Analysis of Policy Document: Objectives, Arguments, and Findings

Discussion of the Aims of the Voluntary Organisation and Its Scope of Work

Select ONE of the policy documents that has been uploaded to LSST portal under assignment brief folder. Read it carefully and write a report of  that discusses the context, objectives, arguments and findings of this document.  You must draw on relevant social science theory and research, welfare ideology and values, and social policy debates, to support the discussion of your selected document.  

Your report should have this structure:

Discussion of the aims of your chosen voluntary organisation and its scope of work in relation to service provision, and policy research and campaigning

Discussion of the social problem(s) identified in and the objectives of the document

Discussion of the document’s principal arguments and findings

This assignment has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your achievement of the following module learning outcomes:

LO1 Identify and discuss the impact of values and welfare ideologies on policy making.

LO2 Demonstrate an understanding of the role of voluntary organisations and campaigning in the policy process.

LO3 Show an understanding of how political values and ideologies influence the interpretation of evidence in the policy process.

Task requirements

• You must demonstrate that you have read and understood your selected document and have drawn on independent reading to enable you to discuss its content.
• Summarise in your own words (paraphrase) the material you use and reference it appropriately.  Quotations should be a phrase or sentence and always supported with a reference.  
• Your report must contain in-text references and a reference list at the end.  The reference list is not included in the word count and must be in the Harvard style.  Ensure that your selected document is referenced in the text of your report and included in the reference list
• You should use sub-headings in your report and adhere to the required structure
• You should write in a scholarly style.  Avoid writing in the first or second person (“I”, “you” or “we”)

Referencing and research requirements

Please reference your work according to the [name of style] style as defined in Cite Them Right Online (http://www.citethemrightonline.com). This information is also available in book form: Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2019) Cite them right: the essential reference guide. 11th edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Copies are available via the University library.

How your work will be assessed

Your work will be assessed on the extent to which it demonstrates your achievement of the stated learning outcomes for this assignment (see above) and against the following criteria

• Addresses the question set
• Evidence of independent reading
• Evidence of understanding of relevant social science theory and research
• Evidence of understanding of relevant social policy concepts, welfare ideologies and policy debates
• Development of well-structured and clearly expressed discussion
• Accurate referencing (in-text and reference list), drawing on a range of appropriate sources

Submission details

• Submission deadline is 13.59 on submission deadline.
• Please also note that work that is submitted up to 10 working days beyond the submission date will be considered a late submission. Late submissions will be marked and the actual mark recorded, but will be capped at the pass mark (typically 40%), provided that the work is of a passing standard. Work submitted after this period will not be marked and will be treated as a non-submission.

Before you submit

• Please use the provided checklist below to make sure you are ‘fit to submit’ your work
• We recommend you use this checklist as soon as you get this assignment brief to help you plan your work

Students often lose marks by forgetting some of the more straightforward elements of their assignments. We recommend that you “tick off” each of the points below as you prepare your work for submission. If you need any help, ask your tutor and / or visit https://bucks.ac.uk/students/academicadvice/assessment-and-examination

TICK

Have you read and understood the assessment criteria?       

Have you met the learning outcomes? You will lose marks and your work may even   be failed if you have not.

Have you demonstrated you can think and write critically in the completed work?    

Have you maintained an academic tone throughout your work? Is your work formal, focused, developed and clear?

Have you checked that the referencing in your assignment is in line with your programme requirements?

Have you proof-read your work and used spellcheck software to check your spelling and grammar?

Have you checked the presentation of your work is as specified by your tutor, for example, are font size, colour, style, line spacing and margins as the tutor specified?

Have you kept to the word count (or equivalent)? If you are not sure, check with your tutor.

Can you confirm that the work submitted is your own and not plagiarised.