Student Assignment Guidance – Crime and Law in Context
Assessment Task
Learning
Guidance
Outcomes
The assessment for this module will consist of three tasks. You must
complete all three tasks.
Task 1 –
1 and 3
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Task 1 Short answer question
Using at least 3 academic sources explain the concept of crime and
the different definitions. Within your explanation comment on how
society has criminalised and decriminalised certain behaviours.
(maximum/notional 500 words)
(25 marks)
(LOs: 1, 3)
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Explain the concept of ‘crime’ using various sources
and perspectives. For example, legal definition,
criminological definition.
Discuss how the concept of crime is not ‘fixed’ through
the process of criminalisation and decriminalisation of
certain behaviours i.e. abortion, euthanasia, same sex
relationships.
What evidence have you considered to support your
points? E.g. Academic books and Journals
Have you included theories, examples to the
definitions? – are they relevant?
Refer to lessons 1 and 2
Task 2 - Essay
LO 4
Discuss how young people’s relationships,
perceptions and choices affect their involvement in
and knife crime.
Supporting information:
Knife crime affects people of all ages and backgrounds across the
country, and all too often both perpetrators and victims are young
people. The Government have announced a series of initiatives
aimed to tackle knife crime. Drawing on data from the last 10
years, answer the following questions.
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Discuss initiatives the government have put in place to
tackle knife crime.
Explain the impact that this could have on young people
today.
Task 2 – For this task you are asked to write an academic essay.
You must present a clear introduction, main body and a
conclusion.
For this part please describe, discuss and explain Knife crime
and its impact on young people, and societies perceptions of
youths.
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(maximum/notional 1200 words)
(35 marks)
(LOs: 4)
Discuss the longstanding prevalent issues around knife
crime
Discuss and explain what the Government are doing to
tackle knife crime- what initiatives and strategies are in
place?
Explain the impact this will have on young people i.e. will
this escalate to further crimes through labelling/ lack of
help and support? Or will this deter young people from
carrying knives?
Is there a news story/case study you can use to support
your point?
Consider using the PEEL (point, explain, evidence, link to
question) to help construct your ideas and arguments.
Embed intext- citations and reference list.
Consideration points:
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Have I broken the question down to identify any key
areas that need covering?
Have I written in the right context?
Do I want to mention statistics in this answer, have I
located any relevant examples?
This links with lessons 6, 7, 9 and 10 – media.
Task 3
2 and 4
Part A: Discuss the extent to which the media controls our
perception of crime and victims of violent crime. Include theories
and current awareness as part of your answer.
Task 3-
Part B: Explain the role of the criminal justice system in relation
to the treatment of offenders.
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Part A
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(maximum/notional 1300 words)
(40 marks)
(LOs: 2,4)
Discuss the types of crimes the media report on and the
impact this has on publics perceptions of crime and
certain groups.
Illustrate your arguments with example (s)
How does the media portray offenders and it’s victims?
What is victimology?
What groups are ‘criminalised’ by the media the most and
for what types of crimes?
Part B
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You should consider the different stages of the
criminal justice process in treating offenders, you
may also want to draw on the historical changes.
You could discuss the historical changes that have
been made such as laws, punishment and order.
Discuss how the justice system respond to offenders.
i.e. is it punitive or rehabilitative? You may want to
draw on the purpose of CJS, Punishment and Prisons.
Refer to lessons 3,4,5,8 and 9
Student Checklist – Crime and Law in Context
Yes
Does the submission answer the question/deal with the task that was
set?
Have you:
• Completed all three tasks
• Submitted each task in the requested format
• Explained fully your answers
Have you demonstrated your critical thinking skills? (Make sure you
haven’t just identified key resources (task one) but have gone on to
explain them)
Have you:
• Explained resource points and added own views
• Evaluated each source in task 3 for currency, scope, accuracy
e.t.c?
• Included data and stats
Have you developed and sustained a clear argument throughout the
work? (Make sure you haven’t jumped from one idea to another)
Have you:
• Presented your tasks in chronological order
• Provided clear descriptions and explanations in all tasks?
Checked spelling, punctuation and grammar
Have you referenced all your sources, in the main body and in the
reference list at the end? (Make sure you haven’t missed any and make
sure the in-text references match up with your reference list)
Have you:
• Followed the AU referencing system
• Included one reference list at the end
• Referenced images used in the booklet
You can access the AU referencing guides here:
https://moodle.bl.rdi.co.uk/course/view.php?id=921
Have you used a good range of reading material from reliable, academic
sources? (Make sure you have not relied too heavily on single sources or
online materials which may be unreliable)
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Ensure you have consulted sources for each task in the
assessment
Ensure that the sources are up to date
Have you checked the grammar, punctuation and spelling and is the
English comprehensible? (ask someone else to read your work or read it
to yourself out loud to make sure it makes sense)
Guidan
ce
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Ensure you do not just submit the first completed work as you
should read, re- read and modify if needed
• Ensure you have plenty of time to do the last checks on spelling,
punctuation and grammar e.t.c
• Ensure you are familiar with how to upload your assessment to
Turn it in and submit your work
• Do not leave uploading your work until the last minute of
submitting
Is the coursework the correct length and have you included a word
count? (Your tutor will notice if it is too long or too short!)
Notes for Programme Teams – Student Facing Assessment Guidance
The guidance template is a document which can be adapted by Programme Teams to meet any subject/module specific requirements as well as any
specific demands of the assessment type.
The guidance aims to strike a balance between the rigour of assessment and developing student assessment literacy and expectation, particularly in the
early stages of their studies with Arden University.
The content of the guidance given to students must align to the Programme Assessment Strategy and should also be aligned to the module level with
regard to the explicit nature of the scaffolding given. In light of this:
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At Levels 0 and 4 the full template can be used
At Levels 5-7 the checklist element alone could be used in line with the level of scaffolding provided in the Programme Assessment Strategy