1. Structured class participation (10%)

Students will take part in a variety of structured activities in class, and will be assessed on their level of participation and engagement with the relevant materials. These activities will be oral, and assessed on an individual basis. Students will not be required to prepare the activities in advance, but to engage and participate in the assigned activities as required in class. Students will participate in particular assigned sessions, with the list of assigned sessions made available on Canvas in the week before classes commence. In completing this assessment item, students will demonstrate their oral communication skills, their understanding of the topics addressed in the unit, and their ability to apply knowledge of the unit materials to a variety of contexts. 

2. Presentation (20%)

Students will give a presentation on a recent news item related to the unit materials, with the topic to be approved in advance by the lecturer. Students will have the option to either give the presentation to the class on the afternoon of Friday 3 May 2024 Sydney, Australia time or to submit their presentation via video format by 9am on Friday 3 May 2024 Sydney, Australia time. Presentations will be between 10-15 minutes long. More detailed instructions will be released in class on 11 April 2024 Sydney, Australia time when students will elect to present to the class or submit via video. In completing this assessment item, students will demonstrate their understanding of the unit materials, and to apply that knowledge to a practical example. Students will also demonstrate critical thinking, analytical and oral communication skills.

3. Research Essay Proposal (10%)

Students will submit a research proposal of up to 1,000 words (excluding footnotes) by 11.59pm on Friday 17 May 2024 Sydney, Australia time which outlines the proposed topic for the essay. More detailed instructions will be released in class on Thursday 11 April 2024 Sydney, Australia time

4. Research Essay (60%)

After submission and approval of the research essay proposal (see above), students will submit a final essay of up to 5,000 words (excluding footnotes and bibliography) by 11.59pm on Friday 14 June 2024 Sydney, Australia time. More detailed instructions will be released in class on Thursday 11 April 2024 Sydney, Australia time. In completing this assessment item, students will demonstrate their understanding of the unit materials, their research and critical thinking skills, and their written communication skills.   

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

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 exclude all footnotes and any bibliography (if required).  

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.  

Assessment requirements to pass a unit of study: A student must make a genuine attempt at all 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.