1. Instructions for Submission of Project Report
Hard Copy Submission
You should submit one bound watermarked hard copy of your project to the Undergraduate
Office (Room 4.00) by the deadline of 4pm on Thursday 22nd March 2012 (Week 25). You
must attach a signed coversheet. As normal, the deadline for the project applies to the
watermarked hard copy submission, but you must first upload your work to OCS in order to
create the watermarked copy. Remember to allow plenty of time (at least one full day)
for printing and binding. Failure to submit the hard copy will count as non-submission and
will result in a mark of zero. Please follow the instructions about formatting and word counts
that are outlined in the module handbook.
The project submission must include:
- Title page
- Acknowledgements
- Contents
- List of abbreviations
- Abstract
- Introduction (maximum 1,500 words)
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- References list
- Appendices (optional)
- Proposal for future work
- Where applicable, also submit separately one hard copy of your lab book to the
Undergraduate Office by the deadline.
The watermarked copy must be identical to the files uploaded electronically to OCS. This will
be checked. It is recommended that you do not print your watermarked copy until you are
sure that the files to be uploaded are the final versions. You may want to make a spare copy
of your project for your own use in the future. The copy you hand in to the Department will
not be returned to you.
Uploading to On-line Coursework Submission Server (OCS)
To create the watermarked hard copy, you should upload your project to OCS in good time
before the deadline, to ensure that you have time to print and submit the watermarked hard
copy. When uploading your work to OCS, please ensure that you follow these steps:
1. Save your project in TWO separate files as follows:
(i) Project report (the whole report excluding the reference list)
(ii) Reference list for project report
Your references need to be uploaded separately because your project will be checked using
TurnitinUK’s Plagiarism Detection Software. Attaching your references will give a falsely high
result, meaning that your work will have to be reviewed for plagiarism by the Third Year
Organiser. Note that when submitting your hard copy, the references must be attached to
your work as normal.
2. It is recommended you access the OCS pages via the myStudy area of your
myEssex account but you may also use the link https://courses.essex.ac.uk/ocs
3. Follow the instructions on these pages to get to the page displaying Biological
Sciences courses and select BS831-6-FY/ BS832-6-FY.
4. Read and follow the notes and instructions carefully, making use of the help facility
as required.

2. 5. Upload your files as detailed under 1 above. You should do this by browsing to the
area of the computer where these files are held.
In formatting your documents, you should take into account that OCS uses default Word
settings. Therefore, take care not to insert figures and tables that overlap the margins.
Whilst this may work electronically, when you come to print a hard copy watermarked
version, if you have varied the default settings the formatting of your project may change.
You should be familiar with the process for uploading your work to OCS. To remind you,
OCS allows you to upload/delete files as often as you wish. It provides a secure way of
storing your files and you should therefore make use of this facility in order to avoid
problems of computers crashing at the last minute and important files being destroyed.
However, you must ensure that only the final versions are on the server at the time of the
deadline – otherwise your draft versions will be uploaded also. Full reports of all
transactions are accessible to the Department. Where problems arise, the Department will
check these reports for evidence that the work was uploaded.
Remember to back-up you files regularly, and to keep them in multiple locations (e.g. hard
drive, CD, memory stick, OCS).
Instructions for submitting oral presentations (to be held during Week 31 2012)
The submission deadline for presentations is 10:00am on Friday 27 April 2012 (week 30).
All students must submit a copy of their presentation by the deadline regardless of when
their presentation is scheduled.
Instructions for submitting presentations
1. The file name of your PowerPoint presentation should be your name followed by your
degree course (for example, Joe Bloggs MFB).
2. You must submit your PowerPoint presentation to the University On-line Submission
Server (OCS) before the deadline. You should ensure that you do this well before the
deadline – do not leave it until the last minute. It is recommended that you access the
OCS pages via the myStudy areas of your myEssex account but you may also use the
link https://courses.essex.ac.uk/ocs
3. Follow the instructions on these pages; go to the page displaying Biological Sciences
courses and select BS831-6-FY / BS832-6-FY.
4. Read and follow the notes and instructions carefully, making use of the help facility as
required. Remember that you only need to submit an electronic copy, not a hard copy,
so you do not need to watermark your presentation.
5. Upload your presentation by browsing to the area of the computer where your file is held.
Note that the file size limit is 20 Mb. Advice for reducing file sizes is given below.
6. Students should ensure that only one submission is uploaded. In cases where multiple
submissions are uploaded, the presentation closest to, but on or before the deadline will
be the one you are required to use. You will not be permitted to use an improved version
submitted between the deadline and your talk even with a lateness application pending.
Advice for reducing file sizes
Note that the size of each file is limited to 20 Mb. You are advised to check file size in
advance of the deadline. If your file is larger it is probably because you have
embedded many pictures or graphs and have either not copied or sized them correctly.
If you copy objects such as graphs or figures from Excel or many other packages in to
Word files (using cut and paste) you will usually be given the choice of 'paste as object'
or 'paste as picture' (this will depend on which version of Word you are using).
Choosing 'object' means the whole Excel (or other) file is embedded in the Word file.
While this is sometimes handy during drafting, as you can click on the object and edit it

3. and any data direct, you should not use this for final file versions. Choosing 'paste as
picture' will usually reduce the file size. You can also convert an object into a 'graphic'
(picture). Use the Help feature in Word for more information. You should normally
resize and compress any digital photographs or scanned images. If you are not familiar
with photoediting programs such as Photoshop or Paintshop Pro, then there are simple
resizing and resampling facilities available free at:http://www.resize2mail.com/
http://bluefive.pair.com/pixresizer.htm Bluefive requires downloading, so will only be of
use if you are working on non-University machines where you can install software.
A further tip is to ‘compress’ the pictures in a file. If you are producing a PowerPoint file
intended only for screen viewing then you only need to use 96 dpi for on-screen
viewing which usually makes much smaller files and faster loading when displaying.
For printed work you need 200 dpi or higher. Always save your file with compressed
images as a new version and check all graphics are still showing correctly before
submission. Once compressed, pictures will lose quality if you then expand them. If,
having followed these guidelines, you are still struggling to reduce your file-size below
20 Mb please notify your Supervisor in the first instance. Please ensure you do this in
good time – i.e. not on the day of the deadline.
Missed or late work for projects
If you miss the oral presentation, reassessment opportunities can be approved in
exceptional cases by the Undergraduate Director. You should speak to the Module
Supervisor who will discuss this with the Undergraduate Director. However, you will receive
a mark of zero unless you submit an application to the Late Submissions Committee to have
the mark re-instated. You should ensure that you include details and any supporting
documentation to explain your reasons for not being able to attend the scheduled
presentation. In exceptional cases when you have experienced genuine, major, unavoidable
problems which are documented, project reports can be submitted later than seven days
after the deadline accompanied by an application to the Late Submissions Committee. Note
that if these late submissions are not approved, this will result in a mark of zero for the
project report and in some cases a failed degree. You are therefore strongly urged to consult
with your project supervisor who will discuss your circumstances with the Undergraduate
Director who will be able to advise on the likelihood of your late application being approved.
Late Submission: Requests for acceptance of late work will be considered by a committee
and there is no guarantee that marks will be re-instated.
If your work is going to be up to 7 days late, you should seek advice from Prof Reynolds
(Final Year Organiser) or Dr Lloyd (Undergraduate Director). Your late submission will be
considered by a Late Submissions Committee who will decide whether the mark should be
instated or not. You should upload your work to OCS within 7 days of the deadline and
submit a watermarked hard copy, together with a Late Submission of Coursework form, to
the Undergraduate Office by 4pm on Thursday 29th March (Week 26) 2012.
If you need to submit beyond the late period of 7 days, you need to ensure that you have
discussed this with Prof Reynolds (Final Year Organiser) or Dr Lloyd (Undergraduate
Director). You should also ensure that the Undergraduate Office is aware so that OCS can
be made available for you to upload your work. The instructions for online and hard copy
submission as detailed above still apply.
Students submitting their project more than 7 days late should also submit an Extenuating
Circumstances Form and will be expected to put forward a compelling case, with
documented evidence. These late submissions will be considered by the Exam Board, who
will decide whether the marks should be instated or not. Forms and guidance can be
downloaded from: http://www2.essex.ac.uk/academic/students/ug/extenug.html If your work

4. is more than 7 days late and you do not submit an Extenuating Circumstances form, you will
be automatically awarded a mark of zero.
Late submission of oral presentations
If you do not submit your presentation by the submission deadline, then you will be
considered to have made a late submission, and will need to complete a Late Submission of
Coursework form. Providing that you submit the presentation prior to the session in which
you are scheduled, you will be expected to give the presentation at the scheduled time and it
will be marked. The Late Committee will subsequently meet to decide whether your mark
can be instated. If your case is rejected by the Committee you will receive a zero for this
component of the module. All forms must be handed directly to a member of UG Office staff.
All late submissions must be submitted to OCS in the usual way. Students with compelling
extenuating circumstances which prevent them from submitting their presentation in time for
the session in which they are scheduled may be permitted to give their presentation at an
alternative time, but this would need to be by prior arrangement with the Undergraduate
Director (Dr Julie Lloyd) and academic staff involved. Students who find themselves in this
situation must make contact with the UG Director prior to their scheduled presentation time
so that correct and appropriate advice can be given.
PROJECT FEEDBACK
From 1 July until the end of September you can email your Project Supervisor directly to ask
for feedback on your project. If you do not request feedback you will just receive the final
mark for the project module which will be available to you alongside your other marks via
myEssex after the exam board. Your Project Supervisor will respond with the feedback by
email within a reasonable timeframe (this could be up to a month or so if they are away from
the University). Note: it is not possible to provide feedback earlier than 1 July because marks
are not confirmed until the exam board which meets at the end of June. You will be able to
access your Essex email for up to three months after graduation.