Directed Reading Notes

Abell 1185, a rich cluster of galaxies. The "guitar" on the left is a pair of colliding galaxies. See Astronomy Picture of the Day for credits.

Directed Reading Exercise: Notes

1. If you are unsure of what is required for any part of this exercise, please do discuss it with the lecturer or any member of the astronomy group. He or she will read and comment on draft answers if you ask (but please don't then hold him responsible if you still don't get a good mark — I know from experience that drafts I have discussed with students do not always improve in the final version as much as I would have expected from the discussion).
2. If you are dyslexic (with official documentation) or your mother tongue is not English, say so (attach a covering note to your script). We will take this into account, but obviously we can only do so if we know there is a problem!
3. If you are not dyslexic, but you are aware that you have problems with written English, the University does provide support services (the Writing Advisory Service of the English Language Teaching Centre). Do take advantage of this: it is less embarrassing, and more courageous, to admit you have a problem than to start what will become a long line of dismal failures in written homework. Remember that the ability to express yourself clearly, concisely and in good grammatical English is likely to be vital to any graduate career (computer programmers have to write documentation, accountants have to write reports, scientists have to write grant proposals and papers, everyone has to write job applications!).
4. Late submissions will be penalised by 5% of the mark awarded per working day late, so an exercise worth 60% but handed in three days late will score 51% (3 times 3% off). The submission date is defined by the office date stamp: it is your responsibility to ensure that you arrive before the office shuts (normally at 4:30 pm, but plan to arrive by 4:00!). There is a drop box for out-of-hours submissions, but if you deposit stuff in the box after the office has emptied it for the day, it will be date-stamped the following day. Please do not bring work to the lecture, even if the deadline happens to fall on a Monday or Tuesday — you then have no proof that you really handed it in, the automatic system will mark it as not submitted because the barcode hasn't been scanned, and the risk that I will misplace it (because it isn't in the same pile as the others) is not zero. If you have good reasons for being late (illness, travel problems, family difficulties), declare them immediately—that is, as soon as you know you have a problem, and definitely before the deadline (do not wait three weeks before saying "Oh, I had flu"). Provide documentation if possible (get a doctor's note for illness, a letter from a parent in case of family problems, etc.). Both the penalties and the requirement for documentation are there to ensure justice for other students: if you work for an extra week and hand in a good script, it is not fair on someone who produced inferior work because she rushed to meet the deadline.