Assignment 1: Methods Case Study

Due Date: 20th February, 5pm.

3,000 words (excluding bibliography)
Choose two research methods you have encountered in your reading.
Evaluate their relative strengths and limitations as tools for research within the
discipline of cultural geography. Use examples to illustrate your arguments.

Aims:

To demonstrate knowledge of different research methods in cultural

geography;
To develop the ability to evaluate the strengths and limitations of
research methods;
To develop the ability to critique and synthesise relevant sources;
To develop academic writing skills, including delivering a coherent
argument and correct referencing.

Marking Criteria
In addition to aims noted above and the generic marking criteria for
coursework in the Module Handbook, please note the following expectations:

Relevance and breadth of sources;

Quality of the synthesis and evaluation of literature;
A coherent, sustained argument;
The essay will include a total word count excluding the bibliography;
The essay will include references to academic journal articles in
addition to books and book chapters;
The essay will use the Harvard system of referencing and NOT use
footnotes;
If the essay includes tables, figure or maps (to present data in support
of your arguments), the sources of this data are acknowledged;
All tables/figures/maps are numbered sequentially;
If website material is used, this must be properly referenced.
Assignment 2: Extended Essay
Due Date: 3rd April, 5pm.
5,000 words (excluding bibliography)

Choose a contemporary example of social conflict (e.g. Brexit, the rise of a

nationalist movement, Islamophobia, refugee crisis).
Analyse the implications of cultural change in this conflict.

Check with Melissa first. It must NOT be a topic that you have written
about in other modules.

Aims:

To develop the capacity for independent research;

To develop the ability to apply theory and conceptual thinking to a case
study;
To develop the ability to critique and synthesise relevant sources;
To develop academic writing skills, including delivering a coherent
argument and correct referencing.

Marking Criteria
In addition to aims noted above and the generic marking criteria for
coursework in the Module Handbook, please note the following expectations:

Depth of analysis of the role of cultural change in your chosen conflict;

Relevance and breadth of sources;
Quality of the synthesis and evaluation of literature;
A coherent, sustained argument;
The essay will include a total word count excluding the bibliography.
The essay will include references to academic journal articles in
addition to books and book chapters.
The essay will use the Harvard system of referencing and NOT use
footnotes.
If the essay includes tables, figure or maps (to present data in support
of your arguments), the sources of this data are acknowledged.
All tables/figures/maps are numbered sequentially.
If website material is used, this must be properly referenced.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
The submission for this coursework is structured so that all submitted work
will be marked anonymously. Therefore put your STUDENT NUMBER on the
essay, NOT your NAME.
At the top of your submission include the following sentence:
I have read and understood the section of the handbook that explains
plagiarism. I testify that, unless otherwise acknowledged, the work submitted
herein is entirely my own.
Each assignment must be submitted electronically via Turnitin. A Turnitin
submission icon will be set up on Moodle. This allows either Word or PDF file
formats to be uploaded. If a document contains figures or charts, it is best to
save the file for submission in PDF format.
The submission procedure follows the College guidelines contained within the
Common Awards Structure. This states that:-
i) No individual academic member of staff can allow extensions.
ii) Coursework submitted late is given two marks: a penalty mark of the Pass
mark, assuming it is of a pass standard, and the real mark that would have
been awarded if the work had not been late. Both marks are given to the
student on a cover sheet. If the coursework is not of a pass standard a single
mark is given.
iii) Students submitting coursework late have the opportunity to provide written
evidence, medical or otherwise, as to why their work was submitted late. This
should be submitted to the Course Administrator who will forward it to the
Mitigation Sub-Committee (see point v. below). If no such documentation is
received prior to the meeting of the Mitigation Sub-Committee the real mark
will not be considered and the penalty mark will stand.
iv) An absolute cut off deadline for late submission and accompanying
documentation shall be specified.
v) All requests are held over and considered by a sub-group of the relevant
Exam Board prior to a meeting of the full Exam Board. This sub-group should
be called the Mitigation Sub-Committee and should meet termly and/or prior
to the full Exam Board, as appropriate. All cases on file should be dealt with at
that meeting/those meetings, and the results presented to the full Exam
Board.
vi) Appropriate procedures should be put in place for students on
interdisciplinary programmes. This should normally involve submission of
evidence to the relevant module tutor, who should pass it on to the Mitigation
Sub-Committee of the School in which the programme is based.
LATE SUBMISSION DEADLINES
Essay 1: the absolute cut-off deadline for late submission and accompanying
documentation is 5.00 p.m. on Monday 20th March, 2017.
Essay 2: the absolute cut-off deadline for late submission and accompanying
documentation is 5.00 p.m. on Monday 1st May, 2017.
The late essay must be submitted Electronically via Turnitin on the relevant
date noted above.
Evidence related to late submission should be submitted to Shirley Collins, via
email to s.collins@bbk.ac.uk or by post at the Department of GEDS office.