Assignment 2
Task
A 3,000 word report that summarizes the work you have been putting together in Terms 2 and 3 of 2017 in the lecture/seminar programme.
Guidelines
You should read the following guidelines in conjunction with the box chart showing the learning outcomes and assessment criteria for this Unit provided earlier in this handbook. You should also consider the skills development section above and note how your progress with regard to the University’s four key skills will be assessed in this assignment. In addition, please study carefully the following specific guidelines:
(1) The assignment requires you to write a report in Term 3. The word limit is 3,000 words and you should provide a word count at the end of the report. This limit does include references used inside the report but does not include your references list at the end of the report
(2) The subject of your report is UKgovernment policy response to the issues facing a social group whose members lives are impacted by globalization. You can choose which policy area and social group to write about but they have to be amongst those explored in the lecture/seminar programme as explained above in this handbook.
(3) This is a summative assignment, for you to show how you have built upon Assignment 1 and to assess your capacity to synthesize the different strands of your learning on the Unit through a critical evaluation of the policy and the effectiveness of policy response for practitioners and service users ‘on the ground’ where the global and the local meet each other. The global context for this policy will help you to establish a holistic approach to your learning on the Unit as well as the confidence to develop your own considered position in the globalization policy and practice debates.
(4) The title of Assignment 2 is hence as follows: Critically evaluate current UK government policy relating to a social group in the context of globalisation. Your report could consist of the following elements, in the sequence outlined below, as a guide – although it is not meant to be prescriptive. At Level 6, you are free to develop your own organising structure after all.
(5) A suggested report structure is as follows:
i) The Title of the report and a Table of Contents with page numbering
ii) An Executive Summary, which summarises – in a list of bullet points – the contents and findings of the report
iii) An Introduction section, on the objectives of the report, the policy and social group choices, how the report is going to link them together and which practitioners are involved
iv) A Theoretical Perspective section, on which theoretical perspective associated with globalization debates you have selected to try and makes sense of the government policy
v) A Policy section, which critically evaluates the policy and considers how it relates to the social group. Has the policy changed over time as a result of globalization? If so, in what ways and what are the consequences for the social group? Is the policy working, or not?
vi) A Social Group section, which analyses the impacts of globalization on the lives of members of the social group. What are they exactly? How have they changed the lives of members of the group?
vii) A Practitioners section, which analyses the effectiveness of the work of practitionersresponsible for interpreting government policy‘on the ground’ where the global and the local meet each other, for example in the fields of criminal justice, social policy or health promotion
viii) A set of Overall Findings that show what you have discovered and how far your chosentheoretical perspective has illuminated your understanding of issues, events and experiences
ix) A Reflective Statement that shows evidence of how you have acted on the feedback from assignment 1 to improve your work in this assignment 2 report.
x) A References list, which lists the minimum of fifteen sources you have selectively drawn from in order to pass.
As with ALL your Level 3 written assignments, you should reference your report using the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences Referencing Guidelines that is available on the unit’s BREO site. If you have any concerns in this area, you must seek some support from your course manager or the Unit coordinator.
(6) Your report must be word processed, double spaced and page numbered. You must also include a word count at the end. The University regulation is that students can go 10% over the specified word limit for a written assignment but you should try to avoid doing this because writing concisely and precisely to a limit are important Level 3 study skills.
(7) Written expression is hence an important element of good written communication, so try to write clearly and accurately. Also put yourself in the position of the audience and ask yourself whether someone coming to your work ‘cold’ would be able to follow your train of thought. You should proof read and edit your final draft before handing it in and/or ask a trusted person to read it through for you. No more than 10% of the assignment should be in the form of quotations.
(8) You can also show a draft skeleton plan only of your report to either Alex or Ian to review and make general suggestions. However, you will remain the sole author of your work and must therefore exercise independent responsibility for the final shape, contents and wording of the report.
(9) You should upload your assignment on or before the submission date deadline. Keep a copy of your work. Your uploaded version has to be the final one, not a penultimate draft.
(10) See the Level Six feedback sheet and marking criteria towards the back of this handbook for an indication of how your work will be graded.