5BBM0213 end of year exam

20 multiple choice questions

~1 hour

3 essays from a choice of 7

~2 hours

Essays marked according to standard college criteria

Important to understand what were looking for

First Class; 90 - 100%

An exemplary, outstanding answer, showing a grasp and knowledge
of key facts and concepts that point to an exceptional depth of
understanding.
Addresses the question and shows distinctive insight and
originality through some discussion and analysis of scientific
evidence
Accurate, complete recall of relevant course material. Substantial
evidence of incorporation of material and examples from other
sources. Little irrelevant material.
Presented in a clear, well-structured and focussed manner.
Authoritative and well written.
No errors of note
First Class; 80 -89%
As above but lacking slightly in one or two areas. No significant
weaknesses.
First Class; 70 -79%
As above, but lacking slightly in most areas. No significant
weaknesses.

Upper Second Class; 65 - 69%

A very good, comprehensive answer demonstrating good depth of
understanding of key facts and concepts
Addresses the question and shows clear evidence of insight
and/or originality
Accurate recall of factual material with good examples and
evidence of incorporation of material from sources other than
lecture notes
Presented in a logical, coherent style. Well written
May contain a few errors
Upper Second Class; 60 - 64%
As above, but lacking slightly in several areas or significantly in at
least one area

Lower Second Class; 55-59%

A good answer that points to sound understanding but with some
gaps in knowledge.
Addresses the question but mainly descriptive
Shows knowledge of most of the relevant, key material but with
limited original thought. Little beyond lecture notes.
Presented in an organised style but may contain non sequiturs or
incomplete explanations
May contain one or two factual inaccuracies, illogical statements or
irrelevancies but these heavily outweighed by correct material
Lower Second Class; 50-54%
As above, but lacking slightly in several areas or significantly in at
least one area.

Third Class; 45-49%

Appears to have understood the question but answer incomplete,
with lapses that point to significant gaps in understanding or
knowledge.
Attempts to address the question but unable to synthesise a
coherent answer and may include some episodes of flawed thinking.
Some evidence of knowledge and understanding of relevant key
material but there may be much marginally relevant or irrelevant
material. Poor, incomplete recall of lecture material with no
evidence of material from other sources
Presentation adequate at best with some disorganised sections
Likely to contain several inaccuracies or illogical statements
Third Class; 41-44%
As above, but lacking slightly in several areas or significantly in at
least one area. Just enough acceptable material or evidence of basic
understanding to recommend a pass.

Fail; 33-39%
Inadequate answer with very little substance or understanding
and only slight knowledge relevant to the question.
Some attempt to address the question and some evidence of
understanding what is required
Unable to recall relevant facts, and those presented are heavily
outweighed by irrelevant material.
Poor, disorganised presentation
Clearly a fail but the odd glimmer of knowledge or understanding
Fail; 20-33%
Some attempt made to write something relevant to the question
but with major flaws.
Fail; 10-19%
Serious errors or unacceptably brief
Fail; 0-9%
Completely irrelevant or unintelligible

Key points in essay planning

Before you write anything, stop and think about how
youre going to answer the question:

Organisation of information
Addressing the question
Coverage of the topic - originality & evidence
of independent study
Accuracy of information
Punctuation and grammar

First Class; 90 - 100%

An exemplary, outstanding answer, showing a grasp and knowledge
of key facts and concepts that point to an exceptional depth of
understanding.
Addresses the question and shows distinctive insight and
originality through some discussion and analysis of scientific
evidence
Accurate, complete recall of relevant course material. Substantial
evidence of incorporation of material and examples from other
sources. Little irrelevant material.
Presented in a clear, well-structured and focussed manner.
Authoritative and well written.
No errors of note
First Class; 80 -89%
As above but lacking slightly in one or two areas. No significant
weaknesses.
First Class; 70 -79%
As above, but lacking slightly in most areas. No significant
weaknesses.

Organisation of information
Plan your essay before you start writing to minimise the
instances of *
General format:
- Introduction
- Body
- Conclusion
Use paragraphs and paragraph headings to break up the text
Use diagrams and refer to them at relevant points in the text.
- Make sure that any diagrams are readable and well explained.
- Make them accurate label axes, draw curves carefully
Write in a succinct, scientific style - take note of the scientific
style of writing when reading research papers. The Trends in
review series are a good model to follow.
*realising you missed something towards the end

First Class; 90 - 100%

An exemplary, outstanding answer, showing a grasp and knowledge
of key facts and concepts that point to an exceptional depth of
understanding.
Addresses the question and shows distinctive insight and
originality through some discussion and analysis of scientific
evidence
Accurate, complete recall of relevant course material. Substantial
evidence of incorporation of material and examples from other
sources. Little irrelevant material.
Presented in a clear, well-structured and focussed manner.
Authoritative and well written.
No errors of note
First Class; 80 -89%
As above but lacking slightly in one or two areas. No significant
weaknesses.
First Class; 70 -79%
As above, but lacking slightly in most areas. No significant
weaknesses.

Addressing the question

You must answer the question as written, not the one you want
to answer
e.g. Compare the clinical uses, mechanisms of action and
side effects of aspirin and morphine as analgesics
X Discussing the anti-thrombotic properties of aspirin
X Ignoring one or other drug
X Focussing on just one aspect of the drugs
Any information that isnt clearly addressing the question will
receive no marks, even if correct, and too much will decrease
your overall mark
Suggest that you write out the question at the start of your
essay. This will remind you that the above question is NOT write
everything I know about aspirin

First Class; 90 - 100%

An exemplary, outstanding answer, showing a grasp and knowledge
of key facts and concepts that point to an exceptional depth of
understanding.
Addresses the question and shows distinctive insight and
originality through some discussion and analysis of scientific
evidence
Accurate, complete recall of relevant course material. Substantial
evidence of incorporation of material and examples from other
sources. Little irrelevant material.
Presented in a clear, well-structured and focussed manner.
Authoritative and well written.
No errors of note
First Class; 80 -89%
As above but lacking slightly in one or two areas. No significant
weaknesses.
First Class; 70 -79%
As above, but lacking slightly in most areas. No significant
weaknesses.

Coverage of the topic

Simply repeating lecture content may get you a II.1 or II.2 mark
but will not get you the highest marks
The best answers contain material from other sources from
published papers or recent media reports. Show off your extra
reading.

Lower Second Class; 55-59%

A good answer that points to sound understanding but with some
gaps in knowledge.
Addresses the question but mainly descriptive
Shows knowledge of most of the relevant, key material but with
limited original thought. Little beyond lecture notes.
Presented in an organised style but may contain non sequiturs or
incomplete explanations
May contain one or two factual inaccuracies, illogical statements or
irrelevancies but these heavily outweighed by correct material
Lower Second Class; 50-54%
As above, but lacking slightly in several areas or significantly in at
least one area.

Coverage of the topic

Simply repeating lecture content will not get you the highest
marks
The broad outline the skeleton - is covered in lectures you
must supply the depth of material from your own reading
Dont compartmentalise your learning include any relevant
information from other lectures, textbooks etc.

Acknowledge areas of controversy

Coverage of the topic demonstrating

understanding
Explain your reasoning leaps in logic might be gaps in
understanding:
-

The build up of fat in blood vessels, for example due to eating

deep-fried pizza, causes a massive increase in the risk of heart
disease because heart cells become ischaemic.
(Whats the relation between fat, pizza, heart disease and
ischaemia?)

Fully explain all mechanisms / pathways

- Salbutamol causes bronchioles to relax by activating adrenergic
receptors

vs.
- Salbutamol selectively activates 2 receptors on bronchial smooth
muscle cells. These receptors are coupled via GS to the activation
of adenylate cyclase and a consequent increase in cellular
concentration of cAMP. The elevated cAMP activates protein kinase
A, which phosphorylates multiple cellular targets to cause muscle
relaxation.

First Class; 90 - 100%

An exemplary, outstanding answer, showing a grasp and knowledge
of key facts and concepts that point to an exceptional depth of
understanding.
Addresses the question and shows distinctive insight and
originality through some discussion and analysis of scientific
evidence
Accurate, complete recall of relevant course material. Substantial
evidence of incorporation of material and examples from other
sources. Little irrelevant material.
Presented in a clear, well-structured and focussed manner.
Authoritative and well written.
No errors of note
First Class; 80 -89%
As above but lacking slightly in one or two areas. No significant
weaknesses.
First Class; 70 -79%
As above, but lacking slightly in most areas. No significant
weaknesses.

Accuracy of information
Scientific accuracy (e.g. knowing whether ACh is acting via
nicotinic or muscarinic receptors in a particular system, knowing
which cells are the targets for an agonist in a particular organ)
Precision when selecting words
The wrong word can change the whole meaning of a sentence:
- inhibition vs. down-regulation
- activation vs. sensitisation

Punctuation and Grammar

5BBM0213 end of year exam

20 multiple choice questions

~1 hour

3 essays from a choice of 7

~2 hours

This leaves 40 minutes for each essay

Ideally you would like a little time to re-read your
essay to make sure there are no mistakes
Remember, you must write 3, not 2 and a bit!

Practice essay
Before starting writing you must plan your answer. For a
40 minute answer this should be at least a couple of
minutes spent planning

Hayfever - an allergy to pollen - is a Type 1

hypersensitivity reaction. Describe the
defining characteristics of such a reaction
and explain the mechanisms of action of the
different drugs that are used in the treatment
of hayfever.