Coursework Assessment Brief (RESIT)

N.B. all times are 24-hour clock, current local time (at time of submission) in the UK

Assessment Instructions

Resit Portfolio

• This piece of work is an individual submission and should therefore represent one student’s work.
• There are two parts to the portfolio and both parts of the portfolio must be submitted.

1. Problem Question: (Max 2000 words) (50% of mark)

Kevin and Perry live next door to one another and have been friends for years. Neither of them are very bright and have unfortunately made friends with a group of lads who are petty criminals. Kevin and Perry both believe themselves to be ‘street smart’, but are actually quite naïve and easily led by the others.

On the day in question, the hapless pair are encouraged to break into the house of an elderly old lady who is reputed to be very rich. They are told that if they want to stay part of the ‘gang’ they have to pass an initiation test and prove they are worthy by stealing something valuable. Being clueless in the art of breaking and entering, they make a huge amount of noise and the old lady hears them and comes downstairs to investigate.

When Doris opens the sitting room door, she finds Kevin and Perry trying to get into a glass display case full of expensive looking ornaments. She gets almost as big a shock as Kevin and Perry, but Perry panics because neither of them have thought to cover their faces and in the heat of the moment throws a silver egg cup at Doris to distract her, so as to give them time to escape back out the window. The egg cup hits Doris on the nose, and although the impact was minimal, she takes a step backwards and trips over a footstool. Unfortunately, Doris hits her head on a piece of furniture and dies. It transpires that Doris had a thin skull and the impact caused a massive head injury that killed her instantaneously.

Advise Perry on the offence that he may be charged with.

AND

2. Essay Question: (Max 2000 words) (50% of mark)

Drawing from legal commentary and case law, critically evaluate whether the Theft Act 1968 is in need of reform?

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the major concepts, values and principles of the English criminal legal system.
• Understand the importance of primary and secondary sources of law and develop an understanding of their use, including contextual materials, to support the making of legal arguments.
• Communicate effectively in a written format, using appropriate legal terminology for the audience and making use of relevant data derived from primary sources when necessary.
• Identify and critically engage with relevant materials and information, evaluating legal arguments and material drawn from a range of appropriate sources.
• Conduct searches efficiently and effectively and access and reference appropriate legal and contextual materials.
• Work independently to accomplish a defined outcome and reflect upon their own experience in order to formulate appropriate strategies for future progress.

Marking Criteria

The following criteria will be used in evaluating this assessment:

• Problem Question Marking Descriptors
• Essay Question Marking Descriptors

These documents are available in the Resit folder.

Formative feedback and support during the module

All of the support documentation that was available for the first sit submissions remains available within the Assignments section of Blackboard.

All of the recorded lectures and other teaching materials remain available on Blackboard.

There will be additional support sessions available on the lead up to Assessment Period 3.

Formatting

Please use the following file format(s) Word (.doc or .docx). We cannot ensure that other formats are compatible with markers’ software and cannot guarantee to mark incorrect formats.

All work should be word processed in 12-point font Arial and double line spaced.

The portfolio should be submitted as one document, with the individual pieces of work in the following order:

1. Problem Question Answer
2. Essay Question Answer

Word Limit

The maximum word limit for this coursework is 4000 words, divided between the two elements as outlined above.

• There is no +/- 10% on word count and anything after the maximum word count will not be marked, in line with UWE Bristol’s Word Count Policy.
• In line with UWE policy, this word count includes everything in the main body of the text (including headings, tables, citations, quotes, lists, etc.).
• The references, bibliography and footnotes (provided footnotes only include references) are NOT included in this word count.

Referencing and Assessment Offences

Please ensure you reference all sources used when developing your assessment, using the OSCOLA system.

If you are a Joint Awards student, you have the option of using UWE Harvard. If you do so, please make this clear on the cover page of your submission (Referencing style used: Harvard).

Failure to properly reference your work to original source material can be grounds for the assessment offence of plagiarism and may result in failure of the assessment or more serious implications. Further guidance on correct referencing is available on UWE’s Study Skills referencing pages.

UWE’s Assessment Offences Policy outlines potential offences and it is your responsibility to understand this policy and avoid potential offences. Details of what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it can be found on UWE’s Study Skills pages about avoiding plagiarism.

Text-matching software (e.g. SafeAssign) is used to check every submission against other submissions made at the same time, previous submissions to UWE and other universities, and internet sources. We may also manually search for matches. When submitting your work, you will be required to confirm that the work is your own.

It is an assessment offence to:

• copy work from any source, including your own previous assessments, and present it as your own work for this assessment, or to provide your own work to others
• to work with others on the assessment in any way, or for anyone to make amends on your work (including proofreaders, who may highlight issues but not edit the work)
• change individual words but keep, essentially, the same sentences and/or structures from other sources: this will be detected by text-matching software. Please write in your own words and style to convey your own learning.

Instructions for submission

You must submit your assignment before the stated deadline by electronic submission through Blackboard. Notification that the electronic submission portal is open for your assignment is displayed (usually two weeks before the submission date) in the Coursework tab in myUWE, the Coursework tab in Blackboard and via an announcement in the Blackboard course.

Please allow sufficient time to upload your assignment, as the system becomes busier and slower as the deadline approaches. Only your final upload will be counted. Ensure all your information is submitted at one attempt to avoid overwriting your intended submission. Always check and retain your receipts.

Late submission in the 24 hours following the deadline will be accepted but the assignment mark will be capped at a pass. Submissions after 24 hours will not be accepted. For full guidance on online submission through Blackboard, see UWE’s Academic Advice pages on Assignments.

Submissions of coursework by any other method (including a paper copy, on disk or by email) are NOT permissible for this module unless specifically agreed in advance of the submission date.

Before submitting your work, please ensure that:

• You have proof read your work thoroughly to ensure your work is presented appropriately
• You have addressed all the required elements of the assessment
• You have referenced in accordance with the guidance provided
• You have addressed each of the marking criteria
• The submission is in the correct format

Final feedback and marks release

Students will normally receive marks and feedback on their submission within 20 working days of the submission deadline (not including public holidays or university closure days). Any delay in returning students’ work will be communicated by the module leader via Blackboard.

Feedback on this module is not limited to the written comments you will receive on individual written assessment submissions.

Feedback and marks for this module will be available by the date specified at the top of this document. For further guidance on feedback, please refer to the module handbook.

Further guidance and support

There are a number of sources of support to improve your study skills, including:

• The UWE Library Study Skills pages – for online support and bookable workshops
• The Faculty of Business and Law’s Academic Success Centre for bookable workshops
• Guidance on using UWE’s Library.

Specific study skills pages relating to this module include:

• Writing skills
• Reflective writing
• How to write critically
• English language support

For further guidance on UWE assessment regulations and terminology see UWE’s Academic Advice pages.

Personal Circumstances

If you are experiencing difficulties in completing a piece of assessment on time due to unexpected circumstances (for example illness, accident, bereavement), seek advice from a Student Support Adviser at the earliest opportunity. Appointments can be made via an Information Point or online via the Student Support Pages.

Student Support Advisers can advise as to whether you should submit an application for ‘Personal Circumstances (PCs)’, how to do so and what evidence is required to support the application. Further details on PCs can be found on the Student Support Pages.

The module leader cannot grant personal circumstances or extensions.