MSc Social Policy 2015 – 2016
Social Policy: Ideology, Theory and Practice
Assignments
Note: Students should also check the General Guidance on Assignments on the Programme site.
Assignment One – Conference Paper
Submission date: Tuesday 15th December, 2015
Weighting: 50%
Length: 3000 words. Students should provide a word count at the end of their assignment, before the list of references. There is no 10% discretion so stick to the word limit to avoid losing marks.
Marking criteria: All Assignments will be marked in accordance with the level 7 grade descriptors which can be found on blackboard on the MSc Social Policy programme site.
Learning outcomes: This assignment addresses learning outcomes 2, 3 and 4 which are set out below. Students will be able to:
2. Identify and critically evaluate levels of influence in the policy-making process.
3. Demonstrate a theoretical understanding of the role of ideology in relation to specific areas of social policy.
4. Demonstrate a conceptual understanding of the formulation of ideology, implementation and impact on service delivery and outcomes.
Conference paper
Identify and critically discuss the role, influence and drivers of ideology in the policy process for one of the following areas:
• Social Security
• Education
• Health
• Housing
• Social Services
• Employment
Assignment specific guidance
• The assignment should follow a conference paper format. An abstract should be included and the paper should be organized under appropriate headings
• You will be provided with sample papers during the module to support you in writing this assignment
• You must use the title given and indicate which one of the areas listed you will be covering
• You may concentrate on one or more stages of the policy process
• You may discuss one or more ideologies. It would probably be easier to stick to one
• Examples or other empirical data should be drawn upon where possible to stick to illustrate your analysis
• You may discuss the policy process at local, national or devolved level in the UK, including the supranational level as appropriate. However, due to the limited word count it is recommended that you primarily focus on one level
• Should you wish to write about another country you can only do so at the discretion of the Module Leader, and should remember that you cannot repeat any part of your assignment on the second Social Policy module or on any other module
• All sources should be referenced appropriately within the assignment, with a list of references provided at the end. References should use the Harvard (APA 6th) edition
• A range of academic literature should be used for this assignment and your work should be academically strong to achieve good marks.
Further guidance on the assignment will be provided during the course of the module, and there will be opportunities for individual discussion with module staff, who can also comment on a short assignment plan, but will not read draft assignments.
Assignment Two
Submission date: Tuesday 12th January, 2016
Weighting: 50%
Length and 3000 words. Students should provide a word count at the end of their assignment, before the list of references. There is no 10% discretion so stick to the word limit to avoid losing marks.
Marking criteria: All Assignments will be marked in accordance with the level 7 grade descriptors which can be found on blackboard on the MSc Social Policy programme site.
Learning outcomes: This assignment addresses learning outcomes 1 and 5 which care set out below. On successful completion of this assignment, students will be able to:
1. Critically discuss theoretical models of citizenship, social inclusion and exclusion.
5. Critically assess user participation in service delivery decision-making.
Essay Title
Critically assess the impact of ideology on one of the following:
Citizenship
Social inclusion/exclusion
User participation
Assignment specific guidance
• For this assignment you may focus on one area of social policy or write across a range of areas. If you do focus on one area, this should not be the same area as Assignment One
• You should concentrate on only one of the theoretical models (i.e., citizenship, social inclusion/exclusion, user participation)
• You should review the definition and main debates around the theoretical model
• You may discuss one or more ideologies. It would probably be easier to stick to one
• Examples or other empirical data should be drawn upon where possible to illustrate your analysis
• You may discuss the theoretical model at local, national, or devolved level in the UK including the supranational level as appropriate. However, due to the limited word count it is recommended that you primarily focus on one level
• Should you wish to write about another country you can only do so at the discretion of the Module Leader, and should remember that you cannot repeat any part of your assignment on the second Social Policy module or on any other module
• You must use the title given, which must indicate which ideology you are focusing on
• All sources should be referenced appropriately within the assignment, with a list of references provided at the end. References should use the Harvard (APA 6th) edition
• A range of academic literature should be used for this assignment and your work should be academically strong to achieve good marks.
Plagiarism/Unfair Means
Students should not plagiarize or copy content from any source – printed, or on-line. Students cannot copy the work of any other student, and cannot re-use any assignment or part of an assignment previously submitted at the University of Salford or elsewhere. Copying will show up on the Turnitin system, and students can check their assignments before final submission. Where there is significant plagiarism or copying, assignments will be referred for investigation. In other cases, where there is less copying, marks will be deducted and assignments can be failed. It is your responsibility to ensure that there is no plagiarism/copying or the use of unfair means. Where the use of unfair means is suspected, assignments will also be referred for investigation.
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