Details
Assessment 1
Details
1 Reflection -Online Journal Entries (2 x 250 words) Weight: 20%
Type of Collaboration: Individual
Due: Journal Entry One: Friday of Week 3 (5pm on the 11th of August);
Journal Entry Two: Friday of Week 7 (5pm on the 8th of September)
Submission: Turnitin
Format: Online journal entries are reflective pieces that give an account of on an individuals personal learning journey in relation to readings and online materials.
Two are to be completed, one in week 3 and one in week 7 on set topics and each entry is 250 words.
Length: 500 words
Curriculum Mode: Reflection
As part of the attendance requirements for this subject you are required to access vUWS every week for around one hour. During this time, you will have opportunity to access additional learning resources (such as websites, news articles and media clips) relevant to the weekly topics and/or the subject as a whole. These materials should be viewed in conjunction with the set readings, and both sets of resources should be used as stimulus for your posts in your reflective online journal. Reflections MUST consider the online material and/or readings (it is not compulsory to reflect on tutorials and lectures). Journal entries should summarise and critically reflect on key concepts/theories and/or issues/topics covered in the online material and readings. Students are expected to engage in reflexivity when completing this task. In other words, they are expected to reflect on their own social, cultural and/or historical positioning, including their own beliefs, assumptions and practices, in relation to subject content.
Students should also note that this assessment is aligned with learning outcomes 1, 2 and 3. In this assessment, students are expected to:
Recognise and described the family and intimate relationships as socially constituted.
Describe the contemporary diversity of family and intimate relationship forms both in our own and across cultures.
Provide evidence for the historical specificity of family forms and intimate relationships.
Two journal entries (Journal Entry One and Journal Entry Two) are to be submitted this semester. Each entry is worth 10% for a total of 20% of the final mark.
The word limit is 250 words per entry and 500 words in total.
This word limit does not include references. While the journal should indicate the students personal learning experience, it should be scholarly in nature (so written in an academic style and with appropriate referencing).
The student may write in first or third person for this task.
There is not a minimum number of references that need to be included in journal entries.
Further details as follows:
Journal Entry One: Journal Entry One is due on Friday of Week 3 (5pm on the 11th of August). Journal Entry One is a reflection on the following topic:
Week 2 content: Families and intimate life across time, generations and culture Journal Entry Two: Journal Entry Two is due on Friday of Week 7 (5pm on the 8th of September).
Journal Entry Two is a reflection on one of the following topics: 7
Week 5 content: Marriage and cohabitation OR
Week 7 content: Childhood and parenting
Resources: Readings and online materials located on vUWS. Marking criteria is also on vUWS.
In this assessment task, you will not be able to meet the learning outcomes related to reflexivity, analysis and the development of writing skills by using generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Working with another person or technology in order to gain an unfair advantage in assessment or improperly obtaining answers from a third party including generative AI to questions in an examination or other form of assessment may lead to sanctions under the Student Misconduct Rule: https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/currentstudents/current_students/student_ misconduct_rule Use of generative AI tools may be detected. More information is available on the Library web page:
ASSESSMENT 2
Essay response to one question from a set list.
Weight: 40%
Type of Collaboration: Individual
Due: Friday of Week 11 (5pm on the 6th of October) Submission:
Turnitin Format: Essay
Length: 1500 words
Curriculum Mode: Essay
Essay Questions:
1. Love and romance are often considered individual and private experiences.
How might we also understand love and romance as shaped by society or culture?
Draw on at least one sociological theory in your response.
2. Women continue to do more unpaid domestic labour in the home than men.
How are household tasks typically divided and how do feminists explain this division of labour?
Draw on at least one sociological theory in your response.
3. What are transnational families and how does globalisation shape how care is carried out in families?
Draw on at least one sociological theory in your response.
Steps for completing this assignment:
1) Choose one of the essay questions/topics listed above. Make sure you know what it is asking!
2) Start your research by referring to the set readings and additional resources listed in the program outline.
Keep in mind though that it is not compulsory for students to utilise these resources.
In fact, students are expected to undertake some amount of independent research.
Thus, you may like to seek additional materials as follows:
a. Academic:
Library books and journals can be accessed using the library databases.
b. Institutional: Organisational websites (e.g. The Australian Bureau of Statistics, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development etc.) may provide useful information.
Keep in mind though that blogs, social networking sites, Wikipedia etc. are not considered to be academic sources.
In many cases the information on these sites has not been subject to peer evaluation and/or the accuracy of the material presented therein cannot be verified.
For this reason, internet sources in particular should be carefully evaluated.
c. Media: Various media, (e.g. magazines, websites, newspapers, television media, and films) can be used as empirical/real world examples.
However, in a theoretical essay these should be used only sparingly to help illustrate your points in original, creative and reflective ways.
As with academic and institutional sources these must be appropriately referenced.
3) As you take notes remember to identify someone elses ideas or thoughts with accurate referencing so as to avoid plagiarism when it comes time to writing up.
4) Everyone has a different approach to essay writing, but you need to ensure that you undertake some level of planning.
Noting key points and the order in which you will address them will help you develop a logical argument.
If you keep referring back to them as you write, your list of key points can also help you ensure that you are being consistent and not wavering from your argument.
5) Begin writing your essay! As you do so, keep in mind that better essays are those that develop a strong line of argument, which is well structured and balances description and critical analysis. Good questions to ask yourself are:
a. Does this point relate to the main ideas I want to get across or does it distract the reader?
b. Does the point I am making answer the question?
Does it relate to the point before and after it, and if so how?
c. So what? What is the significance of this point?
Why am I writing about it?
d. How can I prove my point?
What sources can I use to support my argument?
e. Do I agree with the perspective presented in the source that I am discussing?
Why/why not? How does the perspective of the author that I am discussing compare/contrast with some of the others?
What is unique/interesting about what this author has to say?
6Leave plenty of time to allow for editing your work. Ideally this should include running a spelling and grammar check, reading the essay in full and having somebody else read your work. It is amazing what a fresh pair of eyes can pick up!
7) Make sure that you write the question you have answered and your name at the top of the first page of your assignment. Submit your assignment to Turnitin ONLY.
Students should also note that this assessment is aligned with learning outcomes 4, 5 and 6. In this assessment, students are expected to:
Analyse the family and intimate relationships in terms of power relations.
Demonstrate an understanding of sociological approaches to the family and intimate life.
Apply sociological theory to analyse families and intimate life.
All assignments must be submitted online via the Turnitin link available on the vUWS site for this subject BEFORE the due date and time.
PLEASE NOTE: Hard copies and email assignments will not be accepted. At a minimum, students are expected to:
Answer all components of the question and follow the academic protocols for essay writing.
Adhere to the guidelines in relation to resources.
Ensure that their essays are logically structured, coherent and free of spelling and grammatical errors.
Ensure that essays are correctly referenced and free from plagiarism.
