ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW

The second assignment is to research and write about an urban design topic of your choice. The paper you prepare and submit should be in the order of 2,500 words in length and certainly no more than 2,800 words. For comparison, journal articles that you may come across in connection with this assignment, usually range between 4,500 and 10,000 words.

The essay is to be researched by reference to the academic literature in urban design and associated fields such as human geography, psychology, landscape architecture and architecture. There is no restriction on the topic of your essay however it will be important to manage the scope of your investigation to ensure that the topic can be adequately discussed within the word limits. In most circumstances a topic would be narrowly defined to enable depth of discussion. Ideally the topic would be one that could inform your work in Assignment One; the six-seven week overlap has been envisaged as a way of enabling this.

Students should refer to at least three books and three journal articles in the course of their research. All sources should be cited in a bibliography – which is not included in the word count –at the end of the paper. Students are restricted to citing no more than three internet sources in their bibliography, which would not include electronic books or journal articles viewed electronically. While books and journal articles are generally peer reviewed, which helps ensure accuracy and robustness of the information, there are few peer review regimes for the internet. Anyone can post any information they want and it is rarely checked for accuracy. Web based outlets for academic information is of course excluded from this gross generalisation!

The essay should be beautifully presented in hard and electronic formats. Your essays should be richly illustrated, where a picture can literally be worth several dozen words if not a thousand.

AIM OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The aims include

1. Survey literature on an urban design topic.
   1. You will demonstrate this by collecting authoritative material from a range of sources, judging the relevance of this material and recording and presenting it.
2. Combine information from multiple sources to support a coherent theme or argument.
   1. You will demonstrate this by comparing and contrasting material from different sources; identifying themes and concepts relevant to your argument and expressing other authors’ ideas and arguments in your own words.
3. Demonstrate an informed understanding of an urban design topic.
   1. You will demonstrate this by interpreting other people’s rather than just describing them; making propositions and supporting these with convincing arguments; applying ideas from one historical/theoretical context to other contexts.
4. Communicate effectively to an academic audience.
   1. You will demonstrate this by using the conventions of scholarly writing, expressing yourself clearly and simply; coordinating all aspects of presentation, e.g. subheadings, images.

ASSIGNMENT WEIGHTING

This assignment in totalcounts 35% toward the overall course grade. This assignment will be completed by each individual and there is no group component to the work.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

These will be published on Blackboard prior to submission. A grading rubric will be used to present how the assignment has been assessed and feedback. Some feedback may also be provided to students in the form of hand-written notes in the hard copy of the essay. This copy will be returned to students at the time the grades are released.

ASSIGNMENT TASKS & DELIVERABLES

Issue essay [approx. word count2,500; max word count 2,800; excluding bibliography]

• Submissions should be made in hard-copy and electronic formats.
• A4 portrait format, printed single-sided on plain white paper.
• Stapled at top left corner or bound.
• Your own name should appear on the front cover.
• The word count should appear at the top right hand corner of the first page.
• Include page numbering and a footer to identify your authorship.
• Include footnotes/endnotes and/or list references according to academic conventions.
• Do not include references in the word limit.
• Keep the format simple, neat and professional with the emphasis on legibility.

HAND IN DATE:

The final hand-in of Assignment Two is 19.00on 5 June 2015

Assignments received after that time will be marked late with appropriate penalties applied. Refer to the Course Outline document for more information.