BASIS APPROVED TRAINER MANUAL

BASIS® GUIDELINES FOR FSTS

CROP PROTECTION PROJECT COMPLETION

CONTENT
The project MUST have significant crop protection content and incorporate clear reference to a
practical situation known to the candidate, showing actual personal practical involvement with the
data generated. A literature review alone is not acceptable.

Appropriate reference should be made to the environmental aspects of using pesticides and to
environmental safeguards.

Please note that 50% of the marks will be awarded for those aspects of the project related to the
personal involvement of the candidate with the data generated.

Surveys of agricultural practice are acceptable but should include personal on-farm/in-field
information gathering or verification, i.e. the raw data from survey, average crop yields, quality
achieved etc.

EXAMPLES OF PROJECT SUBJECTS

▪ Biology and integrated control of a particular weed, pest or disease on a farm e.g. Black-
grass, volunteers, Potato Cyst Nematode, leatherjacket, seed weevil, couch grass.
▪ Aspects of crop protection within a crop e.g. Seed treatments in cereals (or potatoes); Pest
control in sugar beet; Blight control in potatoes.
▪ Crop storage e.g. Grain or seed potatoes.
▪ Pesticide handling and pesticide application (relating to a real-life situation) e.g. Use of
pesticides near water; Effects of water volume and forward speed on efficacy; Storage of
pesticides; Selection of an appropriate pesticide applicator.
▪ Evaluation and use in commercial practice of a new pesticide or the new use of an ‘old’
pesticide.
▪ Use of conservation headlands as part of an integrated control strategy (on a given farm).
▪ Pest / disease resistance to individual or groups of pesticide.

The above titles are for guidance only, there are many other crop protection aspects that can be
approached.

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January 2020
STRUCTURE
CHOICE OF PROJECT SUBJECT / PROBLEM CLEARLY IDENTIFIED

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Formulate hypothesis, aims and objectives.

PROJECT / REPORT Technical accuracy, life cycles etc.
ENVIRONMENTAL / LEGAL Environmental considerations and legal accuracy.
Relevant legislation / H&S issues.
REPORT The main body of the project, this should include:
▪ Technical information relevant to the topic including
references,
▪ Details of field observations / trials etc.,
▪ Data collection and analysis,
▪ Desk research to support field work.
CONCLUSION / DISCUSSION
/ INTERPRETATION Interpretation of the data. Relate findings to literature and
objectives.
APPENDIX / REFERENCES List of the references used in the format recommended below.

EDITING REQUIREMENTS

DOCUMENT FORMAT: Word

PAGE FORMAT: A4
PAGE MARGINS: Moderate (Top & Bottom 2.54 cm, Left & Right: 1.90 cm)
LINE SPACING 1.5 lines
(SUGGESTED):
TEXT FONT AND SIZE Times New Roman, Calibri, Arial, Book Antiqua, Garamond, size 11 or
(SUGGESTED): 12
TABLES TEXT FONT AND Times New Roman, Calibri, Arial, Book Antiqua, Garamond, size 10
SIZE (SUGGESTED):
TEXT ALIGNMENT: Justified
COVER PAGE: Must include the title of the project, the name of the training
provider and instructor, the name of the author and the month and
year of the project submission
NUMBER PAGES: All the pages, except the cover must be numbered
TABLES, CHARTS, FIGURES Must be numbered, have a title and be discussed in the text.
& DIAGRAMS:

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BASIS is a registered trademark of BASIS Registration Limited. All rights reserved
Registered in England No.: 1365343 Charity No.: 1077006 VAT Registration No.: 242/5497/56
January 2020
REFERENCES: List of the used references must be placed at the end of the project
in alphabetical order, in the following format:

The authors name/s and initial/s (The date of publication in brackets)

The title of the book in italics The place of publication and publisher
follows the title. For example:
Agrios, G. (2005) Plant Pathology, 5th Edition, Academic Press, New
York.

Please add the URL source for the online references. For example:
Crop Protection Association (viewed July 2014) Amenity - Best
Practice, Using Pesticides in the Community, Available from URL:
http://www.cropprotection.org.uk/media/45713/cpa_leaflet_amenit
y_best_practice_2013.pdf
New Agriculturalist website (viewed July 2014): http://www.new-
ag.info/en/index.php

QUOTING: Quotes should be placed with quotation marks and the author, the
year of publication and page numbers must be mentioned in
brackets, at the end of the quotation. For example:
“…the original text – quote.” (Agrios, G., 2005, p 125) otherwise the
text will be considered plagiarism.

▪ Full use should be made of relevant photographs, diagrams, illustrations etc.

▪ The project must be at least 3000 words in length, but not more than 5000. Students are
expected to comply with the word limits on projects. Marks could be deducted for over or under
length projects, and in extreme cases projects will not be marked which could affect the final
examination outcome. Diagrams, reference lists and tables are excluded from the word count
but quotations and in-text references are included. Appendices are also excluded from the word
count, but these should be limited in length. The Word Count MUST be included on the title page.

▪ The project must be all the candidate's own work. Any trials results or data not collected by the
author should be clearly credited / referenced.

▪ Please be advised that BASIS Registration Ltd will use Turnitin’s originality software to help check
students work for improper referencing and potential plagiarism by comparing them against
Turnitin’s database.

▪ Your tutor is advised by BASIS Registration Ltd to look at a draft copy of your work before you
submit your final project. They will not “mark” this work per se, but give you a qualitative
feedback on whether, in their view, you have covered all the assessment criteria and what
aspects need some extra attention and adjustments; based on their advice we recommend you to
amend your project as appropriate prior to submitting your final piece of work through Turnitin.

▪ It is expected that the project will be typed and submitted to the tutor electronically in Word or
PDF format and one printed copy provided to the examination panel / chairperson for use in the
viva examination. Projects should be no larger than 20 Mb in size. Please note that BASIS
Registration Ltd reserves the right to retain projects for reference or external verification as
required.

© BASIS Registration Limited

BASIS is a registered trademark of BASIS Registration Limited. All rights reserved
Registered in England No.: 1365343 Charity No.: 1077006 VAT Registration No.: 242/5497/56
January 2020
▪ Project marks may be moderated following sample remarking by a BASIS Registration Ltd
moderation panel.

▪ Completion date is a minimum of 6 weeks before the exam with copy to the tutor.

▪ For an assignment extension the candidate will need to submit the completed BASIS form no
later than 10 working days prior to the project submission date. Please contact BASIS Registration
Ltd for the form by phone: +44 (0) 1335 343945 or by e-mail: Suzanne Mason - Examinations &
Training Manager at: [email protected]

▪ A copy of the Project must be available on the day of the exam for the examiner(s) and may be
retained and become the property of BASIS Registration Ltd.

▪ The project pass mark is 60%

▪ Candidates who do not complete a project (and consequently no project mark is available to
examiners) will not be allowed to sit the multi-choice exam paper, if they do their paper will not
be marked.

▪ A copy of the marking sheet for each project will be kept by BASIS Registration Ltd and can be
made available upon written request by the candidate.

© BASIS Registration Limited

BASIS is a registered trademark of BASIS Registration Limited. All rights reserved
Registered in England No.: 1365343 Charity No.: 1077006 VAT Registration No.: 242/5497/56
January 2020
DYSLEXIC STUDENTS
If you have been diagnosed with dyslexia please inform your tutor at the time of course registration.

Screening
If you think you might have dyslexia, take a free screening test before arranging for a full diagnostic
assessment: http://www.adult-dyslexia.org/
Please note: A full diagnostic assessment is required to qualify for Special Exam Arrangements.

Full Diagnostic Assessment

Following a screening test, if you think you are dyslexic, you should consider arranging a full
diagnostic assessment. Full diagnostic assessment can be expensive, costing between £250 - £500,
and can only be done by qualified staff, usually educational psychologists.

BASIS Registration Ltd does not carry out dyslexia assessments. You should arrange an assessment
yourself by making an appointment at your local dyslexia assessment centre. To find the centre
nearest to you, follow the links below:
http://www.egs.org.uk/
http://www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk/

Projects
For work submitted by dyslexic students, BASIS Registration Ltd recommends that tutors should
consider the impact of dyslexia on the student and provide guidance to them / you on how to write a
project most effectively. The focus is on maintaining academic standards whilst avoiding penalising
students for dyslexic (type) difficulties such as spelling inaccuracies and weakness in presentation,
where these skills do not form part of the assessment criteria.

Examinations
BASIS Registration Ltd recognises that you may not be able to sit your examinations in standard
conditions, and allows dyslexic students the opportunity to request special examination
arrangements. To ensure that work is assessed solely on merit, no information about a student’s
disability or illness is passed on to the staff who mark the examination scripts.
▪ You may request additional time – 15 minutes for each hour of exam time allocated
▪ Exam papers can be provided in different formats: large print and / or on coloured paper as
required.

© BASIS Registration Limited

BASIS is a registered trademark of BASIS Registration Limited. All rights reserved
Registered in England No.: 1365343 Charity No.: 1077006 VAT Registration No.: 242/5497/56
January 2020