Guidance for open book exams in a 48 hour period

Please visit the Skills@Library to learn more about revision and note making before your exam.

Be careful of preparing for the exam with others and sharing your work as this could lead to collusion which is considered academic malpractice.

You should ensure that where you build directly on the work of others you acknowledge their work when you are writing in an open book exam. For example, if you use selective citations from the work of others then you must give key information such as author name and date of publication as you would in a regular timed, closed book exam.

You do not need to give a full list of references or a bibliography in this kind of exam. However, please pay close attention to the guidance below on academic integrity.

Your module leader will give you guidance on how many words you should write and approximately how long this should take you. It should also be written as part of the online examination instructions.

In general, the School guidance states that you should not exceed the following word counts:

2 Hour Exam 2000 words maximum
3 Hour Exam 3000 words maximum

As the time taken to complete the task does not form part of the assessment criteria, and to take into consideration students with additional needs, all students will be given at least 48 hours to complete the assessment task. However, you are only expected to write for the time stipulated and should adhere to the maximum word limit. For online exams, the word limit will not include diagrams or tables.

If the amount of work submitted is significantly higher than the specified word limit, a penalty may be applied at the assessor’s discretion and this will be reflected in the marks awarded.

You will need to complete your open book exam during a specified time period (normally 48-hours). However, the exam will not take the full 48-hours, and you are only expected to write for the time given by the Module Leader.

If you have more than one open book exam scheduled for the same or overlapping 48-hour period, this should not be viewed as a clash, and it is up to you to manage your time effectively.

The exam will be marked according to how well you have answered the question(s). Make sure you read the question(s) carefully and understand what is being asked. Consider the balance in what is required between theory and application.

Yes, past papers are still a useful revision tool in that these will highlight the types of questions that could be asked.

You will be provided with further guidance on how to prepare for open-book exams and the expectations associated with these. This may include for example, preparatory sessions within specific modules, mock exams and/or exemplar answers. If you require further clarification on individual topics/modules, please contact the member of staff who delivered the lecture or the module leader.

Once the exam questions are released at the start of the exam period, students will not be able to contact academic staff for further guidance or clarification of the lecture content and exam questions.

Exam papers will be made available through the relevant module area on Minerva. You will be required to submit your completed answers online in the appropriate Turnitin area. Specific instructions will be provided closer to the time but in advance of the exam.

Please ensure you familiarise yourself with the instructions beforehand.

Students that report any technical issues with accessing content or during an exam MUST log as a matter of urgency with IT, by contacting the IT Service Desk. You should provide the full context of any issues you are having (Browser/Operating System/Module/System (if known) and exam finish time) to help staff as much as possible prioritise. If issues are unable to be resolved within a suitable time frame to before the end of the exam you should contact LUBSassessment@leeds.ac.uk and include reference to your IT ticket number.

If you have any questions on the content of the paper during the exam please contact LUBSassessment@leeds.ac.uk between the hours of 9am – 5pm (UK Time), Monday to Friday.

Yes. Although taking an exam online is different to sitting a closed book exam in an examination venue, the regulations around sitting exams and submitting work are the same. The University of Leeds takes cheating, academic malpractice and plagiarism very seriously. Your submission will be put through Turnitin (unless a Tophat or Gradescope submission).

Please visit the Academic Integrity and Plagiarism web page to familiarise yourself with the rules before your exams.

Should you be unable to complete these open-book examinations before the deadline because of illness or any other mitigating circumstances, you will be able to request a further attempt by completing the standard Mitigating Circumstances form and submitting the appropriate documentary evidence as you would in the case of any missed or affected exam. Note: since these are examinations, extensions to the 48 hours will not be granted.