Research and Writing Skills Assessment on Influence

This is a skills module. As a result, you will be assessed on how well you have developed the research and writing skills practiced each week in class and in homework.

Ensure that you have completed the homework and class activities to prepare you for the assignment.

Allocation of Marks

Your grade will be based on the quality of your:

• Task response: a direct answer to the task, supported by explanation of relevant theory
• Structure: organise your writing into clear and well-structured paragraphs
• Use of information from sources in the reading list: including how evidence is used to support the ideas in your essay, and how accurately you interpret sources.
• Clarity of expression

Make sure that you use the texts on the reading list and use no other sources.

Before you start writing

Recognise that this is a research and writing skills test. It is not about showing a general understanding of the topic. You need to pay close attention to your lecturers.

The first step in your research should be to recognise that the topic of ‘influence’ is quite general. Then, start identifying specific factors related to the general topic.

Then, start considering how the different factors and concepts from the topic can benefit individuals and how they can benefit organisations. Try to create a list, sothat you have something that can guide your essay.

When you start writing

Focus on organising your ideas into paragraphs.

In most paragraphs, you should demonstrate that you can:

• Identify relevant factors from the topic that can benefit either individuals or organisations
• Identify evidence from the reading list to support your ideas. (It is expected that you will demonstrate the ability to quote correctly from the texts)
• Interpret the evidence
• Justify your idea with clear explanation in a way that convinces the reader On the VLE, you will find guidance on the key writing skills from the module:
• Writing in a clear and formal style
• Paragraph structure (using the P.E.E.L. structure)
• Breaking down general topics into specific factors
• Selecting relevant and reliable evidence from texts
• Using evidence from texts to support ideas in writing
• Interpreting sources in your own words
• Explaining ideas

This grade is considered a ‘marginal pass’ with the submission being ‘below satisfactory’, but still meeting the assessment criteria at a basic level.

In order to achieve a marginal pass, students need to have at least demonstrated that effort was made to understand the information in the texts at a basic level and to organise the essay into basic paragraphs that answer the task.

There needs to be a demonstration of a basic awareness of what classes taught about paragraph structure.

There may only be a basic level of success in organising the essay with around 40% of the paragraphs structured around a clear idea. The ideas may be overly general, but they should at least be clear and consistent.

The writing can be generally understood, but expression may be barely adequate for the task, and may cause strain for the reader.