Briefing Notes for Assessment 2

Sep 21, 2021 | students

2021

Briefing Notes for Assessment 2

SWK785

2021

Briefing Notes for Assessment 2

Assessment Topic:               Summarise and discuss three course readings

Worth:                              40%

Length:                              2500 words

Due:                                   End of Week 8 @ 11.00pm by Blackboard

Introduction

This briefing note is to assist you in gaining an orientation on how to complete the essay, information regarding the 3 required readings and some direction to useful resources.

If you feel clear about what is expected please proceed without this briefing note.

Please read the detailed description of the assessment format and criteria in the Course Outline and if you are unclear about what is required, please contact your tutor or discuss with student colleagues. Or ask a question in the lecture. This can save you a lot of wasted time.

We will be marking closely to the marking criteria – see the marking rubric also provided on Bb – so do be sure to include relevant content against each criteria. It will not be sufficient to describe what the authors say – we want to know what you think of their ideas.

Word length is one of the criteria components and will be adhered to – you must avoid writing anything in excess of 2500 words (+ 10% allowable) not including end of text references or direct quotes.

We suggest you write about one of the three required readings at a time, then make some comparison comments at the end as well as critically discerning comments. You need to use other references to back up your claims – some likely to be useful additional references are any provided so far in weekly modules in the Learning Materials section or Course Readings on Bb and others available in the yet to be conducted lectures – these lectures are provided in draft form until the week preceding actual lecture. The related materials should be self-explanatory.

Whenever you are citing one of the three required readings (or any other reference), please be sure to include reference citation. Referring to the readings and not to do so can constitute plagiarism so do be careful in this regard.

The Three Required Readings

You must use the following readings as the basis to this assessment:

  1. Germov, J 2014/2018, ‘Imagining health problems as social issues’, in J Germov (ed.), Second opinion: an introduction to health sociology, 5th edn, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, pp. 5-22. [e book version on Course Readings list on BB]
  2. Thompson, N 2011/2018, Chapter 5: ‘Health and the medicalization of inequality’, in Promoting equality: working with diversity & difference, 3rd or 4th edn, Palgrave Macmillan, London. [See Course Readings list on BB]
  3. McMurray, A & Clendon, J 2012/2015, ‘Creating and maintaining a healthy community’, Community health and wellness, Elseiver, Chatswood, pp. 4-23. [See Course Readings list on BB]

About the Readings

In relation to the three readings, you need to provide a comprehensive summary but this does not mean you have to mention every point the author makes. In the lecture early in semester we will give a briefing and also provide some key concepts for each readings which should be covered. Then you might focus on one or two key arguments by the author more and explore these in some depth. For example, in the Thompson (2011/2018) chapter, after providing a comprehensive summary, you might wish to focus on gender inequality and the health implications as Thompson sees it and augment with relevant Australian examples and further theoretical points from other sources. But do be careful not to spend too much of the essay on giving an example as this may not sufficiently address the marking criteria.

The readings are quite different from each other and this could be a challenge on your first read of them. Thompson (2011/2018) is quite complex theorising broadly on health and the dominance of the medical model. He is from the UK and so his ideas are not directly contextualised to Australia. Germov (2014) provides an overview and introduction to the sociology of health and so goes less into depth but it is an Australian text. McMurray & Clendon (2012/2015) are also Australian and their chapter gives some ideas that draw from an approach which is compatible with the social model of health.

Key Concepts

You may wish to make sure you address some of these concepts or aspects of the models of health –

  • Agency versus structure
  • The sociological imagination
  • The medical model
  • The medicalization of inequality; dominant medical discourse
  • The social model
  • The social construction of health
  • The social determinants of heath
  • Privilege
  • Stigma
  • Sustainability
  • Social injustice/inequality
  • Social difference

It will not be possible to define and discuss all these ideas in every way, so do think carefully about what you think needs to be focused on. There are other ideas discussed by the authors you may wish to include in your essay. Remember the lecture notes have covered these ideas as well.

Addressing the Marking Criteria

Briefly the assessment requires you to:

  1. Show you understand the main points of the 3 readings
    1. Show you can explore them using critical thinking … discerning thinking
    1. Provide a developed summary statement of all 3 readings
    1. Use at least 5 other references to support your claims, and use of Germov (2014/2018) is recommended
    1. Construct an essay according to academic protocols – see detail in Course Outline.

Note:

You will need to access other references from the course and elsewhere to back up your claims about the 3 required readings – ie at least 3 references and this can include strong use of Germov (2014/2018) – this is an edited book and so you can use several chapters as each are separate references. You can use lecture notes provided you adequately reference them and the reference is not available in the provide e reserve materials. If the lecture notes are quoting someone you need to reference it as such.

Thus, for comments by the lecturer:

  • In text/paper

(Ross, 2018 slide 6)

  • End of text/paper

Ross, D 2018, ‘Social difference and health’, lecture notes, Week 4, USC.

And for citing another source used by the lecturer:

  • In Text

(Thomson cited by Ross, 2018 slide 6)

  • End of text

Ross, D 2018, ‘Social difference and health’, lecture notes, Week 4, USC.

Best wishes

Dyann

July 2021