Students will prepare a formal academic paper in an essay format of 2500 words which must address one of the seven (7) research topics provided by week 3 (on Blackboard under the Assessment tab). The requirements for this essay will also be discussed in the class in details. The major assignment has to include both a descriptive and an analytical component. In other words, you need to be able to present credible information on the topic that you select in an organised and structured way as well as provide a critical analysis (not just a summary of the relevant literature). ‘Credible information’ means that your information derives from scholarly i.e., peer-reviewed, references. ‘Critical analysis’ in this instance means identifying, defining and discussing discipline related concepts and problems raised in your lectures and readings and applying them critically to the credible information you have collected. Your major assignment needs to be fully referenced and written to academic standards. The assessment criteria (rubric) for the major assignment can be viewed through My Grades. Your essay needs to demonstrate the evidence of having read and absorbed AT LEAST FIVE (5) scholarly academic journal articles (you can include other authenticated reference
sources e.g., Books, Australian Bureau of Statistics, as needed, but these do not count towards the minimum required number of scholarly articles). Nor will online reports by academics (Working papers, Discussion papers, commissioned reports of all kinds) or by organisations or institutions, including NGOs and Government departments, be counted as scholarly. You also need to AVOID web-based materials taken from sites such as Wikipedia, Tutor.net, blogs, etc.

Penalties
Students submitting their essay with fewer than five (5) academic journal articles could be penalised at the rate of 2.5% deduction of 40 marks per missing source. For instance, if your essay has ‘0’ scholarly references, then a maximum of upto 5 marks could be deducted. Assignments which do not meet the word count i.e. 2500 words ±10% could be penalised at the rate of 10% deduction of 40 marks per 250 words above or below the limit. For example, if the length of your essay is either 2000 or 3000 words, then a maximum of upto 4 marks could be deducted