BLOG ASSIGNMENT MARKING MATRIX
Assessment Measure 0 – 39
Fail 40 – 49
Third 50 – 59
2.2 60 – 69
2.1 70 +
First
Topic choice
The student has failed to write about a range of varied or appropriate topic areas.
The student has written about a limited range of varied and interesting topic areas.
The student has written about a reasonable range of varied and interesting topic areas.
The student has written about a good range of varied and interesting topic areas.
The student has written about a very good range of varied and interesting topic areas.
Research
Evidence that the student has undertaken only very limited research when preparing the assignment.
Evidence that the student has undertaken an inadequate amount of research when preparing the assignment.
Evidence that the student has undertaken an adequate amount of research when preparing the assignment.
Good evidence that the student has undertaken a considerable amount of research when preparing the assignment.
Strong evidence that the student has undertaken very extensive research when preparing the assignment.
Originality & persuasive-ness
Very limited development of original arguments.
Inadequate development of original arguments and / or limited justification for these.
A reasonable attempt has been made to develop and justify original arguments and to justify these persuasively.
Some strong original arguments are presented and are mainly justified persuasively.
Several strong original arguments are presented and justified very persuasively.
Presentation
A poor standard of presentation. The assignment is poorly-written
and / or poorly- structured throughout.
An inconsistent standard of presentation. In parts, the assignment is poorly-written and / or poorly- structured.
A solid and reasonably effective standard of presentation. The assignment is generally well-written and well-structured.
A strong and professional standard of presentation. The assignment is well-written and well-structured.
An outstanding standard of presentation. The assignment is very well-written and very well-structured.
Referencing
Very poorly referenced document, citing little/no credible academic material, APA referencing system not followed.
Poorly referenced, sources lacking credibility with errors in using required APA referencing system.
Reasonable standard of referencing followed, generally follows APA standards with a range of credible material covered.
Assignment is well referenced, using a range of credible academic material, following the APA standards.
Excellent use of academic material throughout. Report follows APA referencing guidelines.
Blog assignment
Your task is to write a blog a total word count of around 500-600 words:
Is setting base pay an effective approach for retaining employees in non-profit organisation?
You should set out your own ideas, argument for and argument against, a wider reading and examples to the argument are required.
The best blogs will draw-upon unique examples and will demonstrate both depth and breadth of knowledge pertaining to the themes discussed on the module.
Structure:
– Introduction – importance of the question, different studies on the subject (as this is debatable topic)
– Argument for + relative examples from credible sources
– Argument against + relative examples from credible sources
– Conclusion – critical analysis and your own point of view
If you mention a study – you should be referencing this at the start as well as the end of a paragraph that describes the study.
What have you concluded from these reports – you need to add your critical analysis and not just describe the study.
Do I need to add more of my opinion?At the end of the piece, you provide clearer critical analysis. This could be more consistently seen across the blog.
Marks will be awarded according to how far you write full, direct, original and well-informed answers to the questions we have asked, and the extent to which your work is appropriately referenced and professionally presented.
Assessment Criteria:
• An original answer contains an argument (or arguments) that has been developed and justified by you after thinking and reading about the subject.
• A well-informed answer contains strong evidence that you have read widely and appropriately when preparing your response to the question, including where possible robust, research findings that have been published in peer reviewed journals.
• A professionally presented answer is clearly-expressed using well-constructed sentences and paragraphs, has a clear structure and is grammatically accurate.
• Research – shows understanding of contemporary human resource management thinking, practice and debates gained from studying the subjects;
• Persuasiveness – demonstrates a capacity to develop and justify original ideas and perspectives; includes a range of original arguments and examples in insightful ways;
• Presentation – is well written and professionally presented throughout; written for its intended audience
• Referencing – demonstrates broad, thoughtful reading from both academic and practitioner sources; appropriate referencing is used following the APA style.
Purpose:
Our main purpose in setting this assignment is to provide you with the opportunity to develop your knowledge and understanding of HRM in the areas which you find most interesting and which you consider will be most useful to you as you apply for jobs and start your career.
We were also keen to devise an assignment brief which allows you to start working early on in the term and even potentially to complete well before other assignment deadlines build up.
Finally, given that this module is also assessed via quite a traditional, academically-oriented end-of-term examination, our aim is to provide you with some variety.
Advice and some FAQs
Because the brief, by its nature, is somewhat less structured than most, inviting you to demonstrate that you are developing the capacity to thrive as an independent learner, Graham Perkins and Stephen Taylor have invited you to discuss your initial thoughts with us in face-to-face meetings in our office hours.
During these sessions a number of questions are regularly asked, so we thought it might be helpful to set out our advice on these as follows:
Q) Do the blogs / can the blogs be written in an informal style?
A) We would prefer you to write a good, professional standard of English and to avoid slang. It is a blog, not a tabloid newspaper article we are asking you to write. That said, we would like you to aim these at a general readership rather than an exclusively academic one. So we have no difficulty at all with you writing in the first person or drawing on personal experience / observations when writing your blogs.
Q) Do I have to write critically?
A) We would advise you to write ‘analytically’ and ‘critically’. This means avoiding passages which are essentially descriptive in nature or do little more than summarise what you have read. To score high marks – as you will see from the guidance set out above – we are looking for you to develop and justify original arguments. We want to know what you think about the big HR debates of our time and why you have reached these conclusions. In short, we want to see evidence that as your third year proceeds you are developing intellectual confidence.
BLOG ASSIGNMENT MARKING MATRIX
Assessment Measure 0 – 39
Fail 40 – 49
Third 50 – 59
2.2 60 – 69
2.1 70 +
First
Topic choice
The student has failed to write about a range of varied or appropriate topic areas.
The student has written about a limited range of varied and interesting topic areas.
The student has written about a reasonable range of varied and interesting topic areas.
The student has written about a good range of varied and interesting topic areas.
The student has written about a very good range of varied and interesting topic areas.
Research
Evidence that the student has undertaken only very limited research when preparing the assignment.
Evidence that the student has undertaken an inadequate amount of research when preparing the assignment.
Evidence that the student has undertaken an adequate amount of research when preparing the assignment.
Good evidence that the student has undertaken a considerable amount of research when preparing the assignment.
Strong evidence that the student has undertaken very extensive research when preparing the assignment.
Originality & persuasive-ness
Very limited development of original arguments.
Inadequate development of original arguments and / or limited justification for these.
A reasonable attempt has been made to develop and justify original arguments and to justify these persuasively.
Some strong original arguments are presented and are mainly justified persuasively.
Several strong original arguments are presented and justified very persuasively.
Presentation
A poor standard of presentation. The assignment is poorly-written
and / or poorly- structured throughout.
An inconsistent standard of presentation. In parts, the assignment is poorly-written and / or poorly- structured.
A solid and reasonably effective standard of presentation. The assignment is generally well-written and well-structured.
A strong and professional standard of presentation. The assignment is well-written and well-structured.
An outstanding standard of presentation. The assignment is very well-written and very well-structured.
Referencing
Very poorly referenced document, citing little/no credible academic material, APA referencing system not followed.
Poorly referenced, sources lacking credibility with errors in using required APA referencing system.
Reasonable standard of referencing followed, generally follows APA standards with a range of credible material covered.
Assignment is well referenced, using a range of credible academic material, following the APA standards.
Excellent use of academic material throughout. Report follows APA referencing guidelines.