Completing your HEFA written assignment

To give you a chance to develop skills and gain analytical writing experience which will help you working for your GCSEs and when you begin A Levels Aim:

Your assignment is to produce a written report on your test pit excavation and its results. It’s intended to be a full, illustrated account of the aims, methods and results of your test pit excavation usable as a permanent record for posterity (it will also be a souvenir of the two days you spent digging!). What we are asking you to do:

Remember! From this year the completion of a report is compulsory The final mark you receive from HEFA will take into account your grades from all three components of the HEFA excavation (practical fieldwork, personal learning and thinking skills, and data analysis and report writing) e.g. A (practical fieldwork) B (learning and thinking skills) C (report writing)= overall GCSE grade B These three components are equally weighted If you do not complete a report, you will receive a ‘U’ grade for this element which will drag down your other marks

‘A technical report on a practical project involving data-gathering and analysis…which is structured correctly and which contains no plagiarised material’ Report must be specific to your test-pit Must include both written descriptions and images What the report is not: An essay on the history of the village A diary account of the 3 days spent on the HEFA project A ‘group’ project - each report must be unique What you are being asked for:

Your excavation record booklet pit, with context drawings, finds information, context descriptions, section drawings and notes Any other information you can find in your library or the internet Your photos, memories, ideas and inferences A report with details of the pottery from your HEFA (and other sites) Advice and information on Resources

General requirements You must each complete your own, unique written assignment, although you can work with others who attended the HEFA in discussing your ideas and planning your report. The minimum amount of time you should spend on this assignment is about 3 hours. There’s no maximum amount of time we recommend (do as much as you want, within reason!). Minimum recommended word limit is 1,000 words, maximum is 3,000. Assignments must be handed in or ed to the teacher who accompanied you on the Field Academy. They can then be scanned in and ed to ACA at Deadline – 4 weeks after end of HEFA Your assignment will be assessed by the University of Cambridge and you will receive detailed feedback and a certificate to mark your successful completion of the Higher Education Field Academy.

108 marks possible divided up as follows: 54 marks - Report structuring and data presentation 18 marks - Research skills 18 marks - Writing skills 18 marks - IT skills Your report will be assessed against specific criteria as described in the mark-scheme (J, K, L and M). If you follow all the requirements of the mark-scheme you will gain very high marks. If you leave things out, you will lose marks which may give you a low overall mark even if other parts of you report are very good. Marking

HEFA Assignment skills area breakdown (all schools)

Report structuring and data presentation

Introduction and background (J1). What was already known about the history of the village before you excavated? Why do we want to learn about rural medieval settlements? Aims and methods (J2 and J3). The reasons why the excavation was carried out? Exactly how you did the excavation? General information (ie not specific to your test pit) Information and ideas specific to your test pit Your test pit data (J4 and J5). Where was your test pit? What did you discover? Focus on facts of what you saw and recorded, presented in order, context by context. Discussion and conclusions about your test pit (J6). Your ideas about what you found and what it might mean. What does your test-pit tell us about the village? How does your data link in with the background information given at the beginning? Your evaluation of how well you think your excavation fulfilled its aims. Report structure

Research skills

Consulting information sources: - Range of books and websites

Analysing pre-existing information: What should be included? CORS/DMVs- What are they and why do we study them? Origins of village/name Historical sources/maps Previous archaeological research (Both HEFA (if we’ve dug there before- data should be on website) and non- HEFA

“The sources have been referenced correctly” Non-plagiarised (non-verbatim), put into OWN words (unless included as a quotation) Reference given after each piece of information included from an external source. -Either numbered -Reference given in brackets Full bibliography (list of references) given at the back of the report

Writing skills

L1. Correctly structured report: The report is structured entirely according to the guidelines (background, aims, methods, location, data and conclusions), with no sections omitted or incomplete. Written language conveys a sense of purpose and direction, linking one section to another in an effective way which aids understanding.

L3. Use of effective writing style Writing style is engaging while still be cogent and accurate in conveying and interpreting data. Writing form and style are adapted to suit different purposes (e.g. factual data presentation vs. more speculative analysis). A wide range of vocabulary (including specialised technical terms) has been used appropriately and to good effect. L2. Correct use of spelling, grammar and punctuation Spelling, grammar and punctuation are almost always correct.

IT Skills

M1.Tables, images, maps and plans have been generated and included digitally Original tables, images, maps and plans have been created by the author making creative use of software features to convey information effectively and engagingly M2. Effective use of a word processing package to create a professional report The report digitally integrates information from many sources consistently well and uses layout devices such as justification, borders, titles, headings, text and graphics in a clear and consistent way to aid reader comprehension.

Resources and advice Any questions? schools/hefa/report Introduction and background Aims and methods Your test pit data Discussion and conclusions