News
Assessment & Essay Guidelines
Written on 13.01.2026 08:39 by Florian Kriegel
Dear all,
Please note that there will be no project component in this year’s seminar. Your final grade will be based solely on your presentation and the written essay.
While some of the essay requirements were introduced in the introductory slides, below are the most important points to keep in mind:
-
Length: 4 pages (± 0.5 pages)
-
Use feedback: Consider the feedback you received on your presentation. Were there interesting questions or points raised during the discussion that you can build on?
-
Be critical: Do NOT simply retell the story of the paper. Instead, critically engage with the research question and how it is addressed.
-
Focus selectively: Build on aspects of the paper that you find particularly interesting or worth further investigation. You are not expected to comment on every part of the paper.
-
Style and tone: Write in an appropriate academic style and tone (see: https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/academicwriting). Scientists write in a clear and straightforward manner—the goal is to clearly outline your thinking, not to write a novel.
Deadline for essay submission: 01.03.26, 11:59PM. The submission will be opened today and stay open until the due date. If anything is unclear, please get in touch.
Best,
Your Virtual Cell Seminar team