4PASNBIO Module Guide for BSc Neuroscience & Psychology 2023-2024

Psychology and the Brain Assessment Brief

The assessment on this module is made up of both coursework and an examination. There is
coursework that you must submit which makes up 50% of your final mark for the module. The
examination makes up the remaining 50% of the marks. To pass the module, you need to
achieve a final aggregate (or average) mark across all components of 40% or above. The table
below provides some additional context to these weightings. As you can see, this shows that
the module overall contributes 12.5% to the first year of your degree. You must pass your Year
1 modules to progress to Year 2 and therefore, it is important to pass this module, but it does
not contribute to your degree classification, which is made up of only your Year 2 and Year 3
modules. Assessment can be overwhelming so do keep these facts in mind to reassure you
that each piece only contributes a relatively small amount to your overall progression towards
becoming a graduate!

Component Contribution to module Contribution to year Contribution to degree

grade (%) average (%) grade (%)
Coursework 50 6.25 0
Exam 50 6.25 0

Coursework component
The coursework component of this module requires you to produce a 900-word written piece
(Part 1) in response to a specific brief or question and a 100-word reflection (Part 2). Details of
these are provided below, but please read the information under the Deadlines section to see
what must be submitted at the different stages.

Part 1:
For this part, you are required to produce a piece of writing, no more than 900 words in length to
address one of the following briefs:

1. Write an article for ‘Ask a Science Blogger’ explaining how changes in signaling chemicals with the
brain can contribute to symptoms and treatment of depression. (G2, G5, G8, 2.3, 9.2, 9.3).

2. Write an article for the ‘Psychologist’ to describe the different types of functional
neuroimaging. In the article you should explain which type of imaging would be best suited to
research assessing activity in the areas of primary pathology found within Parkinson’s disease.
(G3, G5, G8, 4.3, 8.2)

In brackets after each question the most relevant module and topic learning outcomes are listed.
The topic LOs are shown in order of importance to give you an indication of what information
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might be central to your answer. You may be able to draw on other topics, but the sections linked
to the LOs listed are the most logical place to start. Note that you need to use the information
appropriately to address the question or brief set, so you will need to select appropriate
information that relates to a specific learning outcome and apply it to the brief. This means you
will not include everything that was taught within a specific LO but the most relevant parts. This
selection process is part of what you are assessed on so we cannot help you with this.

You should note that you are required to write for a specific source. You can find an example of
each type of writing (e.g., a Conversation article) in your module reading list. In all cases, you can
assume that the intended audience is a person interested in the topic but not an expert in the
field. This means you must tailor your work to someone that will not have the same knowledge as
you. Assume that you are writing for a 16-year-old who has studied biology but not psychology.
This means, they may not even know what is meant by the terms such as signalling chemical or
Parkinson’s, and so you will need to carefully introduce key concepts. You should take care to
design the overall look of the piece to align with the examples you have been given.

You will need to include suitable references for your information sources, including any core
reading materials you used. This means providing in-text citations and a reference list at the
end of your work. These should be formatted according to APA 7 guidelines. Guidance is
available from the library here: https://libguides.kcl.ac.uk/reference/authordate7th

This reference list should be given immediately after the Part 1 answer text i.e., before Part 2,
which you should start on a new page within the same document.

Part 2:
For this part, you are required to write a reflection on your learning, in no more than 100 words,
addressing the following question:

How did writing this assignment contribute to a deeper understanding of the topic for you? (G9)

Within your answer we expect you to refer to how you worked with independent reading and
whether the sources you used considered issues of diversity and/or equity. You do not need to
provide references for this Part.

A note of word limits:

You have a word limit set for each part of your coursework. Exceeding this limit for either part will
incur a penalty. Please refer to the Preparing Written Assessment document on KEATS for details
of what is included in the word limit and penalties for exceeding this. We set the word limit to
consider different styles of writing and it is quite possible to achieve a first-class result writing
around 800 words in total so you should consider the 900 words for part 1 and the 100 words for
part 2 a limit not a target. There are no penalties for writing less than 1000 words. On the
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coversheet you should indicate the part 1 and part 2 word counts individually.

Please see details under the Formative and Summative details as to exactly what should be
submitted at each stage.

Your coursework will be marked out of 100 (i.e., you will receive a percentage grade). You can
find a copy of the marking criteria on KEATS which gives you an indication of what work of
different standards will demonstrate and which areas of the general college marking criteria
you are being assessed on. The breakdown of marks is as follows:
 Scientific content – 55%
 Audience-appropriate style and structure – 25%
 Accuracy of presentation (i.e. free from spelling or formatting errors) – 5%
 Use of appropriate academic sources, with in-text citations and a corresponding
reference list – 5%
 Reflection on learning – 10%

Deadlines

Formative assessment:
You must submit your response to Part 1 answer ONLY of the briefs for feedback. Formative
feedback is designed to help you learn by identifying strengths and weaknesses to support
you in improving your understanding of the topic before the final submission. The formative
submission will not be graded because the aim is for you to have an opportunity to check
your understanding before the final summative submission, for which you will be able to
submit an improved version of the formative submission as your summative coursework
submission. You can use your feedback further to develop your writing before the summative
assessment deadline. You can submit your draft piece for either of the following deadlines
(not at both deadlines):
 Week 4: Thursday 19th October 2023 10:30 am (feedback released on 9 th November
2023)
 Week 6: Thursday 9th November 2023 10:30 am (feedback released on 30 th
November 2023)

Your submission must be made into the appropriate Turnitin submission inbox available
through KEATs on the Formative Coursework page. Feedback will only be given for
submissions made on time. The latest time for a completed upload to Turnitin is 10.29 am on
the deadline day for it to be considered on time. The submission of an assignment for
formative feedback is compulsory. Feedback will only be given for submissions made on time.
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The latest time for a completed upload to Turnitin is 10.29 am on the deadline day for it to be
considered on time. Note that work submitted into the incorrect inbox will not be marked.
Please that because we have given two deadlines, and this is a formative submission, you
cannot receive an extension through the MCF system on this submission.

For us to provide feedback before the final submissions these deadlines must be earlier in the
module, meaning you will not have formally studied all the relevant material. However, you
can jump ahead to the relevant content at any point and view the most important lectures
and/or readings if you wish. It may be that in your formative draft you have just viewed the
relevant lecture videos or did the core reading from the later topics and produces a draft
based on the notes you made from those studies and your full study of the earlier topics.

We have given two deadlines here to give flexibility for you to decide which is best based on
your other commitments. However, you should only submit to one of these to ensure that no
students benefit from more feedback than others. Therefore, you must submit your work
with a coversheet and a knumber. If you do not provide a knumber/coversheet, we won’t be
able to mark the submission.

Summative assessment:
Your final coursework submission which will be graded and contribute 50% towards your
module grade, must be submitted by 10.30am on Monday 11th December 2023 (i.e., Week
11).

This submission should include:

 Part 1 answer – this will likely be a revision of the draft you submitted at formative
stage, but you could opt to respond to a different assignment question for summative
assessment if you wish.
 Part 2 answer – this will be placed after your Part 1 answer and references, on a new
page within the same word document.

Irrespective of whether you revise your formative submission, you must submit your
coursework for the summative deadline. Summative submissions should be made into the
appropriate submission inbox available through KEATs on the Summative Coursework page.
Work submitted into the incorrect inbox will not be marked and therefore effectively receive a
grade of zero. Marks for late submissions will be capped and, therefore, we strongly
recommend that you submit your work by the Friday before the deadline, or by 10am on the
deadline day at the latest. The latest time for a completed upload to Turnitin is 10.29am on
the deadline day for it to be considered on time. Details of caps can be found in the

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Programme Handbook.

The Turnitin deadline is 10:30 am, so submissions must be made before the deadline. A
submission logged at 10:30 or later will be counted as a late submission. Submission can take
a few minutes, and it is your responsibility to ensure that your work is uploaded on time. We
strongly recommend that you submit your work one day earlier before the deadline or by 10
am on the deadline day at the latest. If there is a genuine problem with KEATS itself and you
cannot upload your assessment, you may send the work via email to the module coordinator
[katja.brodmann@kcl.ac.uk] and to the administration [y1_ugneuropsy@kcl.ac.uk] to receive a
timestamp. However, it will then be your responsibility to upload the assessment once KEATS
is working. Your coursework will not be uploaded on your behalf. Note there may be delays in
marking on work submitted by email, so this should only be used as a last resort for genuine
problems with KEATS.

Work submitted late but within 24 hours of the stated deadline will be accepted for
assessment, but 10 marks will be deducted from the mark. Work submitted more than 24
hours late may receive feedback but will receive a mark of zero. Exceptions can be made if
the candidate has suffered illness or other causes found to be acceptable by the Assessment
Sub-Board after submission of a Mitigating Circumstances form.

If you apply for mitigating circumstances for this assessment the deadline will be before the
Christmas university closure to ensure that you still have time to revise for your examinations.

Where a deadline is on a Monday morning, please ensure you have asked the teaching staff
any final questions regarding your coursework by Friday afternoon (4 pm) at the latest. Staff
are employed to work a standard week (Monday to Friday), and there is no requirement for
them to answer emails over the weekend. Therefore, any emails sent over the weekend will
not be replied to before the Monday morning deadline.

Submission Criteria
Your submission should be the correct length and correctly formatted, including:

 Complete the BSc Neuroscience and Psychology Coversheet and use this as the first
page of your document. Your work should be submitted as a word document (.docx).
The cover sheet must be contained within a single word document (.docx) with your
assessment, as you will only be able to upload one file.
 Use an appropriate font size and spacing: Please use 12 as a minimum for the font
size, a standardized font style, such as Arial, Times or Calibri and 1.5 line spacing as a
minimum.
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 Word count: Include a word count for your answers where one is specified in the
question (see guidance below on what is included in word counts). Note that if your
document only contains one answer, this will be completed as part of your coversheet.
However, if there are multiple parts associated with individual word counts, we
recommend you either indicate this on your coversheet or put the word count at the
end of each individual question. The prescribed word length must be adhered to -
there is no 10% leeway. This word limit excludes any diagrams or tables and their
associated captions, although you should ensure these are concise and necessary if you
include them. End-of-text reference lists are also excluded from the word count, but
you should note that referencing within the main body of the answer (in-text citations)
must be included within the word limit (see the section on referencing below if you are
unsure what this means).
 You should reference according to the APA style from the American Psychological
Association in APA 7 style.
 Save your file with a suitable name which indicates the module code, K-number and
the number of the question(s) you have attempted where appropriate, for example,
'4PASNBIO_ K1426325_Question 2'. You should also use this naming convention in the
'Submission title' box in Turnitin when you upload your file and the 'Submission file
name' part of the cover sheet. Do not write your name in the assessment; instead,
please put your student id number and k-number in the header of the document.

Please do not put your name in the document because we use anonymous marking in line
with college guidance.

Examination component
The remaining 50% of your module result will be determined by a multiple-choice
examination. This examination will include 50 multiple choice questions encompassing all
topics and Learning Outcomes and will be available via KEATs. The examination will be timed
(three-hour limit) but will be online, and therefore you may use resources to help you,
although relying heavily on this instead of revising appropriately will likely result in your
running out of time. To best prepare for the exam, you should complete the mock exam
which will be available in Weeks 10 and 11.

The examination will take place during the University Exam Period 1 (Friday 5th January –
Thursday 11th January 2024), after all teaching on the module has been completed. The
exact date and time of the examination will not be known until later in Term 1 and will be set
by the University rather than the module staff. Additional useful examination and revision
information will be placed on the module website under 'Exam preparation' as the
examination approaches.
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Exam Preparation
The following are a collection of suggestions to help you prepare for your exam. They are not
compulsory.

(1) Start preparing early

Taking clear notes throughout the module provides you with good resources to help you
revise from. Try to stay on top of your notes through the term – pulling together notes week-
by-week will ensure that you don't end up feeling like you have a mountain to catch up on.

Remember, with your revision notes; your first-year Multiple Choice Exam focuses on the
core content that we cover in Lectures, Seminars and Practical classes. While we encourage
you to read around the subject for your coursework, you should stay focused on the core
content for your exam. You may need to use additional reading to help you understand ideas
or experiments discussed in your Lectures, Seminars and Practical classes.

(2) Test yourself.

There are various strategies you can use to test how you are doing. You may want to do this
throughout the module to ensure that you are focusing on the right content in the revision
notes that you are preparing.

You can use the learning objectives to check that you have understood the core content of
the topic. You may want to go through your lecture notes with the learning objectives to hand
in and make sure you are confident about each of the learning objectives for that topic. If you
are not, you should re-read your lecture notes, re-watch the lectures, and refer to the core
reading for that topic.

You can use the example exam to test yourself. You could do this under exam conditions,
timing yourself.

(3) Ask and answer questions

The KEATS forum for the module is an ideal place to ask questions about topics you are not
sure about. Remember, you can also have a go at answering questions too! Testing whether
you can answer questions on the forum is a great way of checking how you are doing with
this module.

Please do remember, for everyone's benefit, to check the forum before posting a question –
please try to avoid posting questions that have already been asked and answered.

Marking models
Your final coursework submission will be marked by ‘Open Second marking by Sample
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Marking’, which is the Marking Model 4 employed by the College. This means that all
coursework will be assessed by one examiner (the ‘first marker’), and a second examiner will
then mark a randomly selected sample of the work that has been first marked. The
examination will be marked using ‘Second Marking by Clerical Check’, which is Marking Model
6 because this is a computer-based assessment.

Useful sources of information

Further information on assessment, including how to deal with technical problems preventing
submission and penalties for late submissions, can be found in the Programme Handbook.

Please refer to the document entitled 'Preparing Written Assessment' for details on formatting
your document, penalties for over-length answers, interpreting the similarity report and
referencing.