Assignment Brief

This assignment is worth 40%  of the module grade.

What is a Literature Review?

In her book, Judith Bell usefully defines a literature review as ‘a picture.... of the state of knowledge and of the major questions in the subject’ (2005:100).

The aim of the Literature Review is to demonstrate that you have read, understood, and evaluated the main published work on a particular topic, issue, or question. It should not be a simple description of what others have written. Neither is it a set of annotations or book reviews. The Literature Review builds on the skills you developed in your Level 4 Annotated Bibliography assignment. It needs to show critical reflection and evaluation of the sources you have read. In other words, do not just say what you found, but you say why it is important and how it indicates different views on the topic you are researching. In sum, a Literature Review presents an organised and evaluative overview of the available information in a particular subject area.

The Literature Review is the second of three linked coursework assignments in the module. It contributes 40% towards the overall coursework grade for the Major

Screen Study module. The final grade for the module combines the grades from all assignments and must achieve more than 40% to pass.

Why do a Literature Review?

Done well, a Literature Review will

•    survey the key issues in the literature on your chosen topic in the field

•     provide the foundations for your Major Screen Study.

•    allow you to identify the research questions to be answered in the Major Screen Study

•     enable you to be critical, reflective, and evaluative in your approach to the research.

Critical, Reflective, Evaluative

There are the three key words in the assignment

brief: critical, reflective, and evaluative. Keep them in the front of your mind at all

times. A Literature Review is not just descriptive (e.g., Smith says this, and Jones says that). It is not a simple list of what different writers say.

To do its job effectively, a Literature Review needs to group material together,  organise it, make connections, and draw distinctions between different writers’ approaches to the subject.

The short answer is- yes - in-text notes and a full bibliography using the Harvard reference style. The reason for this is because, without comprehensive references, the Literature Review cannot demonstrate the research you have undertaken. For  advice on the Harvard reference style, please go to the ‘How to’ section on the module site and follow the links to the Reference Guide.

When referring to sources in your assignment, all book, journal and film and TV titles should be italicised or underlined with production details i.e. The Sopranos (HBO, 1999-2007) or Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999). Citations from TV series should clearly show season and episode number and title, if appropriate, i.e., if quoting an episode from The Sopranos, ‘Boca’ (1:9). For advice on the Harvard reference style, please go to the ‘How to’ section on the module site and follow the links to the Reference Guide.

Here is a step-by-step guide to doing a Literature Review (Please note this is advisory, and not prescriptive)

Establish what the topic is and what you need to find out about it.

1.   Find materials relevant to the topic from various sources including books, academic journals.

2.   Evaluate the varied materials. Ask yourself, which are the most significant and useful?

3.   Show how you understand these materials through analysis and interpretation.

4.   Show that you understand how the materials relate to each other, how

they agree or disagree, and how they form bodies of opinion i.e. A feminist approach.

5.   Show that you understand why ideas about a topic might not remain the same over time.

Literature Review - Things your marker will be looking for

An ability to locate appropriate academic resources through independent research.

•    The ability to read, comprehend and critically evaluate how these

resources may shape an understanding of your chosen research topic.

•    The ability to organise research findings into a coherent account of the available information in a given area.

•     Clear, coherent, and grammatically correct writing supported by relevant citation and reference in the Harvard style.

•    A capacity to identify where your research interests lie within the wider

context of the field and an ability to identify a clear research question to be addressed in the Major Screen Study

The Assignment Submission

A 1,500-word account, (plus or minus 10%, so between 1350-1650 words), or negotiated equivalent. The Literature Review must be referenced and include a full bibliography of sources. All references should be presented using the Harvard reference system. The Literature Review should be presented in 12 point, double spaced with consecutively numbered pages and your name and student number in the footer at the bottom of the page.

The assignment should be submitted as a WORD file to the Literature Review portal in the ASSIGNMENTS on the module site. A guide to assignment submission is available under MODULE INFORMATION in the Assignments 2023-2024 section.

This assignment is due for submission by the deadline on Thursday 11th January 2024 before 3.00pm. Please note the submission time is when the assignment is received by Studynet, not when you begin to upload. So, make your submission well in advance of the deadline to avoid problems.

Third-party assets

In this assignment students are expected to use quotations, illustrations, facts and ideas from academic literature and other relevant sources, as well as films and TV programmes. All sources used in the assignment must be acknowledged with references presented in the Harvard reference style. For advice on the Harvard reference style, please go to the ‘How to’ section on the module site and follow the links to the Reference Guide

By submitting your Literature Review assignment, you are declaring that your submission is entirely your own work. If you have cited from other sources or in any way included material that was not produced by yourself, those sources must be acknowledged. Failure to acknowledge where work is not your own may result in an allegation of academic misconduct.

Ethics

All coursework that involves human participants such as interviews must be undertaken in accordance with the class protocol granted by the Ethics Committee 2023-2024. Please consult your Tutor/Module Leader for advice and approval. Any student who undertakes work involving human participants without prior approval may incur an academic penalty.

Turnitin

For the Literature Review assignment, Turnitin (text matching software) will be available. The university provides Turnitinto students as one of several tools to develop their academic writing skills. Turnitin text matching software checks your work for similarities to written work previously submitted to the University or other institutions or published elsewhere. Students are invited to run their essay through Turnitin software before the submission deadline to check their work. Turnitin generates a similarity report that can demonstrate any issues prior to  the final submission of the essay, so amendments can be made. Please note that staff cannot see the draft version students run through Turnitin. Neither can they see the originality reports generated by the submission.

The academic staff team will use the same Turnitin software to check final submissions. Tutors only have access to the final submitted essay which will be run through the software after the deadline. For further information on Turnitin, please watch this film on YouTube Here. Plagiarism, collusion, and cheating are regarded as academic misconduct. All academic misconduct is treated as a serious offence and is subject to investigation and penalties, if proven. Students should read the guide to avoiding academic misconduct on the Creative Arts Toolkit. Here

How your work will be assessed

Your work will be assessed against the following assessment criteria reproduced here from the DMD and the Assignments 2023-2024 section, under Units in the module site menu.

Learning Outcomes - Knowledge and Understanding: (Successful students will typically…)

1.Have in-depth knowledge of their topic and an understanding of some of the relevant histories, theories, critical debates, and commentaries. (A2)

2.Have a knowledge and understanding of some of the factors that condition the production, distribution, circulation, regulation, reception and use for film and television in local, regional, national, and international contexts. (A3)

Learning Outcomes - Skills and Attributes: (Successful students will typically…)

3. Be able to frame appropriate research questions in order to identify an appropriate topic for study, and undertake selection, synthesis, and critical evaluation of primary   and secondary sources. (D1)

4.  Research, retrieve and deploy information gathered from a range of appropriate academic and industry sources with due recognition of academic ethics, ownership and academic conventions of citation and reference. (D3)

5. Communicate findings from the in-depth study effectively in a format appropriate to their topic, approach, and material. (D2)

The performance indicators marked against these learning outcomes cannot be aggregated to constitute a final numerical grade.

By submitting you are declaring that your submission is entirely your own work. If

you have cited from other sources or in any way included material that was not

produced by yourself, those sources must be acknowledged. Failure to acknowledge where work is not your own may result in an allegation of academic misconduct. For more information, see 'Assessment Offences and Academic Misconduct' on Ask

Herts, together with the following guidance from Library Skill UP"

'Referencing: Why do it? Introduction'

'Academic Integrity'

'Why bother to acknowledge the work of others?'

'Test your knowledge: Understanding plagiarism'

Risk Assessment

A risk assessment is not required for this assignment

How your work will be assessed

Your work will be assessed against the assessment criteria in the rubric below.

GRADE DESCRIPTORS (Undergraduate reference scale to assist coarse-grained marking of individual pieces of work)

NOTE: Tutors will refer to SCHOOL-LEVEL GRADING CRITERIA when assessing your work and determining an appropriate mark to award. You can see the School- Level Undergraduate Grading Criteria here

[ ** Reference Grades above 90 should be awarded for work of truly exceptional quality and used very sparingly ]

Engagement by the student in all aspects of Teaching and Learning and Assessment are essential to ensure successful completion of the module, students with an OVERALL Module Grade below 20% will not be offered the opportunity for a referral and will be required to repeat the module if permitted.