Key details:

Assessment title:

Spoken assessment (collaborative): Discussion

Module Name:

Contemporary Global Issues

Module Code:

FC305

Teacher’s Name:

Teaching Team

Assessment will be set on:

Week 15

Feedback opportunities:

Feedback on draft notes

Assessment is due on:

In class - Week Commencing 25/03/24

Assessment weighting:

45%

Assessment Instructions

What do you need to do for this assessment?

Task:

Important contemporary global issues are not only something for you to write essays about. They are also something you should be able to discuss with others. This is why, for your second summative assessment, you will have an assessed discussion lasting 10 minutes.

You will be paired with another student and have a discussion on one of the following topics:

· The methods of environmental activists are not effective in generating public support and they should therefore change their tactics.

· Nationality is the most important feature of individuals’ identity.

Before your discussion, you will prepare notes of your arguments and ideas/opinions/points of view that you might want to talk about. These must be submitted before the discussion, but you will be able to bring them to the assessment with you. You must include a list of sources any sources that you will cite.

The discussion will have some parts where you will talk by yourself, some where you will listen to your partner, and some parts where you and the other student will discuss the issue. This is not a presentation or speech assessment. Therefore, relying on pre-developed scripts will affect the overall outcome of your assessment. The structure below gives you more information.

You will be marked on your knowledge and how you are able to discuss with your partner.

**For spoken assessments**

In-College students:

The discussion will take place during class time and your teacher will let you know the exact date.

Guidance:

Your contributions will be assessed both on what you say and what is in your notes. Do not worry if you do not get to make a point that you have written in your notes. Your teacher will be able to see them.

In your notes, include possible arguments that the other student/someone who disagreed with you may make and then provide counterarguments. This shows that you have thought about all the possible issues.

Try not to write a script. in your notes. This may make you feel less natural and cost you marks. This is very important in the discussion sections.

Please note:

This is a collaborative assessment, but it is marked and prepared individually, so you should not work with any other student. This includes your discussion partner.

Your tutor will also ask for a draft copy of your notes and provide written feedback.

Structure:

Your discussion should follow this structure:

Part 1: Your initial response or thoughts on the prompt (2 minutes each; 4 minutes total)

· You and your partner will both speak for two minutes uninterrupted, giving your thoughts on the prompt.

· When you are giving your own ideas, you may want to:

o Talk about your initial reaction when you learned about a contemporary issue,

o Talk about how your thoughts changed after you researched the issue,

o Talk about something that the issue reminded you of, e.g., a film or news story,

o Talk about the theories that you use to understand the issue.

Part 2: Your reply to your partner (1 minute each; 2 minutes total)

· You and your partner will both respond, one-by-one, to each other’s Part 1 speech, respectfully commenting on their ideas or any responses you might have.

· When you are responding to the other student’s ideas, you may want to:

o Talk about things that they said which you found interesting,

o Talk about things that they said that you agreed with,

o Talk about things that they said that you disagreed with,

o Talk about things that they said which made you think about other sources.

Part 3: Open discussion between you and your partner (4 minutes)

· You and your partner will then have an open discussion about the issues covered in the first 6 minutes.

· You can ask each other questions and have further dialogue (two-way conversation), but it must remain on-topic.

· Your teacher can help you with language questions and may ask you both questions if you are struggling, but your marks may be affected if you need teacher help to keep talking.

· When you and the other student are discussing the issue, you may want to:

o Talk about areas that neither of you covered in your talks

o Talk about other arguments, especially if you agreed

o Change to a different sub-topic and talk about that

Note: you should speak within these timings and your teacher will let you know when time limits are coming up. If you are not finished with your point when the time runs out, you will be allowed to finish but not further develop your thought.

Theory and/or task resources required for the assessment:

The prompts/debate topics will relate to a topic covered on the Contemporary Global Issues module. You should use social science theories to talk about the topics in an analytical or social scientific way.

Referencing style.:

You should refer to a minimum of 5 relevant sources in your notes. These do not need to be academic sources but you must use all sources appropriately and critically. Contemporary global issues are part of life and so you can use a wide range of sources to discuss them. But this is an academic presentation, so you need to use them correctly for the context.

You should include in-text and oral citations to your sources. You must include a Harvard style. reference list at the end of your notes.

Expected word count:

You should write between 600 and 700 words for the discussion notes. This will not include your reference list.

Learning Outcomes Assessed:

· Utilise various sources (e.g. social media, journals, film/documentaries, newspapers, broadcast media, etc.) to identify key contemporary issues, key information and viewpoints about them

· Participate in a discussion or debate about a contemporary issue and present an informed, persuasive argument with reference to appropriate sources

Submission Requirements:

You must include the following paragraph on your title page:

I confirm that this assignment is my own work.

Where I have referred to academic sources, I have provided in-text citations and included the sources in the final reference list.

How to avoid academic misconduct

You should follow academic conventions and regulations when completing your assessed work. If there is evidence that you have done any of the following, whether intentionally or not, you risk getting a zero mark:

Plagiarism & poor scholarship

· stealing ideas or work from another person (experts or students)

· using quotations from sources without paraphrasing and using citations

Collusion

· working together with someone else on an individual assessment, e.g., your work is corrected, rephrased or added to by another (both parties would be guilty)

Buying or commissioning work

· submitting work as your own that someone else produced (whether you paid for it or not)

Cheating

· copying the work of another student

· using resources or aids that are not permitted for the assessment

Fabrication

· submitting work, e.g., laboratory work, which is partly or completely made up. This includes claiming that work was done by yourself alone when it was actually done by a group

Personation

· claiming to be another student and taking an assessment instead of them (both parties guilty)

Specific formatting instructions:

You must type your notes in Arial or Calibri font 11 or 12, with single spacing.

You must submit the notes electronically via the VLE module page.  Please ensure you submit it via Turnitin.

Assessments submitted after the submission deadline may incur penalties or may not be accepted.

How will this assessment be marked?

The assessment will be marked using the following areas and weightings:

- Knowledge & Argumentation (35%) – Marked looking at both your performance and your notes

· The knowledge you demonstrate on the topic

· The quality of your arguments

- Support (25%) – Marked looking at both your performance and your notes

· Your use of sources to provide evidence for your arguments

· Your appropriate use of non-academic sources to illustrate your discussion

- Discussion (25%) – Marked looking only at your performance

· How well you respond to your discussion partner rather than making a speech

· Your respectful discussion skills

- Academic Integrity (15%) – Marked looking at both your performance and your notes

· Your use of paraphrasing rather than quotes

· Your use of oral and written citations

You will receive a % mark in each of these categories. The overall mark will be a percentage (0-100%).

How will you get feedback?

Your tutor will mark your assessment and provide you with written feedback. You can use this feedback to develop ideas for how to improve your studies in future.