School of Humanities

Experiential Learning for War Studies

Assignment Brief

Module Details

Module code: WAR5005M Level of Study: 5

Module Leader(s): Dr Ian Horwood Credits: 20

Assessment format: Report Method of Turnitin on Moodle

submission:
Deadline or 5 November 2024 Feedback date and 27 November 2024
Assessment Period: place: Via Turnitin. (Note, no
feedback or marks will
be released before
this date.)
Assessment limits: 2,000 words Component number: 1 of 2
length, load, word count, excluding any
etc. footnotes and
bibliography
Is this exempt from No Component 50%
anonymous marking weighting:
under the policy?
 School of Humanities

Assignment Description

Task
Write a 2,000-word critical evaluation report based on an aspect of a contemporary
conflict.

You must negotiate the details of your evaluation report with your Module Director
to ensure that it complies with the requirements of the exercise.

This is an independent piece of work, and all sources must be fully acknowledged.
Normal practice in History/American Studies/War Studies is to use the MHRA
referencing style, and this is highly recommended, but the University permits any
recognised referencing style as long as it is applied consistently and correctly.

Learning Outcomes

You must successfully achieve the following Learning Outcomes to pass this
assessment:

Title(s) of award bearing programmes to Award Programme Learning Outcome(s) to

which the module contributes which the module is mapped (PLO1, PLO3
etc.)

BA (Hons) War Studies (Joint Honours) 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4

BA (Hons) Politics and War Studies 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7

Advice and Guidance

There are many possible examples, but such contemporary conflicts might include
– at the time of writing – the international dispute over the Spratly Islands in the
South China Sea, the China-Taiwan Dispute and the Myanmar conflict

Again, there are many possibilities, but aspects selected for evaluation might
include the origins of the conflict, efforts to resolve the conflict it or organisational
efforts to ameliorate its effects such as those conducted by organisations such as
Amnesty International, Médecins sans frontiers, or the UNHCR etc.

You must negotiate the details of your evaluation report with your Module Director
to ensure that it complies with the requirements of the exercise.
 School of Humanities

How is this assessment marked?

Your work will be marked according to the assessment instructions provided within this
document and the selected Learning Outcomes (LOs) (see above).

Furthermore, this assessment is marked using the assessment marking criteria or a

similar rubric that aligns with the University’s Generic Assessment Descriptors (see
below). This is to ensure all assessment decisions are comparable regardless of the
discipline or mode of assessment.

Please note that you must meet the required baseline standards (40 – 49%) which will
include the LOs and minimum expectations of the assessment. Further still, you must
ensure you meet the requirements of each grade boundary to progress to the next, i.e.,
you should demonstrate your learning through the standards of a Pass, 2:2, and 2:1 to
achieve a 2:1 (60 – 69%). These standards are designed to scaffold and build your
learning to achieve your fullest potential in each criterion being assessed.
 School of Humanities

Assessment Marking Criteria

Pass Grade Bands (100 – 40) (Learning Outcomes must be met)
Fail Grade Bands (39 – 0) (Learning Outcomes are not met)

General
Characteristics 3rd 2:2 2:1 First High First Borderline Fail Fail
(40 - 49) (50 - 59) (60 - 69) (70 - 84) (85 – 100) (30 - 39) (0 – 29)
(Credits may be (Credits may not be
compensated) compensated)

Adjectives Satisfactory Good Very Good Excellent Exemplary Not Successful Unsuccessful
Thinking The work attempts to The work successfully Through critical thinking, This work successfully This work combines The work may apply some The work applies few or
skills apply a range of thinking applies thinking skills to this work suggests new applies critical thinking to existing knowledge to thinking skills none of the required
skills to demonstrate an demonstrate a deeper possibilities or asks broader or more complex create new in-depth appropriately from a thinking skills to the
understanding of the core understanding of the core questions about the issues discovered during personal insights beyond narrow range. It may be required areas of
taught content. taught content and of taught content’s source independent study. The the taught content. A further limited by some knowledge identified
some of the additional material and / or responds work proposes viable thoroughness in the misunderstandings, within the taught content.
taught content. to the taught content with approaches to generating application of thinking misapplication, or gaps in
curiosity and independent data and / or suggests skills is demonstrated by required areas of
study. potential answers to the broad range of knowledge within the
questions. outcomes or possibilities taught content.
that these insights
suggest.
Research The work incorporates the The work correctly applies The work successfully The work demonstrates The work successfully The work may incorporate The work addresses or
skills core taught research skills research skills and / or uses research skills and / successful processing of uses a research and use some research applies few or no research
and / or methods. It methods to solve or methods to generate and outputs from the methodology to process methods but has not yet methods.
attempts to use these problems and answer insights for solving research skills and / or insights generated by its demonstrated secure
methods appropriately to research questions and / complex problems or to methods used. It author. It solves problems understanding or
solve problems and / or or engage in independent answer bespoke research demonstrates a broad or answers new research application of these in
answer research research. questions. understanding of research questions with a answering questions or
questions. approaches as part of a developed understanding solving problems.
thoughtful design. of research approaches.
Practical The work demonstrates The work demonstrates The work applies effective The work demonstrates The work demonstrates The work demonstrates The work applies few or
skills adequate practice of the competent and effective and accurate practice of sophisticated and exceptional and accurate some competent none of the required
majority of the required practice of the core the full range of subject- accurate practice of the practice of the full range of application of subject- subject-specific
subject-specific required subject-specific specific techniques. full range of subject- subject-specific specific techniques but techniques and does not
techniques. techniques. specific techniques. techniques. there are significant demonstrate effective
limitations and gaps. practice.
 School of Humanities
General rd Borderline Fail Fail
Characteristics 3 2:2 2:1 First High First
(40 - 49) (50 - 59) (60 - 69) (70 - 84) (85 – 100) (30 - 39) (0 – 29)
(Credits may be (Credits may not be
compensated) compensated)

Adjectives Satisfactory Good Very Good Excellent Exemplary Not Successful Unsuccessful
Communicati The work is mostly The work is clear, The work engages and The work communicates The work communicates The work engages in The work attempts little or
on comprehensible. It has coherent and communicates proficiently persuasively and with with exceptional clarity, some comprehensible no coherent
attempted to use an communicates with subject-specific excellent clarity in subject- professionalism and communication with an communication with an
appropriate writing or appropriately to its language appropriate to specific language, sophistication, in exact audience, but this is audience. Its use of
presentation style to intended audience. The the medium and its appropriate to the medium alignment with its intended partial and not coherent. writing or presentation
address an audience. work uses an appropriate intended audience. and its intended audience. audience. Not all the presentational style are not appropriate
writing or presentation style conventions it uses nor technically proficient.
style. are appropriate.
Creativity The work has attempted The work has successfully The work is thoughtful The intellectually creative The intellectually creative The work may show some This work evidences little
to adapt / combine / adapted / combined / because it has adapted / idea / approach of this idea / approach of this creative thinking, but its or no creative thinking /
transform concepts and extended / transformed combined / transformed work is surprising or work is new, and levels of originality are originality as it relies on
historiography. existing concepts and existing concepts. It valuable. The work surprising or valuable. The currently limited by the replicating an extremely
historiography. demonstrates knowledge demonstrates a work demonstrates a extent to which it has specific or narrow range of
of distinctive approaches / developed understanding developed understanding adapted / combined / existing concepts.
viewpoints to build upon of current historiography of current historiography transformed existing
historiography and and concepts. and concepts. concepts and
concepts. historiography
Professional The work offers individual The work offers mostly The work goes beyond The work authentically The work authentically The work offers a limited The work shows little or
Learning reflections to suggest descriptive individual descriptive writing and reflects on learning, reflects on learning with number of individual no individual reflections on
skills ways to improve future reflections to suggest reflects effectively on showing excellent sophistication and insight. reflections but too learning.
learning processes/goal ways to improve future learning. It shows very understanding of ways to It shows excellent selectively. There are little
setting. learning processes/goal good understanding of improve future learning / understanding of ways to to no suggestions of ways
setting. It shows ways to improve future goal setting and improve future learning / to improve future learning.
awareness of further learning / goal setting and knowledge of further goal setting and
resources / opportunities of further resources / resources / opportunities developed knowledge of
for support and growth. opportunities. to meet new challenges. further resources /
opportunities to meet new
challenges.