The crit is a common feature of architecture courses. After completing a major design project a student will present her design "in public" to a group of fellow student and staff.

In a crit the student makes a presentation explaining her design, pointing out particular aspects of the drawings: costing, construction, materials and so on, and generally selling the concepts to the audience. This is really a simulation of the architect-client relationship and relies on visual presentation and oral skills rather more than on written ability. Anyone present can ask questions. The lecturers often make suggestions. In a traditional crit the supervising lecturer awards a mark at the end and hands the student the notes he has made during the crit as feedback.

Expanding the technique:

Assessed student-led seminars are a small-scale version of crits. The lack of a strong visual element in the social sciences would change the nature of such a crit, but there is plenty of scope for social scientists becoming more aware of the effectiveness of good visual presentation.

Pros

The emphasis is on presentation to a live audience.

The interactive nature of the event, with the candidate having to answer questions about purposes, compromises omissions, justifications, etc.

The formative assessment element, especially when new ideas and developments are suggested by the audience.

The sense of importance and value given to students' efforts by such a major event.

Cons

Students may never have given such a presentation before, and the considerable weight given to the assessment increase the pressure. Six months of project work can be spoilt through stage fright.

Audience reaction can be very variable, from bland and unhelpful to downright vicious. The overall atmosphere cannot but influence the final mark.

The openness of a crit can make the assessment criteria very unpredictable. To improve this it is important to provide clear guidelines.

Suggestions for implementations:

It is important to provide clear guidelines for each of the aspects of the crit:

Train students how to give presentations, and provide clear guidelines. Give practice in the context of smaller, less important crits at an earlier stage in the course.

Provide the audience with clear guidelines about how to be a helpful, fair audience. Agree a procedure for the structure and conduct of the crit, which prevents it getting out of hand.

Either:

-specify criteria to be used for assessing all crits, reminding students of them at the outset of their projects and reminding the audience at the start of the crit;

or