GENE 251/ GENE351

Applied Animal and Plant Breeding

2007 Assignments Due

ASSIGNMENT TIMETABLE – INTERNAL STUDENTS

The assignment box is located in the Woolshed building, in front of the School office.

Policy on late submission:

Assignments submitted late will be penalised according to the Science Faculty policy on late submissions.

Ø      For assignments tasks worth at least 10% of the overall mark for the unit, a penalty of 5% per working day will apply.

Ø      The rate of penalty applies for 10 working days, after which no mark will be awarded (NI).

Ø      Grounds for extensions: medical certificate or obvious illness, or extenuating personal circumstances,

        with supporting evidence, i.e. from counsellor, partner

ASSIGNMENT TIMETABLE – EXTERNAL STUDENTS

Day	Date	What
Fri	27th July	Indicate  1st and 2nd preference for project topic, by email (cgondro2@metz.une.edu.au)
Wed	1st Aug	Brief report of practical 1 PS1 via WebCT (opens previous Mon 9am, closes midnight Wed)
Wed	8th  Aug	Brief report of practical 2 PS2 via WebCT (opens previous Mon 9am, closes midnight Wed)
Wed	15th Aug	PS3 via WebCT (opens previous Mon 9am, closes midnight Wed)
Wed	22nd   Aug	Report of practical 3 (Gene 351 only)
Wed	22nd   Aug	PS4via WebCT (opens previous Mon 9am, closes midnight Wed)
Fri	14th Sep	PS5 via WebCT (opens previous Mon 9am, closes midnight Wed)
Mon	1st  Oct	Group project presentations Final day residential school
Wed	10th Oct	Brief report of practical 4
Wed	17th Oct	Report of practical 5
Thu Wed	18th – 24th Oct	Mid-term test (opens 9am Thursday, closes midnight Wednesday, 40 minutes to complete).  Lectures 1-12
Wed	1st  Nov	Project Report

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brief practical reports:

External students are required to submit a few brief practical reports for some of the practicals

completed at home (rather than at the residential school). These brief practical reports do not need

to follow the outline of full practical reports.  Just show tables, as required in the practical,

and answers to the questions (one to a few pages). Doing the reports satisfactorily is a requirement

for passing the unit. Brief practical reports will not be marked, but when they are deemed unsatisfactory,

the student will be asked to re-submit an improved version of the brief report again.

Written assignments:

Written assignments should be submitted by post to the TLC using the appropriate coversheet. 

Submit to ‘The assignment section, The Teaching and Learning Centre, University of New England,

Armidale, NSW, 2351’.  Please do not hand-in to any lecturer personally (as these assignments

will not be traced through the official system).  The due dates refer to postage dates. 

Late submission will be penalised.  External students are encouraged to keep a copy of

assignments as in previous years some have strayed.

ASSIGNMENT POLICIES

Internal students:  Assignments are to be posted in the assignment box inear the school office in the

AS Woolshed building, on the due date and before 4pm.

External students:  Assignments are to be post-marked no later than three working days after the due date. 

Please post assignments to TLC.

Policies in relation to no or late submission of assignments:

All assignments must be submitted to pass the unit.  Failure to submit all assignments will result

in the grade fail-incomplete (NI).  Late assignments will be penalised at the rate of 10% of the

total mark per day (non-work days included) for up to five days.  An assignment more than five days

late will be awarded no marks.

Exemptions will generally be granted, however, for cases of illness supported by a medical

certificate and for cases of extenuating personal circumstances.  In such cases you must contact

the practical co-ordinator as soon as possible.  In other situations you may be granted an

extension without penalty if a request is made to the practical co-ordinator prior to the due date.

PROBLEM SETS AND PRACTICAL REPORTS

In most instances the practical sessions will utilize the GENUP software.

Problem sets and practical reports total 50% of the marks for the quantitative genetics component of this unit.

PROBLEM SETS:

The problem sets are a series of questions.  The answers to the problem sets should be submitted as a report,

showing all formulae.

PRACTICAL REPORTS

The practical reports should be concise and follow the format of a scientific paper:

Reports must be typed.

Ø      Introduction, including the aim(s) of practical

Describe the different issues the practical is considering (in different paragraphs) including all relevant background.

Use information given in the pre-labs, the practical manual and from other sources, but be sure the introduction

represents your own work (slightly re-wording the introduction given in practical manual does not constitute

your own work).  Devote the final paragraph of this section to stating the aim or aims of the practical.  

Ø      Methods

Explain what was compared and how this was achieved.  In relation to the later give either the formula(s) or

GENUP module(s) used.  If naming a GENUP module a brief (two or three sentence) explanation of the module is required.  

The method section should give enough information for the practical to be repeated, without being overly long or tedious. 

Ensure the method section resembles the general format used in a scientific paper, which is paragraph style with

formula or tables referred to in the text.  Use the past tense.  Common mistakes in the write-up of methods include

the use of dot points (rather than paragraphs), full repeats of the questions given in the practical manual

(this is plagiarism, and is not necessary), use of phrases such as ‘in question 1 of this practical’ (write the

methods as if you designed the experiment yourself), and the use of phrases such as ‘click on the run button

of GENUP’ (this sort of detail is not necessary).  A methods section comprised of ‘refer to practical manual’

will be awarded no marks. 

Ø      Results and discussion 

Give results using text, tables and figures (including graphs), and discuss the results.    Remember to label

tables and figures (e.g. Table 1.  The effect of …): tables are labelled above and figures are labelled below.  

Ensure that all tables and figures are referred to in the text (e.g. Table 1 shows ….).   In particular draw the

reader’s attention to the most important results and any unexpected results.  Discuss the results in a clear

and concise manner.  Use informative sub-headings (not A, B, C etc.).

Ø      General discussion

The main purpose of the general discussion is to consider the results in a broader sense.  Start by re-capping

the aim and key results of the practical, and then discuss these results in a wider context.  You should consider

the outcome(s) if key assumptions / parameters are changed.  For example if the practical examined the effect of

genotype by environment (G x E) interaction on response to selection using a low G x E value, comment on

whether the same conclusions would apply under a high G x E.  You could also comment on the application of

the results to industry. 

The last paragraphs of the general discussion should be an overall conclusion.  This paragraph should

emphasise the key messages without introducing new ideas (they should be raised earlier). 

Avoid statements such as ‘this practical showed GENUP to be a useful teaching tool’ –

you are not evaluating GENUP but rather are using it to evaluate a concept.

Note that references are not required (although they can be included if you wish).

Ensure your general writing style is of a high standard.  Sentences should be complete and non-ambiguous. 

Each paragraph should relate to one point or theme and should be comprised of an introductory sentence,

body of two or more sentences and a concluding sentence.  Paragraphs should be ordered in a logical fashion. 

Re-read what you have written before submission to check these points. 

Final Exam:     November   2007