Coursework credit

Coursework in Engineering includes lab work and projects, plus a number of other marked assignments.

In Parts IA and IB, all coursework is for standard credit, which means that once students achieve a satisfactory standard in the various groups of activities the associated marks are capped at the qualifying level. Students who fail to reach the qualifying marks, or who fail to attend or hand in certain coursework, will have the shortfall deducted from their total in the Tripos. The marks available and qualifying marks are shown in the Faculty Board Part IA and Part IB coursework and exam credit notices.

The standard credit scheme has been designed to encourage students to attend coursework sessions punctually, to complete each laboratory-based activity within an appropriate time to a satisfactory standard so as to achieve the main objectives of the activity, and to submit any written work for marking within a specified timescale.

The system aims to help students by discouraging them from spending an inordinately long time on any one coursework activity, at the expense of other aspects of their study. It also encourages innovation in design work, as there is not an undue loss of marks for a less successful outcome.

The majority of students are expected to gain the qualifying standard.

General guidelines

• Charts in the individual lab expand the lab/coursework schedule into particular activities. Check beforehand that you know the location of your next exercise.
• Penalties apply for students arriving late to labs.
• Be aware of the procedure for rearranging missed coursework sessions.
• Read the lab safety instructions below and observe any special instructions on safety in individual labs. You should bring safety glasses, issued at the start of the year, for all materials labs (in the Lent and Easter terms) and for the structural design course practical work. You may be excluded from labs if you do not bring them.
• Students are advised to read the handout for the experiment online before attending the lab session.  Printed copies of the handout will be available at the start of each lab.
• For much of the Part I lab work in the Lent and Easter terms you will need to use your lab book for recording data and taking notes during laboratory experiments. You are encouraged to word-process lab reports, which should be glued or stapled into your lab book.
• Experiments are classified as either short or long:
  • A short experiment occupies a 2-hour period and is completed and signed-up in that time.
  • A long experiment occupies 2 hours in the lab and is then written up as a report.
• Any urgent problems with an experiment or exercise should be reported to a demonstrator or the lab leader in charge of the laboratory.
• The report for each long lab should be set out in the lab notebook provided at the start of the year. Your report, together with that of your partner, will be marked by a demonstrator at a signing session. This must take place within 15 days of the date of the experiment.
• Signing sessions should be booked during the blank periods on the lab schedule. Demonstrators will give guidance on the form and content of the report expected for a particular experiment. It is important that you bring your lab notebook with you to each long experiment.
• Credit for the satisfactory performance of a short experiment is 2 marks. Credit for a long experiment is on the scale 0-6, with 4 marks for completion of the experiment and minimally acceptable work, 5 marks for satisfactory work and 6 for exceptional work. Late submission of a report incurs a deduction of 1 mark for each week, or part of a week, after the due date.

Lab safety instructions

1. No eating, drinking or smoking is allowed in the labs or drawing or computing areas.
2. You should always comply with the safety instructions either issued by a demonstrator or displayed on notices alongside equipment.
3. You should bring your safety glasses to all labs and wear them when needed.
4. Do not put scarves, coats, etc., on the benches or stools; hang them up on the racks provided.
5. Do not put books, cases, etc., on top of electrical equipment; overheating with consequent damage may result.
6. Do not wear loose clothing or scarves near rotating machinery.
7. Do not take leads, components or equipment from other lab locations. All the apparatus you need should be present; if it is not ask a demonstrator.
8. At the conclusion of an experiment leave the apparatus as you found it. Report any faults in the equipment which you use. If all faults are speedily reported you should seldom find faulty equipment.
9. Observe special instructions on safety which are posted in the individual labs.
10. Finally, if you run into difficulties, don't waste time - ask a demonstrator for help.

The lab record and long report

It is essential that you bring your lab notebook with you whenever you are timetabled to perform a long experiment. The notebook should be used to record all the readings, observations and calculations that you make, unless the instruction sheet specifically states otherwise. Do not use loose sheets of paper: these are easily misplaced. Charts and other records should be glued or stapled into your notebook.

Your lab record should start on a new page for each experiment performed. It should follow good professional practice and be correctly headed and dated. When there are several readings to enter, arrange these in tabular form, and make sure that the column headings show the quantity measured and the units used. Decide on how many columns you need and set out the table before you start taking readings. Whenever feasible, plot graphs as the experiment proceeds so that serious divergence from the expected behaviour can be checked there and then. Label the axes of the graphs and, where appropriate, indicate the accuracy of the data points on the graph.

The “report writing guide” covers all aspects of report writing in the Engineering Tripos.  Specific sections are introduced via IA Exposition classes. For experiments and reports in Part I, you are referred in particular to the following sections:

• Report writing in the Engineering Tripos: long lab records and reports
• Introduction to technical writing: integrity, record-keeping, plagiarism and referencing

Difficulties with the lab report

If you need advice on a particular aspect of your report or you are otherwise held up on some point, then seek help. You can obtain help from a demonstrator in the laboratory or your supervisor. Do this in good time and you will not be rushed into producing an unsatisfactory report.

Copying the work of others is unacceptable.  However, discussing your work with colleagues, supervisors or demonstrators is encouraged and can bring about improvements to the standard of the report you submit. The report itself must be your work, written in your own words. Students who submit the work of others as their own will have their reports referred to the appropriate authorities.

Contact details of lab leaders and technicians are available online: IA, IB.

Feedback on labs & experiments

If you have comments about any experiment, please tell us about them using the fast feedback facility. Urgent problems with an experiment should be reported immediately to a demonstrator or senior technician in the lab, or contact the member of staff in charge of the lab. Please be constructive in your comments and suggestions.

You should be given 5 minutes during lab time to complete a short survey on each activity.  Please do so as this gives us the information that we need to improve the activities in the future.