Assessment tasks, assessment criteria and grading descriptors
1) This is an individual based assignment to write a critical literature review on a specific given topic
2) This is an individual based assignment which incorporates A written report of 1500-2000 words (plus/minus 10%) excluding references and appendices
3) Assignment is to be written in a scientific report format. It is recommended not to use the first-person name.
4) Structure Requirement – students are reminded work should have a beginning, a middle and an end, that each paragraph should contain one point which is explained well and reasoned through, and finally, that paragraphs are linked.
5) Content Requirement – students must demonstrate: [i] knowledge of the subject area; [ii] the ability to marshal materials into logical and coherent lines of reasoning in a critical and analytical fashion; [iii] the ability to inform the reader whilst answering the assignment brief.
6) Use the Harvard referencing system to present your references/bibliography.
7) Remember, as in the real world, understanding is only achieved by interpretation of the analysis undertaken, and it is up to the student to present a well justified and logical argument in the report. Justification should be made by referring to the relevant literature, or additional research.
8) Wikipedia references are not considered to be of the required standard and hence should not be included.
9) Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. Assignment should make no assumptions about the beliefs or commitments of any reader, should contain nothing which might imply that one individual is superior to another on the grounds of race, sex, culture or any other characteristic, and should use inclusive language throughout.
10) student should ensure that writing is free from bias, for instance by using ‘he or she’, ‘his/her’ instead of ‘he’ or ‘his’, and by making use of job titles that are free of stereotyping (e.g. ‘chairperson’ instead of ‘chairman’ and ‘flight attendant’ instead of ‘stewardess’).
11) Divide your assignment into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, …), 1.2, etc. Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to ‘the text’. Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own separate line.
12) A Theory section should extend, not repeat, the background to the article already dealt with in the Introduction and lay the foundation for further work.
13) Please submit tables as editable text and not as images. Tables can be placed either next to the relevant text in the article, or on separate page(s) at the end. Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text and place any table notes below the table body. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in them do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article. Please avoid using vertical rules and shading in table cells.
14) Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. If these references are included in the reference list they should follow the standard reference style and should include a substitution of the publication date with either ‘Unpublished results’ or ‘Personal communication’. Citation of a reference as ‘in press’ implies that the item has been accepted for publication.
15) Web references, as a minimum, the full URL should be given and the date when the reference was last accessed. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired, or can be included in the reference list.
16) There are no strict requirements on reference formatting at submission. References can be in any style or format as long as the style is consistent. Where applicable, author(s) name(s), journal title/ book title, chapter title/article title, year of publication, volume number/book chapter and the article number or pagination must be present. Use of DOI is highly encouraged.