PLS2601/203/1/2023

Tutorial Letter 203/1/2023

Critical Reasoning

PLS2601

Semester 1

Department of Philosophy, Practical and

Systematic Theology

Discipline of Philosophy

This tutorial letter contains important information on your examination and how to
prepare yourself for an on-line take-home Examination.

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CONTENTS

Page

1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................3

2. PURPOSE OF THE TUTORIAL LETTER ............................................................................................3

3. FORMAT OF THE EXAMINATION ......................................................................................................3

4. WHERE TO FIND THE EXAMINATION PAPER…………………………………………………………….4

5. EXAMINATION RULES…………………………………………………………………………………………4

6. ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR TAKING ONLINE ASSESSMENTS ON MYEXAMS……………………………5

7. WEBINARS TO ASSIST WITH ONLINE EXAMINATION PREPARATIONS…………………………….6

8. THE FINAL EXAMINATION PAPER………………………………………………………………………….6

9. CONCLUSION .....................................................................................................................................7

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1. INTRODUCTION

Dear student of PLS2601 Critical Reasoning,

This tutorial letter contains information on how to prepare for your final on-line examination. The COVID-
19 pandemic has led to the National State of Disaster requiring social distancing as a means to avoid its
spread. To this end, despite the fact that the National State of Disaster has been ended, the management
of Unisa would like us to continue with no face-to-face contact activities during this academic year,
including examinations. Like last year we continue with non-venue based examination system. As such,
the examination of this module, like all other modules at Unisa, will be conducted online.

2. PURPOSE OF THE TUTORIAL LETTER

The purpose of this tutorial letter is to inform you of the nature of our final examination in this module and
to provide you with information on how to prepare yourself for the on-line examinations.

3. FORMAT OF THE EXAMINATION

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the examination will now be conducted online as follows:

1. The examination will be conducted as a take-home examination based on an examination

question paper. In other words, the exam is an open-book examination.
2. The examination paper for the module PLS2601 (Critical Reasoning) consists of written short
questions, and the examination question paper will be available in English only. Be guided by
the types of questions posed in your second assignment, as a similar format will be
presented in the examination.
3. The examination covers the full content of the module.
4. The examination will be managed on the myExams platform.
5. The examination is scheduled for Saturday, 13th May 2023 from 08h00 to 11h00.
6. The duration of the examination will be 3 hours. However, an additional half-an-hour (30
minutes) will be given to you to allow you to upload your paper after finishing writing.
7. You can download your examination question paper from 07h45 on 13th May 2023.
8. You can upload your completed examination paper anytime during that 3.5-hour period.
9. The system will close after the allowed upload time and all late submissions will be
rejected. This means that the latest that an upload can be made is 11h30 on 13th May 2023.
10. Our module is one of those which have been put on the INVIGILATOR APP. This means your
exam will be invigilated by means of the Invigilator App.

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11. You will be required to provide referencing in the take-home examination, since the take-
home examination can be considered as an “open book” examination, plagiarism will not be
tolerated. If the assessor suspects plagiarism in your script, he/she will report your examination
script to the appropriate University authority for disciplinary action.
12. It is in your own best interest to study and prepare for the examination in advance.

Please note the following:

a) If you are not yet added to an examination for a module as reflected in their own examination
timetable, please refer to the following link, wherein you will be able to obtain the full examination
timetable for any module that you wish to obtain information
on: https://myadmin.unisa.ac.za/tool/1f95735b-9137-4e57-803f-43820fb508b7/default.do.
b) Examination papers of previous years are available on myUnisa under “official study material”.
However, the examination format has changed from the beginning of 2020: the examination will no
longer be multiple choice.

4. WHERE TO FIND THE EXAMINATION PAPER

To locate your examination site, please visit this site and click on it.
https://myexams.unisa.ac.za/portal/

Then click on the date on which your examination is scheduled. You will then see all the examinations that
are scheduled for that day. Then click the relevant examination paper and enter your Login particulars
and download the Exam Question Paper for May/June 2023.

5. EXAMINATION RULES
The following examination rules will apply to your online examinations:
a) Students must upload their answer scripts in a single PDF file (answer scripts must not be
password protected or uploaded as “read only” files).
b) NO e-mailed scripts will be accepted.
c) Students are advised to preview submissions (answer scripts) to ensure
legibility and that the correct answer script file has been uploaded.
d) Students are permitted to resubmit their answer scripts should their initial
submission be unsatisfactory.
e) Incorrect file format and uncollated answer scripts will not be considered.
Incorrect answer scripts and/or submissions made on unofficial examinations platforms (including
the invigilator cellphone application) will not be marked and no opportunity will be granted for
resubmission.

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f) A mark awarded for an incomplete submission will be the student’s final mark. No opportunity for
resubmission will be granted.
g) A mark awarded for illegible scanned submission will be the student’s final
mark. No opportunity for resubmission will be granted.
h) Submissions will only be accepted from registered student accounts.
i) Students suspected of dishonest conduct during the examinations will be
subjected to disciplinary processes. Unisa has a zero tolerance for
plagiarism and/or any other forms of academic dishonesty.
j) Students are provided one hour to submit their answer scripts after the
official examination time. Submissions made after the official examination
time will be rejected by the examination regulations and will not be marked.
k) Students experiencing network or load shedding challenges are advised to
apply for an aegrotat and submit supporting evidence within three days of
the examination session.
l) Queries that are regarded as being beyond Unisa’s control include the following:

a. Personal network or service provider issues

b. Load shedding/limited space on personal computer
c. Crashed computer
d. Using work computers that block access to myExams site (work firewall challenges)
e. Unlicensed software (eg license expires during exams)
Students experiencing the above challenges are advised to apply for an aegrotat and submit
supporting evidence within ten days of the examination session. Students will not be able to
apply for an aegrotat for a third examination opportunity.

m) Students experiencing technical challenges should contact the SCSC on 080 000 1870 or via e-
mail [email protected] or refer to the Get- Help resource for the list of additional contact
numbers. Communication received from your myLife account will be considered.

6. ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR TAKING ONLINE ASSESSMENTS ON MYEXAMS

Taking exams/assessments can be stressful and taking online exams/assessments can be especially
so, particularly when technical issues arise. The following guidelines will help you avoid the most
common technical difficulties while taking online exams/assessments in myExams and safeguard that
your work is submitted successfully.

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Tip 1. Use a supported browser and close unneeded applications.

DO’s DONT’s
Best Supported browsers: Google Chrome Browsers on mobile devices (phones and
tablets) are NOT supported.
Other supported mainstream browsers: Don't use Opera or another unsupported
Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Safari or Internet browser, such as a browser on a mobile
Explorer device (phone or tablet), while taking a high
stakes exam/assessment.
Problems with lost data have been
reported by students who used
unsupported browsers while taking
online exams/assessments in myExams.

Close unneeded applications and Don't use browsers on the mobile devices.
processes running on your computer to
reduce network interference.

Tip 2: Use the most reliable Internet connection available when you are taking
an online exam/assessment.
Ensure that your computer and internet Avoid having multiple devices connected to
connection are configured correctly. the internet during an exam/assessment.
Check the quality of your connection to your
network.
Turn off cell phones and other network
devices such as video game consoles,
internet-capable TVs, etc., or set them to
Airplane mode to reduce network
congestion and interference.
We also recommend asking others in your
household not to use devices that will
consume internet bandwidth while you are
taking an exam/assessment.

Other tips could be found on the following youtube link:

https://youtu.be/W4nhHW-uKlk

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7. WEBINARS TO ASSIST WITH ON-LINE EXAM PREPATIONS

There are also several webinars created to help you prepare yourself well for the online examination. One
of the most essential ones can be found in the link below:
https://youtu.be/KGF-v320Zkw

8. THE FINAL EXAMINATION

For this module, the “non-venue based examination” will consist of a timed examination question paper,
which you will be able to download, and reupload on the MyExam platform, within the specified duration
assigned for the examination. More information and the precise parameters and arrangements have
already been communicated to you.
The examination paper for the module PLS2601 (Critical Reasoning) consists of written short questions.
Be guided by the types of questions posed in your second assignments, because similar sorts of questions
will be asked in the examination.
The “scope” of the examination covers the full content of the module.
We would like to encourage the greater use of myUnisa by PLS2601 students. You will find that coupled
with many additional online resources, there are opportunities online to engage with us, via the discussion
forums. Within the discussion forums, please feel free to post your problems and concerns and we will
attempt to respond to them timeously.
Examination papers of previous years are available on myUnisa under “Resources”. However, the
examination format has changed from 2019: the examination will no longer be multiple choice, and so
some past examination papers may only assist you in revising content, but not the “style” of the
examination.

9. CONCLUSION

We hope that you have found this Tutorial Letter useful. Should you have any queries, questions, etc.,
please do not hesitate to contact us or your group’s e-tutor.

With kind regards, and best wishes for your studies in Critical Reasoning,

Dr. Ezekiel Mkhwanazi

Discipline of Philosophy
Department of Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology

Telephone: +27 12 429 6397

e-mail: [email protected]