Marking criteria: Three sets of criteria are assessed in essays: reading and research, argument and critical thinking, and presentation and communication. Markers are thus looking for the following:
– Reading and research: evidence of critical engagement with reading materials; evidence of independent reading of a range of appropriate academic material (including books and academic journal articles) beyond the core readings. Evidence of having understood what you read.
The readings in the core and further reading list for each week are a starting point for your essay. In order to find more relevant material, you should: a) read other chapters from the books used in your readings (most of them are edited collections with lots of chapters that cover a wide breadth of topics in this module, beyond the individual chapters selected for the reading list); b) find current research addressing these topics by browsing these journals on the university library website: Public Relations Review; Journal of Public Relations Research; Public Relations Inquiry; Public Relations Quarterly; c) follow up references used in articles or chapters that you have already found relevant to your essay topic.
– Argument and critical thinking: well-articulated and well-supported argument; evidence of critical thinking (through taking a position in relation to key ideas from the module and supporting this position with evidence from readings and examples); evidence of relational thinking (through making connections between key ideas from the module and wider literature and examples); evidence of independent critical ability.
– Presentation and Communication: clear writing; clear and coherent (easy to follow) structure; accuracy in referencing.
