Module: Making Sense of Society
Seminar 7 – Voter Participation & The Report Guidance Assessment
Assessment 2 (1500 words)
Worth 60% of final mark
The Report Guidance Assessment
1st major expectation: Referencing
Set aside time to complete your essay – don’t leave it until the last minute!
Check your referencing before submitting your essay
You need to include in-text referencing to show where you got your source from.
If the referencing is done poorly or incorrectly, it can lead to academic
misconduct.
Academic misconduct is when you intentionally or unintentionally claim
someone’s ideas or words as your own. This is more serious than failing a resit. It
will go on your academic record.
Academic misconduct is when you deliberately plagiarise work from the internet.
You must pay attention to your referencing.
Make it a habit to do the referencing straight away.
Try not to use a dictionary as it can be limited in definition. Use a sociology text
instead as it gives a more nuance definition of a keyword.
2nd major expectation: Structure
Although having a good structure does not guarantee a good essay, it’s a sign
that it looks promising.
There are distinct paragraphs in the essay.
Some of your introductions are too generalised – this is bad because it sets the
tone that this whole essay is going to be a generalisation of the topic.
Avoid having a weak conclusion.
Giving yourself time is crucial.
3rd major expectation: Writing Style
Think about your sentence structure.
Does your sentence make grammatical sense?
Give yourself a chance to reread your essay.
Use a formal writing style. Don’t use a conversational style.
Assessment 2
, There is an element of choice to cover what you want to discuss in the report.
Choose one of those areas to write your critical report.
A report is different from a formal essay. A report contains an analysis of current
events rather than something that is purely academic.
Use 4 – 5 sources. 1 or 2 should be a very recent up-to-date news report/news
source on the issue. It needs to be from a reputable source like BBC, Guardian,
Washington Post, New York Times etc. Use current facts and statistics to build up an
argument. The rest should be academic sources.
The aim of this assessment is for you to make sense of society.
Suggested structure for this report
Introduction should be specific rather than general.
Using sources – think where are you getting this information from?
Start doing some reading on the topic now.
Start by having a look at the reading list.
Suggested topics
Religious/religious organisations
Critiquing the government’s handling of the pandemic.
The role of religion in people’s lives.
Identity politics
Women’s experience during lockdown – it has been more intensive than
men’s.
How the pandemic has affected the role of people’s lives.
BLM & Covid
Voting and democracy
US mask wearing resistance
UK increased political awareness for young people due to the A Level
results fiasco this year; Dominic Cummings losing his job – why did he lose
his job now and not in April when there was massive pressure for him to go
then?
Environment community and activism
Seminar 7 – Voter Participation & The Report Guidance Assessment
Assessment 2 (1500 words)
Worth 60% of final mark
The Report Guidance Assessment
1st major expectation: Referencing
Set aside time to complete your essay – don’t leave it until the last minute!
Check your referencing before submitting your essay
You need to include in-text referencing to show where you got your source from.
If the referencing is done poorly or incorrectly, it can lead to academic
misconduct.
Academic misconduct is when you intentionally or unintentionally claim
someone’s ideas or words as your own. This is more serious than failing a resit. It
will go on your academic record.
Academic misconduct is when you deliberately plagiarise work from the internet.
You must pay attention to your referencing.
Make it a habit to do the referencing straight away.
Try not to use a dictionary as it can be limited in definition. Use a sociology text
instead as it gives a more nuance definition of a keyword.
2nd major expectation: Structure
Although having a good structure does not guarantee a good essay, it’s a sign
that it looks promising.
There are distinct paragraphs in the essay.
Some of your introductions are too generalised – this is bad because it sets the
tone that this whole essay is going to be a generalisation of the topic.
Avoid having a weak conclusion.
Giving yourself time is crucial.
3rd major expectation: Writing Style
Think about your sentence structure.
Does your sentence make grammatical sense?
Give yourself a chance to reread your essay.
Use a formal writing style. Don’t use a conversational style.
Assessment 2
, There is an element of choice to cover what you want to discuss in the report.
Choose one of those areas to write your critical report.
A report is different from a formal essay. A report contains an analysis of current
events rather than something that is purely academic.
Use 4 – 5 sources. 1 or 2 should be a very recent up-to-date news report/news
source on the issue. It needs to be from a reputable source like BBC, Guardian,
Washington Post, New York Times etc. Use current facts and statistics to build up an
argument. The rest should be academic sources.
The aim of this assessment is for you to make sense of society.
Suggested structure for this report
Introduction should be specific rather than general.
Using sources – think where are you getting this information from?
Start doing some reading on the topic now.
Start by having a look at the reading list.
Suggested topics
Religious/religious organisations
Critiquing the government’s handling of the pandemic.
The role of religion in people’s lives.
Identity politics
Women’s experience during lockdown – it has been more intensive than
men’s.
How the pandemic has affected the role of people’s lives.
BLM & Covid
Voting and democracy
US mask wearing resistance
UK increased political awareness for young people due to the A Level
results fiasco this year; Dominic Cummings losing his job – why did he lose
his job now and not in April when there was massive pressure for him to go
then?
Environment community and activism
