Dmu academic calendar 2019 20

Faculty of Technology – Course work Specification 2018/19

Module name: Sustainable Development

Module code: ENGT5115

Title of the Assignment: Assignment A

This coursework item is: (delete as appropriate) Summative Formative

This summative coursework will be marked anonymously Yes No

The learning outcomes that are assessed by this coursework are: 1. Understanding and critical awareness of the concepts 2. Ability to use relevant information to explain and defend arguments 3. Deliver appropriate and balanced conclusions 4. Ability to structure argument in a clear, concise and appropriate style 5. Demonstrate appropriate referencing skills.

This coursework is: (delete as appropriate) Individual Group

If other or a mixed ... explain here:

This coursework constitutes 30 % to the overall module mark.

Date Set: 16.09.2019

Date & Time Due: 14.11.2019, 23.59 UK time

Your marked coursework and feedback will be available to you on: If for any reason this is not forthcoming by the due date your module leader will let you know why and when it can be expected. The Head of

Studies (headofstudies-tec@dmu.ac.uk ) should be informed of any issues relating to the return of marked coursework and feedback. Note that you should normally receive feedback on your coursework by no later than 20 University working days after the formal hand-in date, provided that you have met the submission deadline.

12.12.2019

When completed you are required to submit your coursework to:

1. Turnitin via Blackboard in electronic form.

Late submission of coursework policy: Late submissions will be processed in accordance with current University regulations which state: “the time period during which a student may submit a piece of work late without authorisation and have the work capped at 40% [50% at PG level] if passed is 14 calendar days. Work submitted unauthorised more than 14 calendar days after the original submission date will receive a mark of 0%. These regulations apply to a student’s first attempt at coursework. Work submitted late without authorisation which constitutes reassessment of a previously failed piece of coursework will always receive a mark of 0%.” Academic Offences and Bad Academic Practices: These include plagiarism, cheating, collusion, copying work and reuse of your own work, poor referencing or the passing off of somebody else's ideas as your own. If you are in any doubt about what constitutes an academic offence or bad academic practice you must check with your tutor. Further information and details of how DSU can support you, if needed, is available at: http://www.dmu.ac.uk/dmu-students/the-student-gateway/academic-support-office/academic- offences.aspx and http://www.dmu.ac.uk/dmu-students/the-student-gateway/academic-support-office/bad-academic- practice.aspx

Tasks to be undertaken: See details below

mailto:headofstudies-tec@dmu.ac.uk
http://www.dmu.ac.uk/dmu-students/the-student-gateway/academic-support-office/academic-offences.aspx
http://www.dmu.ac.uk/dmu-students/the-student-gateway/academic-support-office/academic-offences.aspx
http://www.dmu.ac.uk/dmu-students/the-student-gateway/academic-support-office/bad-academic-practice.aspx
http://www.dmu.ac.uk/dmu-students/the-student-gateway/academic-support-office/bad-academic-practice.aspx
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Deliverables to be submitted for assessment: An essay of 1000 words (maximum).

How the work will be marked: See marking criteria below.

Module leader/tutor name: Prof. Subhes Bhattacharyya

Contact details: Q1.15e, Queens Building Tel: 44 116 257 7975 Email: subhesb@dmu.ac.uk

mailto:subhesb@dmu.ac.uk
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Sustainable Development (ENGT 5115)

Coursework: Assignment A: Energy in Sustainable Development Goals

Background information

Assessment of this Sustainable Development module consists of two items of individual

student work:

 Assignment A: Energy in Sustainable Development Goals This document provides details for this assignment.

 Assignment B: Towards a Sustainable Future. Details of assignment B are available in a separate document.

Together these comprise 100% of the assessment for this module, with a weighting of 30%

(assignment A) and 70% (assignment B). Both assignments are compulsory and must be

submitted.

Each assignment has a separate submission deadline, such that assignment A is completed

during the timetabled module learning period and assignment B is completed at the end of

the timetabled learning period. Assignment A is due on or before 23.59 hours UK time of

14th November, 2019.

All students are asked to take careful note of the following1:

The significant use by a student of other people's work and the submission of it as if it were his or her own is regarded as plagiarism.

Work which is not undertaken in an examination room… but which is nevertheless required work forming part of the degree... must be the candidate's own and must not contain any plagiarised material.

The University takes a very serious view of students who are found to have committed an academic offence in an examination or assessment. It is essential that, from the outset of their studies, all students clearly understand that the deliberate commission of an academic offence renders them liable to expulsion from the University.

The above means that all coursework that you submit must be your own original work, in

your own words. For further guidance see

http://www.dmu.ac.uk/aboutdmu/services/registry/aro_badacademicpractice.jsp. If you are

in any doubt about what this means, or about how to avoid plagiarism or bad academic

practice, please consult the module leader Subhes Bhattacharyya (subhesb@dmu.ac.uk).

1 This text is based upon, but does not replace, the General Regulations and Procedures Affecting Students.

(http://www.dmu.ac.uk/aboutdmu/policy/regulations/general-regs/index.jsp) It is provided as a reminder of

general principles only; students are advised to consult the current version.

http://www.dmu.ac.uk/aboutdmu/services/registry/aro_badacademicpractice.jsp
mailto:subhesb@dmu.ac.uk
http://www.dmu.ac.uk/aboutdmu/policy/regulations/general-regs/index.jsp
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Assignment A: Energy in Sustainable Development Goals

In this module you will find that the world economy is on an unsustainable path and

fundamental changes will be required to create sustainable pathways. In September 2015,

the United Nations General Assembly has adopted the Sustainable Development Goals

(SDG) and associated targets. These goals build on the Millennium Development Goals and

are presented as a ‘plan of action for people, planet and prosperity’. The goals if fully

realised will transform our world for the better by 2030. Energy has risen to prominence in

recent times within global debates and one of the SDGs now focuses on energy. In addition,

energy has an implied role in some other SDGs as well. It is therefore important to

understand the role for energy contemplated within SDGs and recognize the challenges in

achieving them by 2030.

The core requirement of the assignment is for you to demonstrate that you have gained a

critical understanding of sustainable development as it is discussed in academic and policy

literature, and, from the evidence provided, as it is practiced particularly in the area of

energy.

This assignment assesses your progress in developing the skills of material selection,

structuring an essay and referencing. It also assesses your understanding of the subject and

your ability to present your ideas in a coherent manner.

This assignment encourages you to 1) think about the role of energy in SDGs, 2) identify

the main issues that may arise in achieving SDGs relevant to energy (i.e. SDG7 and other

SDGs where energy plays a role) and 3) suggest any possible ways of overcoming these

challenges.

Your task:

1. Select at least two academic, peer-reviewed journal articles of your choice, published after 2015/16, dealing with the role of energy in the SDGs.

2. Write a short paper, not exceeding 1000 words (excluding bibliography and abstract), to critically analyse the articles selected in step 1 to discuss the role of energy in the

Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting the main issues that may arise in

achieving the SDGs that are relevant to energy (i.e. SDG 7 and other SDGs where

energy is relevant) and suggesting any possible solutions to the issues. Your paper

should demonstrate that you meet the learning outcomes listed below and that the work

is in accordance with all of the notes and guidance that follow. You can use, with

appropriate citation and referencing, the materials available on the Blackboard and your

own further reading to write the paper.

Please read the notes and guidance below carefully

Learning outcomes

Successful completion of this coursework will demonstrate:

 Understanding and critical awareness of the concepts of sustainable development and/or sustainability as encountered in current research and policy debates;

 Ability to use relevant information to explain and defend arguments

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 Deliver appropriate and balanced conclusions

 Ability to structure argument in a clear, concise and appropriate style for a postgraduate academic essay

 Demonstrate appropriate referencing skills.

Notes and guidance

1. At the top of the first page, please state your name, the module and assignment title, and the number of words used (not including the list of references and the

abstract). This is not a design exercise, and there are no extra marks for elaborate

layout.

2. Your paper should not exceed 1000 words (excluding references, abstract and footnotes).

3. Although the assignment allows you to be imaginative, please bear in mind that this is an academic work. Accordingly, it requires critical thinking and critical appraisal of a

complex issue. You need to consider how others have approached this problem by

conducting a literature search and identifying at least two peer-reviewed journal

articles. A critical review of this literature has to be demonstrated in your work. You

could agree/ disagree with their analysis, arguments and interpretation and develop your

own arguments. You might consider explicit/ implicit definitions of the terms and

actions or examples that are used to demonstrate the issues, challenges or solutions.

You could limit the scope of your paper by considering a specific country or region of

your choice but you need to justify your choice.

4. It is important that you justify any assertions you make carefully, and provide a balanced view (‘for’ and ‘against’). Unsubstantiated statement of personal opinion has no place

in academic work and will be penalised.

5. You should write concisely and your paper should have a suitable structure. The review and analysis of the selected literature should have a prominent part in your paper.

6. Your assignment should be consistent with the academic standards of referencing and citation. You are free to use any referencing style as long as you use it consistently in

your paper. This module follows the Harvard style

(http://www.library.dmu.ac.uk/Images/Selfstudy/Harvard.pdf). You must provide

complete references to work discussed in your assignments in such a way that a reader

could quickly and easily access the cited work if they too wished to refer to it.

7. Referencing also serves two further functions. It acknowledges the intellectual contributions to your work of others where you have drawn from his or her published

work or ideas; good referencing resolves most concerns about plagiarism. The final

function is to support specific facts or claims that you make in your text. As such you

need to demonstrate judgement about which works to cite. General websites with no

identified author give no reassurance that the work has authority. On the other hand

work published in academic journals is generally encouraged as a source to cite as it has

been subject to peer-review and is more accepted as authoritative. Reports

commissioned, or produced by a Government department, for instance, could also be

useful for offering evidence of Government policy or regulation. Authored reports by

business and NGO, and books are also good sources for this area.

8. Marks will be deducted for unauthorized late submission of assessed work and/or failing to fully engage with the assignment brief. If you feel that you will be unable to meet

the requirements of the assignment, please alert the module leader as soon as problems

arise.

http://www.library.dmu.ac.uk/Images/Selfstudy/Harvard.pdf
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Marking criteria

Assessment will be based on the extent to which the learning outcomes listed above have

been met, and the extent to which the above instructions, notes and guidance are complied

with.

To achieve a ‘marginal pass’ of 50% to 54%: you should select appropriate documents and

use these to address the assignment; demonstrate a grasp of the material sufficient to enable

a basic response to the task; demonstrate some ability to engage in critical appraisal;

demonstrate some appreciation of appropriate presentation, citation and logical structure.

To achieve a ‘pass’ of 55% to 59%: you should produce a coherent response to the task

undertaken demonstrating a sound critical understanding of the sustainable development

debate; demonstrate clear evidence of skills of critical appraisal; demonstrate good

appreciation of appropriate presentation, citation and logical structure, and adhere to the

notes and guidance provided with this assignment.

To achieve a ‘good pass’ of 60% to 69%: you might select interesting documents or an

interesting mix of documents to demonstrate an ability to synthesise material and reveal

good skills of critical analysis and insight; also a very good level of presentation, citation

and logical structure, also careful and thoughtful adherence to the notes and guidance

provided with this assignment.

To achieve an ‘excellent pass’ of 70% or greater you must demonstrate an authoritative

insight, critical analysis or synthesis of ideas in your critical appraisal, demonstrating a very

good level of presentation, citation and logical structure, and carefully and thoughtfully

meet the assignment requirements as described in this document.

Work failing to meet the above criteria will be awarded a fail and further work would be

required to reach the pass level.

The table below provides an indication of weights of marks for different elements of the

report.

Report elements/

components

Weight

(%))

Comments

Structure 10 Logical organisation of the essay

Critical review of

selected literature

20 Evidence of use of appropriate methodologies

Analysis and discussion 50 Evidence of understanding of the issue, logical

analysis, critical thinking, and meaningful learning

Information quality 10 Evidence of use of relevant information to support

arguments

Referencing 5 Appropriate use of references

Writing style and

presentation

5 Visual appeal and use of language

Total 100

Submitting your completed assignment

You are required to submit the assignment electronically using Turnitin Assignment

submission facility in Blackboard. Work submitted by other means will not normally be

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accepted. Occasionally technical problems can occur with Blackboard and in the unlikely

event you are unable to submit, the work may be emailed to the module leader before the

deadline (as evidence that it was complete), with re-submission via Blackboard once the

technical problem is fixed.

References

Useful texts and guides can be found on Blackboard under the Learning Materials folder.

One particularly useful guide which explains the difference between critical appraisal and

descriptive writing is available as an E-book via the library website is:

Biggam, J. (2008) Succeeding With Your Master's Dissertation: A Practical Step-

By-Step Handbook. Open University Press

And finally…

If you are in any way unsure about any of the above, please contact module leader, Subhes

Bhattacharyya at subhesb@dmu.ac.uk

mailto:subhesb@dmu.ac.uk