800 words project proposal (including title). The following aspects are essential:

-      specific research question

-      justification of the research question

-      Identification of approach chosen, possible problems you anticipate and how you might go about solving them in the timeframe given to finalise your research essay;

-      Presentation of at least four individual sources which appear key to your research. I do not mean “academic articles and books” here, rather “[insert author]’s approach/analysis in [insert title] is particularly significant because... [insert your reasons]

-      Correct expression and style.

Your chosen topic can be drawn from a unit you have studied before and may represent your continuing concern with issues that you feel you did not address to a satisfactory conclusion in that unit; but your essay must be new and original and cannot reproduce work done before. Significant penalties up to and including failure in the unit will result from the resubmission of previous work.

This assessment trains your oral communication skills. Firstly, and this is worth 10% of the final mark, you will do a five minute, timed presentation of your research proposal. It is strongly recommended to have a support (either a maximum of three power point slides or a one-page handout). The presentation should state your research question, present your approach, and either explain how one to two of the sources mentioned in the research proposal are important for your research, or focus on how you might tackle potential issues in the development of your project. Secondly, you will be asked to meaningfully comment on other students' presentations. This is worth 5% of the final mark.

External students are to upload their proposals on to the external student group in the ilearn site (only accessible to externals). You are then to comment on other students' proposals. Your mark (10%) will be based on the feedback you give to the other students.

A ten minute presentation of your work to this point (which should be close to completion), and a 1000 word written report. You should first give a brief synopsis of the topic. Then you should answer questions such as the following: how has your understanding of the topic developed? Has your view of the topic changed as you have read more of the literature or reviewed survey results? If so, has this forced you to change direction? Have you encountered problems during the course of the research and if so, how have you tackled them? What are some of the implications of your research?

Though you need to summarise the argument of your essay, the main purpose of the exercise is for you to reflect on your own learning through the unit. In other words if you simply summarise your essay you will not receive a very strong mark.

The mark will be based on both the written report (10%) and the oral presentation (10%).

External students will be marked on their written report only.

A 3,500 - 4,000 word essay. You are required to develop an original research question, and to work on your essay topic with your supervisor: two meetings with this supervisor, or two substantial email exchanges for external students, are recommended from start to submission.   

The essay must be typed, use 12 point font and double-spaced. One hard copy should be deposited in the allocated Politics Box in the reception area, level 1 (Ground floor), W6A. Students must submit one hard copy of the essay and one copy through turnitin. External students should submit one copy as an electronic attachment to an email sent to the Unit Convenor (who will acknowledge receipt) and one via turnitin.

You will be assessed on your ability to develop a logical, consistent and complex argument and a strong critical analysis demonstrating your sound knowledge of the chosen topic; to use relevant sources, and properly reference these sources; to ensure that the essay is well-structured; and to use correct English expression and style. See the detailed marking rubrics for this assignment on ilearn.