline should include a working title, a detailed table of contents that provides the main subject areas, the sources of information (bibliography), and the name of the professor who will act as a supervisor and the name of a second examiner. If you elect to have co-supervisors, a second examiner is not necessary. The quality of the proposal will be judged on the logic and strength of argument behind the question to be answered, the clarity of the summary (i.e. how easily understood is the proposal), the quality of the writing, and the thoroughness of the outline and bibliography.
Rough Draft (15%)
The rough draft should be at least 80% complete. The majority of information and literature citations should be in place, figures and tables should be roughed out, the majority of text should be written, and the student should have made several iterations of revisions. It is not necessary to have completed abstracts or summaries, acknowledgments, and all details in the bibliography, and figures and tables may be hand drawn or in rough form. The text should be typed and relatively free of typographical errors, but some footnotes or sections of the discussion might be missing. Where information is missing, a note should be inserted indicating what is to come (e.g. "insert 2 paragraphs here discussing the significance of x to y"). However, ‘80%’ means that the report should be substantially complete, so that the supervisor and examiner understand the main message and conclusions, and can appreciate what the report will look like when complete. If entire chapters are missing, significant marks will be deducted!
Oral presentation (30%)
The student must present a 25 minute talk (plus 5 minutes for questions) that introduces the subject of the report, defines the question to be answered, summarizes the main literature or data under review, and presents results of research and conclusions. Students may use overheads or computer slides (i.e., powerpoint). The presentation will be marked according to the logic and technical content of the talk (15%), the clarity and style of the talk (voice quality and volume; confidence; body language; engaging the audience - 5%), the quality of slides and visual aids (neatness; conciseness; information value; errors - 5%), and the ability to answer questions, clearly, concisely, and informatively (5%).
Final Report (45%)
The final report must be no more than 50 pages (and no less than 30 = 10-15,000 words), including all figures, tables and bibliographies. Where there is extensive data, these can be presented as Appendices on additional pages. The report must be typed, double spaced in Roman 12 pt. on 8.5 x 11 inch paper (double-sided encouraged) with one inch margins. Figures should be no more than one-half page and tables no more than one page each. References should be cited in the style of your discipline, following commonly used journals or books (check with supervisor). The report should include the following elements:- Page 1 - Title, your name, ENSC 501, Year, 300-500 word Abstract
- Page 2 - Table of Contents
- Page 3 - Introduction - what is the issue and the specific question; why is it important?
- Methods - sources of information, etc.
- Results/Discussion - what did you find, what does it mean, what are your
- conclusions?
- Summary of main points (bullets)
- Acknowledgments
- References
CHOOSING A SUPERVISOR
The choice of a supervisor should be based on the topic of the project that you wish to pursue. Supervisors or co-supervisors are normally chosen based on their expertise in an area from faculty within the School of Environmental Studies (joint, seconded, or cross-appointed faculty), or from willing supervisors from other relevant departments. We have cross-appointed faculty with many departments and schools here at Queen’s.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES
Your supervisor(s) will be responsible for:
- advising and directing you in the formulation of your initial report proposal, as well as ensuring that the literature that you are covering is appropriate and exhaustive;
- providing feedback and grading your initial research proposal;
- giving advice and grading your oral presentation;
- reading, commenting, and grading your rough draft; and
- grading your final report.
It is the student’s responsibility to set up meetings with their supervisors. These meetings will vary in length depending on their overall involvement and expertise. It is strongly suggested that meeting(s) take place prior to handing in your report proposal, as well as after your proposal has been graded. These meetings allow for informal feedback on the quality of your work and the direction that your project is taking. It is also suggested that you meet with your supervisor(s) on a relatively regular basis (e.g., monthly, or at a minimum bi-monthly) to discuss your progress, and to provide a mechanism for intellectual discussion.
CHOOSING A SECOND EXAMINER
The second examiner should be chosen for their expertise and should be a faculty member in the School of Environmental Studies, or another appropriate department. This person should be selected based on discussions with your supervisor or the course coordinator. If you are being co-supervised, there is no need for an additional examiner.
EXAMINER RESPOSIBILITIES
The role of the examiner is to:
- attend your seminar; and
- provide a grade and comments on your final report.