UNDERSTANDING ENTREPRENEURSHIP Individual essay

Date: Written in January 2023

Module title: UNDERSTANDING ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Module lecturer and tutor details:

Dr Rachel Doern, [email protected]

Office hours: Mondays 1:00-3:00 (Please email for appointment)

The Associate Lecturer:

Salma Ghassan Al Azmeh  Email: [email protected] (Will run assessment tutorials)

Assignment type: Individual essay (worth 50% of the module)

Assignment information:

Please answer ONE of the following essay questions:

1. Taking either the example of [A] ethnic minority entrepreneurs or [B] female entrepreneurs, discuss in detail three or four of the key reported challenges they face in terms of developing their businesses. Discuss whether you agree that these challenges are critical and why, weighing the arguments, and backing up your discussion with evidence.

2. “Social entrepreneurs make significant and diverse contributions to their communities and societies, adopting business models to offer creative solutions to complex and persistent social problems” (Zahra, Gedajlovic, Neubaum and Shulman, 2009). Drawing on the different parts of this statement and using examples and evidence, discuss how social entrepreneurs and the enterprises they create compare to more traditional forms of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activity.

Essay Checklist: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6! (READ THIS PLEASE!!!)

i) Structure – Begin your essay (the introduction to the essay) with a thesis statement – one or two sentences that condense the argument or analysis to follow - e.g., This essay argues that female entrepreneurs face the following challenges in starting up and growing their businesses: x, y and z … OR … Social enterprise has been defined as … Social entrepreneurs are those individuals who … Social entrepreneurs and the enterprises they create differ to more traditional forms of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activity in the following ways: x, y and z.

The thesis statement is then followed by an outline of both the essay’s structure and the main points for discussion. The body of the essay is where arguments should be developed and supported according to the evidence. Be sure the discussion here is relevant to the topic at hand. Finally, summarise key points made throughout the essay and highlight any conclusions to be drawn.

ii) Argument and Content – The argument refers to the ‘point of view’ to be discussed. It should be captured by the thesis statement. The argument or point of view should be clearly developed throughout the essay, and again should be supported by the evidence and analyses (e.g., Do social entrepreneurs and the enterprises they create really differ to more traditional forms of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activity? Yes/no? Why/why not?).

iii) Supportive Evidence – You must use evidence – relevant and reliable information, figures and/or examples (e.g. pertaining to countries, industries, businesses or individuals) – to support your argument and the claims made.

iv) Referencing – Use the appropriate reading materials - articles (academic/refereed articles mainly and non-academic articles), books, reports etc. – to back up your argument(s). Regardless of whether or not a work is quoted from directly or indirectly, all work cited in the BODY of the submitted piece of work must have the author’s name and date published in parentheses following the citation (e.g. Jones and Smith, 2005; or Johnson, 2010). If the work is quoted from directly, quotation marks must be used and page numbers included. Work cited must be listed at the end of the essay in a section titled ‘References’. Please check the guidelines on Harvard referencing guide and Study Skills vle. References must be listed in alphabetical order, and written up consistently and accurately. Also, the essay must be an original piece of work and students should not be working together. Plagiarising the work of others (e.g., other students, experts, academics, online sources etc.), or work produced by the student for another project, will result in a mark of ZERO. Students must work independently on their essays.

v) Style and Presentation – Essays should be double-spaced and written in 12 Font, either Times New Roman, Calibri or Arial. Be sure the essay is well structured and contains accurate spelling and grammar. Sections of the essay should be highlighted with the appropriate headings. Headings should describe the issue(s) to be discussed. Also, please note that signposting is very important. In essays this is where you signal to the reader, at the beginning of each section, the discussion that follows.

vi) Submission - The essay must be submitted through Turnitin (a submission link will be provided nearer the time on the learn/gold/VLE page). Details of how to submit via Turnitin will be provided in advance of the deadline. Please see the programme handbook on penalties for late submission of coursework. In general, late submissions, even by a few minutes, will be given a mark of ZERO. Students should submit assignments a few hours in advance of the deadline.

Key/suggested references:

Examples of sources/references for each topic are listed in the module outline and can be found in the reading list. Please note that you must include other high quality academic sources as well to demonstrate that you have carried out independent research, especially peer reviewed journal articles.

Tutorial details:

Please consult your timetable.

Word limit: 2000 words +/- 10% (NOT including References)

Referencing style:

Harvard

Submission date and time:

Wednesday March 1^st by no later than 12 pm (noon) UK Time

(Late assignments, even by a few minutes, will receive a mark of ZERO. Students will then need to Resit in the Summer term and their mark will be capped at a PASS/40).

Submission details:

Please submit via the online link on the module page and include the following information on the front page of your submission (cover sheet):

· Student ID number

· Programme of study (e.g., BSc in Management with Entrepreneurship)

· Module (i.e., Understanding Entrepreneurship)

· Date

· Assignment title

· Word count

Marking scheme:

Marking will be in accordance with the general IMS undergraduate marking rubric:

Answer. (Does the coursework address the question/issue or meet the assigned aims and keep on topic? Is there a comprehensive understanding of the topic?)

Structure. (Is the structure clear and material presented in a well argued, coherent and synthesised manner?)

Writing Style. (Is the writing fluent and of a good standard with few errors in spelling, punctuation or grammar?)

Level of Reading. (Is the topic well researched and supported? Is there evidence of using a range of high quality sources?)

Quality of Referencing. (Is the work appropriately sourced? Are the references well formatted and written up accurately and consistently?)

Any other information:

If you would like to discuss the outline of your essay with the Module Leader or Associate Lecturer, please email. You have up until Monday February 27^th by 3:00 pm (UK time) to contact either and ask any questions. No exceptions. A tutorial will be held for the assessment prior to the due date.