Academic Skills: Writing Assignment 2: Critical Analysis

IMPORTANT INFORMATION 1. This assignment is written in two stages. The total mark for both stages is 30% of the marks for Academic Skills. 2. Before completing this assignment you have to achieve a mark of 100% on the BB Test on Videos 3 and 4. This will release the Submission Declaration which you must post in BB by 5pm Friday 1 Nov (the same deadline as for the first draft in the Group wiki). No marks will be awarded to either draft of the Assignment without the Submission Declaration.

Stage One: first draft (10%). Deadline 5pm Friday 1 Nov (end of Week 6) You should complete the entire task to the best of your ability, and post your first draft on your Group Wiki. For this stage you will be marked on your ability to write an accurate List of References, and to cite your five sources in text, using the Harvard system.

Stage 2: final draft (20%). Deadline: 5pm Friday 29 Nov (end of Week 10) After your tutor has given you feedback on the first draft, you should review and revise your work, making any necessary changes. You should then submit this revised work on your Group Wiki as a final draft. This will be given a mark out of 20 towards your total for Academic Skills. Writing Assignment 2: Critical Analysis Instructions: Using the sources you found for Writing Assignment 1: Sources, write a Critical Analysis as follows: 1. Summarise the range of answers to your research question that you found in your five sources. Max 200 words. Some guidelines: You should highlight similarities and differences in the information you found in your sources. You may want to comment on the relevance to the question of the sources you found using University Library Search. You should cite all of your five sources in-text, using the Harvard system.

2. Which sources, in your opinion, gave the most reliable information? Max 200 words. (In this part you should discuss at least two sources.) Some guidelines: When was the text written? Is the information up-to-date?

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Is the information presented in a technically detailed or complex way, or is it simplified for the non-specialist reader? Does it just give an answer, or does it also give an explanation? Does it consider alternative answers or explanations? How trustworthy is the information from this source? Explain your ideas about this. How successfully has the writer communicated the topic? Give your reasons.

3. At the end of your Critical Analysis, you should write your List of References, using the sources you found for Writing Assignment 1: Sources. You must write the List of References using the Harvard system. Notes: The Critical Analysis should be written as continuous prose in paragraphs; please do not use numbers or bullet points Please write in a formal academic style, avoiding contractions, personal pronouns and colloquial language. It will be useful to read the assessment criteria for both drafts below before you start.

Criteria for assessment of the Critical Analysis (first and second drafts) 1. Criteria for assessment of the Critical Analysis (first draft) The chart below shows how the first draft of your Critical Analysis will be assessed. Aspect of task Criteria Positives. Five sources have been cited accurately using the 1 In-text citation surname (or name of organisation the author is not named) with the year of publication (or n.d if no date given). Negatives. Marks will be deducted if fewer than five sources are cited, if too much information is given, if Anon is used, and if the year of publication (or n.d) is omitted. Positives. The List of References is written according to the 4 List of references Harvard system, with all the required elements in the correct order. The list is written in alphabetical order by author surname (or name of organisation if the author is not named). The items in the list refer to the in-text citations. Negatives. Marks will be deducted if the list is not in alphabetical order, if only the URL is given, if Anon is used, and if there are inaccuracies in the order of information given, or major omissions. Total

Marks 5

10

Performance indicators: Exceptional 10 Poor 1-5

Good 8-9 No grade 0

Meets expectations 7

Acceptable 6

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2. Criteria for assessment of the Critical Analysis (final draft) The chart below shows how the final draft of your Critical Analysis will be assessed. This information should be useful when writing both drafts. Aspect of task Criteria The answers to the question set are critically and clearly 1 Discussion of the evaluated. answers to the question set. The discussion of the two sources is thoughtful and well2 Discussion of the reliability of sources. reasoned. There is a good understanding shown of why some sources are more trustworthy than others. The writing is logically structured and written in well3 Structure, cohesion developed paragraphs. A formal, impersonal style is used and style. and the writing flows well. (Colloquial language, personal pronouns, and contractions have been avoided.) Five sources have been cited accurately in-text *. The in-text 4 Referencing. referencing has been revised, if necessary, in the light of feedback from the first draft. There is a List of References written according to the Harvard system. This list has been revised, if necessary, in the light of feedback from the first draft. The items in the list refer to the in-text citations**. Total 5 Plagiarism * ** * If you do not cite sources in-text, you will be guilty of plagiarism, and this assignment will receive zero marks. ** If you do not write a List of References, you will be guilty of plagiarism, and this assignment will receive zero marks. Note: the final draft of the Critical Analysis may be checked for plagiarism using Turnitin.

Marks 5

20

Performance indicators: Exceptional 18 - 20 Poor 1-9

Good 16 - 17 No grade 0

Meets expectations 13 - 15

Acceptable 10 - 12