POL3 CAP TAKE HOME EXAM RESEARCH ESSAY

LA TROBE UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICS, MEDIA AND PHILOSOPHY

POL3 CAP MID-SEMESTER TAKE-HOME EXAM (35%)

Length: 1400 words

Release Date: 6 April 2020 at 12:00 pm

Due date: 20 April 2020 at 11:59 pm

Submission: Please submit your essay via the link on LMS.

Instructions: Please write a 1400 word essay that addresses ONE of the questions below. You are not required to do extra research for the essay – you should be able to write a good essay by drawing on subject material (i.e. the relevant lecture material and relevant essential reading). If you wish to do extra research, you may do so, but please stick to the sources listed in the further reading in the subject learning guide. Please make sure to fully reference the sources you have drawn on throughout your essay (including, the lecture material) using either Harvard in-text referencing or Oxford footnotes.

Rationale: One of the aims of this assessment is to give you a chance to show your knowledge of one of the key topics we have covered so far in POL3 CAP. A further aim is to give you some feedback on your essay writing midway through the semester, so you have the chance to work on any issues prior to submitting the longer research essay, which is due later in the semester and worth a higher percentage of your overall mark.

ESSAY QUESTIONS

• Why are there such significant differences between gun laws in the US, Canada, and Australia?

2)  Was the Victorian Parliament right to legalise voluntary euthanasia?

ESSENTIAL SOURCES FOR QUESTION 1

Joshua Newman and Brian Head, “The National Context of Wicked Problems: Comparing Policies on Gun Violence in the US, Canada, and Australia,” Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, V. 19, no 1, 2017, pp. 40-53.     

Simon Chapman, “The Arguments that Carried Australia’s 1996 Gun Law Reforms,” The Conversation, 27 April, 2016. https://theconversation.com/the-arguments-that-carried-australias-1996-gun-law-reforms-58431.

POL3 CAP Lecture 1 (week 1), part II 

ESSENTIAL SOURCES FOR QUESTION 2

Ben White and Lindy Wilmott, “How Should Australia Regulate Voluntary Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide?” Journal of Law and Medicine, V. 20, 2012, pp. 410-38.

Stephen Duckett, “The Long and Winding Road to Assisted Dying in Australia,” Australian Journal of Social Issues, V. 54, 2019, pp. 386-400.

POL3 CAP Lecture 2 (week 2), part I 

MARKING CRITERIA

• Relevance – the essay addresses the question, staying on topic throughout with relevant material directed at what the question is asking.
• Understanding – the essay shows an understanding of the key theories, perspectives, and issues relevant to the topic.
• Evidence – the essay uses evidence and/or reasoning to support the argument, as appropriate.
• Analysis – the essay examines the topic systematically and in depth, showing the capacity to engage in critical thinking.
• Structure – the essay is well structured throughout with clear paragraphs in a logical order, along with a clear introduction and conclusion.
• Written expression – the essay is clearly written throughout with few errors in spelling, grammar or syntax.
• Referencing – the essay is appropriately referenced throughout and the author acknowledges where they have drawn on the work of other scholars through the appropriate use of citations and, where applicable, quotations. (See below for further information on referencing).

LATENESS

There is a lateness penalty of five per cent per workday, which is applied where no adequate reason for lateness is provided. In accordance with university policy, essays will not be accepted 5 working days after the due date. However, please note that you can apply to the subject coordinator or your tutor for an extension in advance of the submission date if you have a Learning Access Plan, you have been unwell, or your studies this semester have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated social/economic/personal impact.

REFERENCING

It is crucial that you properly reference the research paper. The basic idea behind referencing is that you should acknowledge where you have drawn on the words and/or the ideas of other scholars. Whilst most of you are probably familiar with a bibliography/reference list – a list of the sources you have consulted in your research for an essay – it is important to remember that academic referencing at university level goes beyond this. In addition to providing a bibliography/reference list, you are required to use footnotes or in-text references and where, appropriate, quotation marks, to indicate during the course of your essay where you have drawn on the work of others. If you do not reference properly, you are open to allegations of plagiarism, which, if proven, can result in very severe penalties. To avoid this, please make sure that you complete the library’s academic referencing module, consult the academic referencing tool http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/referencing-tool/ and speak to your tutor if you have any questions.

The Politics program is flexible about the referencing system you use for your essay. You may use either the Oxford footnote system or the Harvard system.