As a supervisor, you are responsible for coaching the student and helping them during the whole process of the writing assignment. You make sure that the student clearly defines the scope of the assignment. Part of the supervisor’s job is also making sure the rules and guidelines are followed and the necessary agreements are made. Students however are responsible for their own learning process. 

Definitions and responsibilities

The examiner: 

• is affiliated to UU/UMCU, Princess Maxima Centre, or the Hubrecht Institute as a full, associate (UHD) or assistant (UD) professor with a tenured (track) position. Professors on a UU/UMCU special chair (bijzonder hoogleraar), but in daily life affiliated to a non-UU/UMCU institute, can also act as examiner. 
• cannot be a postdoc or PhD candidate.
• has final responsibility for the grade of the writing assignment. 
• can only assess a maximum of two of the following components for the same student: writing assignment, major research project, profile project, and business internship. 
• in case of a writing assignment inside UU/UMCU, the UU/UMCU examiner and second reviewer both grade the assignment. The examiner decides on the final mark in close consultation with the daily supervisor (if applicable) and the second reviewer. 
• in case of a writing assignment outside UU/UMCU, the UU/UMCU examiner and the supervisor host institute both grade the assignment. The examiner decides on the final mark in close consultation with the supervisor host institute.
• monitors the proposed end date and, if necessary, checks in with the student to review planning and progress to prevent delays.

Supervisor host institute (only applicable for writing assignments outside UU/UMCU): 

• works at the host institute (outside UU/UMCU, Princess Maxima Centre, or the Hubrecht Institute) where the writing assignment is carried out. 
• is an expert in the field (cannot be a PhD candidate or postdoc) 
• is responsible for the daily supervision of the student during the assignment. 
• grades the writing assignment. 

The daily supervisor (in case of writing assignments at UU/UMCU): 

• works at the institute where the writing assignment is carried out. 
• is responsible for the daily supervision of the student during the assignment. 
• Advises on grade to examiner. 

The second reviewer (only applicable for writing assignments at UU/UMCU*): 

• is an expert in the field (cannot be a PhD candidate or postdoc) and is not directly involved in the supervision of the student or the project the student has been working on. Ideally, the second reviewer is a staff member from a different group than the examiner and daily supervisor. 
• provides grades for the writing assignment. 

*For writing assignments outside UU/UMCU both examiner and supervisor host institute grade the writing assignment, therefore a second reviewer is not required. 

The student can either write a literature review or a research proposal (using the NWO/ALW grant application format). The specific format of the assignment should be discussed before the student starts his/her writing assignment. 

Content and process

• The assignment should be written in English. 
• The body of the text (excl. legends, tables, footnotes, references, etc.) should typically be 6000 to 8000 words long. It should be emphasised that the content is more important than the number of words. The assignment should include minimally 25 and maximally 60 references.  
• The assignment should include a plain language summary: a ~500-word summary specifically aimed at informing laymen about the content of the project. The target audience is able to understand biology at high school level.  

When writing, the student should start with a writing plan in which an overview of recent literature on their topic is presented. The assignment should have an in-depth discussion, in which the student demonstrates his/her ability to critically evaluate hypotheses and results, present his/her own views, and draw conclusions that point towards new research opportunities. This often requires the student to read additional literature. 

Data needs to be presented in one manageable graph or figure that tells the story. This requires the student to select, order, interpret and clearly present data. 

Five weeks of full-time study (7.5 EC) are scheduled for the writing assignment. The student cannot extend his/her writing assignment for more credits. 

The maximal duration is 3 months from the first meeting with the supervisor to discuss the assignment until the submission of the final version. However, we urge students to finish the assignment within the allotted five weeks, giving them the opportunity to practice working under a tight deadline and experiencing the pressure that goes with it. 

To meet the deadline, the scope of the assignment should be limited and clearly defined, the student should work diligently, and the agreements between supervisor and student about the content and scope of the assignment should be clear. During the first meeting with the student, dates should be set for discussion of the writing plan, discussion of the first draft, and feedback on the final version.   

After finishing the writing assignment, the student is capable of independently: 

• Conducting literature research, using scientific secure literature databases (e.g. PubMed); 
• Using scientific literature and insights in a critical manner; 
• Summarizing literature using own words; 
• Integrating results and models of papers read into new models; 
• Formulating hypothesis for future research. 

A student can start the writing assignment only after both the supervisor and the student have received an approval email from the Board of Examiners. 

Application forms

Since September 2022 the whole application procedure is digitalised in OSIRIS Case. You can access OSIRIS Case via OSIRIS Supervisor. The application forms contain information about the assignment (including a research proposal), agreements between the student and supervisor, and contact information of the examiner and second reviewer/supervisor host institute. This information allow the programme coordinator and the Board of Examiners to review the content and level of the writing assignment.

Writing assignment outside UU / UMCU

Writing assignments outside UU/UMCU also require a GSLS internship contract, signed by the student, research project coordinator, and supervisor host institute. The student can upload the internship contract in OSIRIS Case. The research project coordinator will be notified and sign the contract. If your student is asked to sign a (non-disclosure) contract from the host institute, they can consult the research project coordinators. 

Internship account UMCU

For writing assignments at the UMC Utrecht (UMCU), students need an UMCU internship account and UMCU card. The students will automatically get this account after approval of their writing assignment.

An interim assessment is not mandatory, but it is important to evaluate the work and progress of the student on a regular basis. To discuss the progress the rubrics for literature reviews or research proposals can be used. 

Plagiarism check

The examiner has the responsibility to ensure that no fraud or plagiarism took place and should check the written report for plagiarism via Ouriginal. The students can do this themselves or the examiner can do this. Please note: as examiner you need to login with your Solis-id. If you do not have a Solis-id, request one on the UMC site containing all information regarding a Solis account.

Here you can find details on using Ouriginal.

Upload the final version of the report as Word file without the reference list to Ouriginal.  The examiner should upload the printed report (summary) from Ouriginal in OSIRIS Case during the final assessment.  

We also expect examiners to check for plagiarism in source code texts. As examiner you can choose the right plagiarism detection tool applicable for your course. For instance  MOSS (Measure Of Software Similarity) can be used. On the website you can obtain a manual after you register and obtain an account. You can use this article on plagiarism detection tools if you want more information what tool you can use.

Plagiarism check in case of confidentiality

In case of confidentiality, the examiner can exclude the file from the Ouriginal database. This option is only available when the examiner uploads the file. 

To do this, click on the analysis address, and go to the submission account (in Dutch: inleveraccount) see red circle. It ends with @uu.nl in most cases. 

You can do this by clicking on the fourth icon (that looks like a paper with an earmark).  In the figure below the file with 0% similarity (green bar) is exempted from the database. 

If the file is exempted, other uploaders can see if there is similarity with the file but cannot open or access the file. If you click on the fourth icon, you will see the following message that includes the definition of this exemption: 

Previously submitted documents provide comparative material in checking documents later submitted by others. Normally, a previously submitted document – where similarities have been detected – will be recognized as the source, in its entirety, in the Ouriginal Analysis. 

You can, by clicking the button, exempt the document from being able to be viewed in its entirety if there are similarities found at subsequent inspections of other documents. If you choose to exempt the document, the document will still be stored on behalf of your educational organization and itself checked for potential similarities with other sources, but it will not be shown in its entirety or be downloadable. The analysis of the latter document will still show that there is a similarity to your document and inform when and where it was submitted, but no text from the document will be visible – instead, a text explaining why it cannot be shown will be displayed. 

Do note that depending on the settings chosen by your university, your document may still be visible and possible to download within the university to which you submitted it.

Click on proceed. 

What if the percentage of matching text is >10%?

When there is no case of plagiarism, a motivation written by the examiner explaining this should accompany the assessment form in OSIRIS Case.

Contract cheating sites

The use of the services as described in this paper on cheating sites is considered as plagiarism by the Board of Examiners. The examiner should take all the written versions of the student into account.

Report plagiarism

Any act of plagiarism should be reported to the Board of Examiners. Please do not hesitate to contact them for informal discussion on the case before taking formal steps: 

• Secretary for the Faculty of Medicine and Veterinary Sciences: Kirsten Boersma-van Nierop 
• Secretary for the Faculty of Science: Nina uit het Broek
• Chair of the Board of Examiners: Jan Andries Post or phone +31 (0)30-253 3894 

Fraud or plagiarism are absolutely not allowed and will be dealt with as described in the Education and Examination Regulations (article 5.14). 

The examiner has to provide a motivation for the final grades. We strongly advise to use the rubrics for literature review or the research proposal.  

If the grades of the examiner and second reviewer/supervisor host institute differ by 2 or more points, the examiner should notify the Board of Examiners. 

The examiner and second reviewer/supervisor host institute must complete the final writing assignment. To make sure there are no delays, make agreements with your student beforehand about the dates for handing in the writing assignment. 

Project within UU/UMCU

The assessment is performed by the examiner and second reviewer.  

Project outside UU/UMCU

The supervisor host institute provides a grade for the writing assignment in consultation with the examiner. The examiner also grades the written report and determines the final grade (in consultation with supervisor host institute). 

The examiner and the supervisor host institute should contact each other in order to make sure that the assessment is performed according to the guidelines of the GSLS. 

The supervisor host institute determines the grades according to their own marking system (e.g. Anglo/Saxon marking (F-A⁺)) and then consult the examiner. The examiner converts the grade according to the Dutch marking system if necessary. You can use this site on the UU credit conversion table.

Grading tool

For guidance regarding the grading of a writing assignment, you can use the flowchart on the Registering course results page.

Registration of grades

For the specifics about grading check out section 5 in the EER. For 2024-2025: 

• Marks are awarded on a scale of 1 to 10. A mark of 5.5 (not rounded off) or higher is satisfactory, and lower is unsatisfactory. The examiner determines the final grade expressed with one decimal figure, which will be rounded off mathematically. Marks will be rounded off as follows: If the second decimal is a 5 or higher, the first decimal will be rounded up. If the second decimal is a 4 or lower, the first decimal will be rounded down. This does not apply to grades between 5.45 and 5.50 and between 3.95 and 4.00: these will be rounded off to 5.4 and 3.9, respectively. In OSIRIS final grades between 5.0 and 5.4 will be rounded down to 5.0, grades from 5.5 to 5.9 will be rounded up to 6.0. Other grades will not be rounded off in OSIRIS. 
• If the average final grade is sufficient, the sufficient grade will be registered in OSIRIS. If the average final grade is insufficient, the insufficient grade will be registered in OSIRIS.  
• The student has the right to do a resit when the average final grade is higher than 4.0 (also in case of a NVD). 
• In order to meet the cum laude requirements, students should receive a 8.5 or higher for their writing assignment.