FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND LANGUAGES

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HPEF7063
ACADEMIC WRITING FOR POSTGRADUATES
SEPTEMBER SEMESTER 2015

ASSIGNMENT 1
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INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS

1. This assignment contains questions set in English.

2. Your assignment should be typed using 12 point Times New Roman font and 1.5 line spacing.

3. You must submit your hardcopy assignment to your Facilitator and ON-LINE via the MyVLE.
For the online student, you are to submit a softcopy of your assignment via MyVLE and another
softcopy to the facilitator via e-mail. Refer to the portal for instructions on the procedures to
submit your assignment on-line. You are advised to keep a copy of your submitted assignment
and proof of the submission for personal reference. Your assignment must be submitted on
23-25 October 2015 (3rd Seminar).

4. Your assignment should be prepared individually. You should not copy another persons
assignment. You should also not plagiarise another persons work as your own.

EVALUATION
This assignment accounts for 70% of the total marks for the course.
 HPEF7063: Assignment 1/Sept2015

OBJECTIVE:
This assignment requires you to embark on a process of critical reading and writing so that
you are better prepared to reach your milestone goal of presenting your proposal for
defense. In academic inquiry you are expected to build up these skills which require you to
objectively evaluate what is read and be able to write in a manner that shows your ability to
support your claims convincingly.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Write a review paper that will show your criticalness on twelve (12) articles related to your
intended topic for research.

QUESTIONS:
In your writing you are to state two research objectives clearly. For each article, you are to
elaborate on the following:
1. Why did you select the article?
2. What are the most convincing points raised by the author?
3. What are some gaps that can be identified that you would like to seek answers on?
4. How does the article relate to my research objective(s)?

[70 marks]

Assignment Format:
a. Use 1.5 spacing and 12-point of Times New Roman font.
b. The assignment should contain about 3000 5000 words (15 20 pages)
c. Provide reference using the American Psychological Association (APA) format
d. References should be latest (year 2005 onwards)

Notes:
Assignments should be submitted according to the due date.
You are to submit a softcopy of your assignment online through MyVLE and a hardcopy
to your facilitator. For the online student, you are to submit a softcopy of your
assignment via MyVLE and another softcopy to the facilitator via e-mail.
Plagiarism is not acceptable. If you are not sure what is meant by plagiarism, refer to
the various websites which discuss this matter, e.g. owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts.

2
 HPEF7063: Assignment 1/Sept2015

MARKING SCHEME
ASSIGNMENT 1

SCORING CRITERIA SCORE

(70%)
1 Research objectives
- Clearly worded to show intentions 6
- Relevant variables are included
2 Reasons for selecting the article 15
- Making sound connections to the variables stated in the
objectives
- Reasons are solidly grounded on academic underpinnings
3 Points raised with reference to articles read 15
- Able to argue with evidence
- Able to paraphrase to show language originality
4 Research gaps 15
- Able to identify research gaps based on information given
in articles
- Able to expand on the direction of research based on the
gaps
5 Relating article to research objective(s) 15
- Able to evaluate the usefulness of the article in relation to
topic chosen
- Able to explain limitations well
6 Reference list
- Able to cite according to APA style accurately 4

TOTAL: 70 MARKS