Students are required to complete three assessment components.  The first two (Class Participation and Written Assignment 1) are compulsory; but the student can choose between two options for the third assessment (either another written assignment or a research essay).  Details below: 

Structured Class participation (10%): Students are required to participate in whole class and small group discussions, demonstrating through discussion that they have prepared for class (by reading the required readings and reflecting on the reading questions in the Learning Guide) and engaging in discussion in a constructive and respectful way. Students will be required to nominate 2-3 of the 16 class sessions in which they will be ‘on call’.  Students on-call will not be required to give any presentation.  They will be expected to help facilitate class and small group discussions by offering responses to the reading questions and sharing any reflections they have about the required readings.  

Short-released Written Assignment 1 – short answer questions 3500 words (including headings and references) (40%):  Five questions of various types covering topics 1-6, including 'mini' essay/comment and problem responses using short fact scenarios.  The questions will be released on Canvas on 5 April 2025 at 5:00pm (Sydney, Australia time) and will be due on 16 April 2025 at 11:59pm (Sydney, Australia time). The outcome of a successful Special Consideration application prior to the closing date is an extension.  

Options:

Research Essay 4500 words (including headings, footnotes, and a bibliography) (50%): Students can choose from a number of essay questions that will be released on Canvas on 3 April  2025 at 5:00pm (Sydney, Australia time), or develop their own essay question but this needs to relate to the course content and must be approved by the teacher through email correspondence by 14 April 2025 (Sydney, Australia time).  The essay is due on 15 May 2025 at 11:59pm (Sydney, Australia time). The outcome of a successful special consideration application prior to the closing date is an extension. Further details, the marking criteria and referencing requirements will be discussed more in class and posted on Canvas.

Short-released Written Assignment 2  – case note and short answer questions 3000 words (including headings and references) (50%):  This assignment requires the student to write a casenote (of an assigned case) and answer 2 associated questions and 2 other questions.  The questions will be released on Canvas on 3 May 2025 at 5:00pm (Sydney, Australia time) and will be due on 15 May 2025 at 11:59pm (Sydney, Australia time). The outcome of a successful Special Consideration application prior to the closing date is an extension.  

Word limit penalty: A piece of assessment which exceeds the prescribed word limit will attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for the piece of assessment for every 100 words, or part thereof. The total word count for essay and other written assessments will include all footnotes and any bibliography (if required), and exclude acknowledgements of assistance from editors, automated writing tools or generative AI (where use is permitted). 

Use of editors or proof-readers: In completing unsupervised assessments, students may use editors, proof-readers, and automated writing tools (including translation software, grammar checkers, reference generators and artificial intelligence), provided that all use is acknowledged and consistent with University policies and procedures including Academic Integrity Policy. Acknowledgment must be made in writing on the front of the work submitted for assessment, or in an appropriate footnote or other reference, and state the name of the person or software. The way in which the artificial intelligence is used needs to be described in some detail as set out in the assignment, as well as efforts taken to check the sources and correctness of material produced.

Special consideration: Successful grants of Special Consideration may involve alternative tasks, as appropriate.  

Assessment requirements to pass a unit of study: A student must make a genuine attempt at three assessment tasks set out in this Unit of Study in order to obtain a Pass mark and grade (or above); otherwise an Absent Fail grade will be recorded as the student’s result for this Unit of Study.