Academic English Skills: Research, Summarize, and Respond to Global Issues

On completion of this unit, you should be able to:

1. demonstrate knowledge of formal, academic conventions in undertaking research

2. Use knowledge and understanding of academic language and style to produce coherent and cohesive written work and presentations

What am I required to do in this assignment?

During the semester, you must submit two pieces of written work. Each submission will include a summary and an essay which responds in each case to a source text that you have read. The source text must be an opinion text on a current ‘global issue’. For each submission, follow these instructions:

Read a short opinion text about a global issue and prepare a response which includes three sections (and use the underlined sub-headings below in your submission to separate each section of your submission so that we can see clearly where each section begins and ends).

Section 1: The source text

Cut and paste a copy of the complete source text which you read and summarized (you will not gain any marks for this, but we will not be able to mark your summary unless we can see the source text).

Submission Deadline Marks and Feedback

20 working days after deadline (L4, 5 and 7)

15 working days after deadline (L6)

10 working days after deadline (block delivery)

Unit title & code Academic English Skills

Unit learning outcomes On completion of this unit, you should be able to:

1. demonstrate knowledge of formal, academic conventions in undertaking research

2. Use knowledge and understanding of academic language and style to produce coherent and cohesive written work and presentations

Section 2: The Summary

Write a summary of the source text you have read, including all the main points made in the text.

Section 3: The Essay

Write an essay in which you respond to the global issue and the text you have read by stating your own point of view. Using your own words, state whether or not you agree with the writer and why, building a clear and coherent argument for your point of view. In doing this, you may wish to reference other sources you have read in order to back up your argument. Your completed assignment should consist of about 500 words, covering the summary and the essay. The source text does not contribute to the word limit.

You will submit two pieces of work, following the above instructions, using a different source text for both submissions. The deadlines are:

Assignment Instructions

What do I need to do to pass? (Threshold Expectations from UIF) In order to pass this assessment you will need to:

· Identify appropriate resources and assess their reliability

· Paraphrase the key messages from sources

· Use appropriate language and style

· Demonstrate the ability to identify more than one side of an argument

· Summarize main points of information

How do I produce high quality work that merits a good grade?

Semester 1 assessments are not marked according to the University of Bedfordshire 0-100% scale. Therefore, you will need to achieve the threshold expectations in the previous section in order to pass this assessment.

How does this assignment relate to what we are doing in scheduled sessions?

This assignment requires you to put the following academic skills which have been introduced and developed in class and practiced by you both inside and outside of class time, into operation: Reading for gist and in order to identify key arguments and information Summarizing

Planning and preparing an essay

Writing a coherent and cohesive essay in an academic style

How will my assignment be marked?

Your assignment will be marked according to the threshold expectations and the criteria on the following page. You can use them to evaluate your own work and consider your grade before you submit.

PREPARATION FOR THE ASSESSMENT

This assessment is based on the seven lectures and seminars that are timetabled for this Semester.  Full details are on Blackboard.  

You are required to use the remainder of the 100 hours self-directed study time to read relevant text books and journal articles as per the reading list in the MIP and using Library resources.

The sessions will give students a conceptual grounding in research methodologies as well as practical guidance for the design of a viable research project. Emphasis will be placed on the systematic nature of the research process so that students can see the links between philosophy, methodology, methods and data analysis.

The research proposal is designed to assess the students’ ability to both conduct a search and review of existing literature and design an appropriate research strategy.  This research proposal informs the subsequent dissertation module which can be taken in year 2 of the course.

RELEASE DATES AND HAND IN DEADLINE

Assessment Release date:   Sept 2020                    

Assessment Deadline Date and time: Jan 6th, 5pm                                        

Please note that this is the latest time you can submit.

Section 1: The Source Text

Your feedback and mark for this assessment will be provided on blackboard, three weeks after the deadline date.

The University requires students to adhere to submission deadlines for any form of assessment in accordance with the precepts contained in The Student Charter.

Your report should:

·Demonstrate your understanding of the research process and design.

·Present your research aim (/research question) and objectives.

·Explain how your research is derived from and interrelated to the existing literature.

·Make clear philosophical and methodological underpinnings of the research.

·Provide an outline of research design and data collection methods used.

·Demonstrate independent research that is applied effectively and appropriately using the Harvard Referencing System.

To pass you must achieve a grade of 50% or more.

SUBMISSION DETAILS

You should submit your report online in the form of an MSWord document, using Mozilla Firefox browser, before the above deadline.

The report should be approximately 2000 words. Reports between 1800 and 2200 words are acceptable, excess words will not be marked.

Format should be: standard margins; size 12 Ariel font in black; double line spaced; no decorative formatting should be used; page number should be included.

Copy the Cover Page Template (see Blackboard) onto the first page of your report.

Create a Contents List for the report on the second page.

Include all necessary in-text citations and a list of References at the end of the report, using Harvard.

Write an academic report which addresses the following:

1.Title of the research proposal

2.An introduction to the report

The Introduction should tell the reader what the report is about. It sets the project in its wider context, outlines the structure and signposts the reader to the key points.

3.Research justification/context

a.Background to the research (context of the research). This is the section, in which you should justify why the topic you have chosen is of relevance and importance. You might provide some theoretical context or/and offer some relevant facts and figures regarding a particular industry – if possible, these should highlight any gaps in the existing body of knowledge. There should not be a significant overlap with the literature review, but appropriate references should be made. This part of your report should contextualise the research and lead the reader logically to the research aim and objectives.

b.Research aim and objectives:

Begin this section by clearly stating the aim of your proposed research in one or two sentences (verbs often used are: to investigate; to explore; to compare). Then provide a breakdown of the specific objectives you will undertake in your research in order to meet the aim (there should not be more than four objectives). Be as precise as possible. The objectives should link directly to the research aim and be numbered (i.e. from 1 to 4).

Submission Deadlines

Please note that if it is more appropriate to use an overarching research question, followed by a subset of research questions (no more than four), you can do so. It is your personal choice.  

4.Literature Review

You must identify the main theoretical underpinnings of your work and the key authors in your field of research. You should make references to the key authors and themes from the body of academic literature that is relevant to your researched topic area. It is important to utilise a range of academic sources (such as, journal articles, academic textbooks) and should be appropriately referenced.

5.Methodology: a justification of the research approach and methods for data collection, including (700)

a.Your philosophical position and methodological approach to the study

b.Research methods (how are you going to collect your data? Why is this the most appropriate form of data collection for your research?)

c.Research design, sample and sampling (i.e. timeline, where and with whom?)

d.How do you propose to analyse your data

e.Limitations of the study – any problems you might anticipate and how you could overcome them.

f.Ethical considerations relating to this study.

6.Research timeline

Either a short paragraph or a table indicating your planned research activity and research milestones. It should demonstrate the viability of your research.

7.Summary/conclusions

You may wish to remind the reader of the most important points that have been made in the report. However, no new material should be introduced in the final section.

You need to include a reference list at the end of your report and adhere to the Harvard Referencing Style (for in-text referencing and the reference list).

·For support with this assessment please contact your module seminar group tutor during a class or via email or Teams.

·For support with using library resources, please contact Fran Robinson at [email protected]  or [email protected]. You will find links to lots of useful resources in the My Library tab on Blackboard.

·If you have not yet made the university aware of any disability, specific learning difficulty, long-term health or mental health condition, please complete a Disclosure Form.  The Inclusive Support team will then contact to discuss reasonable adjustments and support relating to any disability.  For more information, visit the Inclusive Support site.

·To access mental health and wellbeing support, please complete our online referral form. Alternatively, you can email [email protected], call 01772 893020 or visit our UCLan Wellbeing Service pages for more information.

·If you have any other query or require further support you can contact The <i>, The Student Information and Support Centre.  Speak with us for advice on accessing all the University services as well as the Library services. Whatever your query, our expert staff will be able to help and support you. For more information , how to contact us and our opening hours visit Student Information and Support Centre.

·If you have any valid mitigating circumstances that mean you cannot meet an assessment submission deadline and you wish to request an extension, you will need to apply online prior to the deadline.