Essay Question

The 5000 word assignment (+10%) should contain the following parts:

Part one (Suggested word length: 2500 words): You will be required to identify an area of your professional practice for enquiry with evidence from placement to date. This should include reflections on your choice of intervention, arising from placement experiences and reading of policy and literature. There should be a critical review of literature relevant to the chosen intervention (both policy and research).

Part two (Suggested word length: 2500 words): In this part you will reflect on your intervention in relation to classroom experiences, relevant literature and your own developing practice. In the final part, you will also identify the next steps for your professional development.

1. Critically review literature (theory, research, and policy) focused on a specific area of your professional practice, and identify an appropriate classroom intervention for your professional development.

2. Critically reflect upon your classroom intervention in relation to the pupils' responses, literature, and your professional development, highlighting potential implications for your future practice.

Assignment Presentation

The layout and format of your assignment will assist the reader with navigation, and will provide clear starting and ending points to the topics that you discuss. The following requirements and recommendations are made regarding the presentation of your work:

1. A separate Contents Page should be included for each level (as appropriate).

2. The assignment text should use a font type, such as Times New Roman, Verdana, or Arial; point size 12; with 1.5 line spacing.

3. Each page should have a page number.

4. Make use of headings and subheadings, where appropriate.

5. Where appendices are used, make sure that you have adequately referred to these within the main body of your paper.

6. Include a correctly formatted List of References (which cites only works to which you have referred) and appendices, as appropriate.

a. For this assignment you should only list the works to which you have referred in your text. Do not include everything you have read.

7. Include a word count.

a. Your appendices and reference list do not contribute to the word count.

School of Education

1. Clarify the Task:

Write down in your own words what you think the assignment is asking you to do. What is the main focus? Make a note of any key words and instructions.

· Consider what you need to demonstrate in order to complete the assignment successfully, by consulting the general and specific assessment criteria.

2. Identify the Key Themes/Issues:

· Note in brief outline the initial ideas relating to what you know and think about the topic.

· Refer to lecture inputs on the subject. What were the key issues explored? These should be relevant to the main focus of the assignment; reject anything that is not directly related to the essay. Identify the leading experts in this field. Consider the reading with which you have engaged. Write down everything that you think may be relevant at this stage.

3. Prioritise your Key Themes/Issues:

· Consider the best way of presenting your argument and the evidence. All your key points need to be supported with evidence (drawing from a range of sources). Ensure evidence is relevant, and from a range of sources, to substantiate your argument. Ask yourself, “Is this evidence directly related to the question I have been asked?”

· At this stage, you should be formulating your initial response to the question, and your line of reasoning by clustering similar ideas together. Arrange your points so that they form a persuasive and coherent argument. Double-check that your line of reasoning meets the task requirements.

· Consider how you are going to demonstrate your reading and thinking.

4. Review steps 1-3:

· New ideas may have been generated during this process. Be prepared to re-draft your plan so that any new ideas/evidence can be incorporated.

· It may be necessary to try out different arrangements of your key themes to ensure they form the most convincing and logical sequence.

5. Write up your essay:

· It is necessary to structure your work properly. Most essay plans can be summarised as beginning/middle/end. The traditional academic essay comprises three sections:

· An introduction which sets the scene and establishes the context, as briefly as possible.

· A main body in which you present the evidence for your case. The arguments are outlined, developed and substantiated. Your key themes/issues should appear here.

· A conclusion which draws everything together and sums up the argument.

6. Paragraphs

Whatever structure you adopt, make sure it helps the reader to understand your argument or account:

· Use a new paragraph when you introduce a new idea or thought.

· Each of your main points should be expanded to a paragraph of around 100-200 words minimum. Paragraphs serve to break your writing up into several manageable sections; a block of text that remains unbroken for 1500-2000 words makes it hard for a reader to follow your argument or any particular aspect of it.

· Start each paragraph with a linking sentence that introduces the topic of that paragraph while linking to what has gone before. The topic may be a new idea or a change of direction, and may be introduced using an expression such as alternatively, in addition, second, etc. The topic sentence should summarise the main points in that paragraph.

· Cluster similar ideas together and indicate how each contributes to the main argument or conclusion.

7. Language & Style

When you are writing an academic assignment, there are certain conventions of language and style that you should follow:

· Aim for clarity and accuracy in the use of words by using short sentences and simple words. A long sentence is not necessarily more valuable academically than a short one; nor is a long word more impressive than a short one. Do not use words or phrases that you do not understand.

· Aim to be formal and clear. Avoid the use of slang, colloquial or dialect expressions. The abbreviated form don’t, can’t, haven’t, doesn’t, etc., should not be used.

· Do not be dogmatic unless you can provide supporting the evidence for your argument. Avoid the use of sweeping generalisations or claims. For example, “A Labour victory in the 1997 general election was always inevitable” is a statement that needs to be supported by facts.

8. Proof read your essay:

Make sure that you read carefully what you have written:

· Check spelling and punctuation.

· Check for clarity and logic in your argument. Have you answered the question?

· Read through each section or paragraph in turn, checking how the information contributes to your line of reasoning, leading to your conclusion. Check that each matches the task brief.

· Check to make sure the argument does not ‘hop’ from one point to another.

· Ensure referencing is accurate – Harvard referencing only.

Your assignment will require you to demonstrate that you have reflected upon your professional practice by identifying and justifying an area for professional enquiry (level 10), and by critically reflecting upon the role of professional enquiry and action research in professional learning and development. It will also require you to conduct a small-scale data collection exercise upon which you will highlight the potential implications for your chosen area of practice.

· In order to successfully overtake this assignment, all assessed criteria must be passed, and the submission must be +10% words (For example, for 5000 words: +10%=5500 words).

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