DETAILED ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS & MARKING CRITERIA
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1. Research Exercise – Library Research, Presentation & Written Paper (25%)
In response to one weekly Research Topic, each student will undertake a Research Exercise which requires:
(a) doing Library research (b) delivering a formal presentation (c) producing a written paper of 1500 words.
This assignment is designed to assess your research skills and your ability to apply theoretical knowledge to the
articulation of an interpretation of the chosen weekly topic in some depth. It will be marked on the basis of:
(a) the quality of the research undertaken (b) how the formal presentation is delivered [the presentation will give
your tutor and fellow students an opportunity to provide you with constructive feedback] (c) the writing up of that
research into an academically formal paper [for more details, please see the relevant marksheet on Blackboard].
Please note that your presentation will not be a simple reiteration or regurgitation of the reading materials set for
that week. For this assignment’s presentation aspect, you can be expected to be assessed on the degree to
which your research on the chosen topic is clearly summarised as well as on the extent to which that research
and a proposed argument in response to the set question are presented to elicit interest [for more details, please
see the relevant marksheet on Blackboard]. The presentation will not be longer than 20 minutes; the time limit will
be strictly adhered to. Your presentation will be followed by questions and a discussion during the tutorial.
The written paper, which is to incorporate any feedback received from your tutor in class, will follow a standard
essay format [please see the “Written Assessment Guide” document on Blackboard]. It will clearly present the
research done in a concise and clear way, and it will convey a well-reasoned argument supported by authoritative
evidence in response to the set question [for more details, please see the relevant marksheet on Blackboard]. The
written paper should also fulfill all CMNS3310 Assignment Presentation Requirements, as indicated in the
relevant document on Blackboard.
Your reference list must contain at least 8 monographs (i.e. books) and at least 2 academic journal articles. The
final mark for this assignment, worth 25% of the course’s total marks, will be given for the full and complete
exercise. No separate mark will be allocated for any of the individual components of this assessment task. Please
note that zero marks may be awarded for the entire assignment if the presentation component is not undertaken.
Please read the “Weekly Schedule of Lecture & Seminar Topics and Readings” document on Blackboard. You will
subsequently inform your tutor during the tutorial session in Week 2 what specific Research Topic you have
chosen for presentation. There will usually be at least two presentations weekly – to be carried out from Week 3 to
Week 11. If more than two students wish to present any weekly topic, a decision will be reached by the drawing of
lots. A topic for presentation will be automatically allocated by the lecturer/tutor on behalf of any student absent
from the tutorial session in Week 2.
The Written Paper is due at 4pm on Thursday, in the week following the presentation: the electronic copy should
be submitted through Turnitin.
Non-adherence to due dates without an approved extension of time being formally granted will be penalised,
according to the ‘Late Submissions’ policy in the Course Outline.
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2. Major Essay (30%)
The purpose of the Major Essay is to assess your understanding of the course’s key concepts and your ability to
apply critical analysis and writing skills to the development of a coherent theoretical argument.
The Major Essay is worth 30% of the course’s total marks and should be between 2500 and 3000 words in length,
excluding footnotes, appendices and reference list. Please note that your reference list must contain a bare
minimum of 8 monographs (i.e. books) and 4 academic journal articles.
Your assignment will follow a standard essay format [please see the “Written Assessment Guide” document on
Blackboard] and should fulfill all CMNS3310 Assignment Presentation Requirements, as indicated in the relevant
document on Blackboard.
The Major Essay will be assessed according to the depth of the research undertaken, the argument presented,
the depth of analysis, the coherence of the reasoning and the adherence to academic requirements [for more
details, please see the relevant marksheet on Blackboard].
You are required to write an Essay on one of the four topics listed below:
1. Keith Sawyer (2006, p.33) asserts that “a scientific explanation of creativity requires us to look critically
at our own cultural assumptions about how creativity works, and scientific studies of creativity fail to
support our most cherished beliefs about creativity” and yet, “many basic tenets of Romantic aesthetics
have proved extremely durable” (Heath & Boreham, 2005, p.172). There are many “internal
contradictions in the foundations of Romantic thinking, but the fact that we are still raising these
revisionist objections shows how pervasive the Romantic influence has been” (ibid).
Discuss.
OR
2. Keith Negus and Michael Pickering assert that “it is a common misconception to regard innovation and tradition
as diametrically opposed to each other. When innovation is valued as a defining characteristic of the creative
process, tradition often becomes set up against it as inevitably static and unchanging. In this view tradition
inhibits, and is seen as an impediment to be overcome” (2004, p.91).
Discuss in relation to the concepts of ‘agency’ and ‘structure’.
OR
3. Beth Hennessy and Teresa Amabile have argued that “only by using multiple lenses simultaneously, looking
across levels, and thinking about creativity systematically, will we be able to unlock and use its secrets. What we
need now are all encompassing systems theories of creativity designed to tie together and make sense of the
diversity of perspectives found in the literature – from the innermost neurological level to the outermost cultural
level” (Hennessy & Amabile, 2010, p.590). Furthermore, arguing for psychologists to incorporate a sociological
focus to their work, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has stated that “we need to abandon the Ptolemaic view of creativity,
in which the person is at the centre of everything, for a more Copernican model in which the person is part of a
system of mutual influences and information” (in Sternberg, 1988, p.336).
Discuss.
OR
4. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi expounds an idea of creativity that incorporates what he labels “person”, “field” and
“domain” in a system of circular causality. From his unique psychological perspective, Csikszentmihalyi argues
that this systems model of creativity can be studied by investigating moments within it. In addition, Pierre Bourdieu
presented a seemingly complex set of sociological concepts to explain cultural practice: these included the
concepts of ‘cultural capital’, the ‘field’, the ‘field of works’ and an individual’s ‘habitus’. Bourdieu argued that the
interaction between these spheres makes cultural production possible.
Discuss, compare and contrast Csikszentmihalyi’s and Bourdieu’s above-mentioned perspectives.
The Major Essay is due at 4pm on Thursday 03 August in Week 13: the electronic copy should be submitted
through Turnitin on or before the specified due date.
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4. Multiple-Choice Test (25%)
The purpose of the Multiple-Choice Test is to motivate you to do the readings – and so make a useful contribution
to tutorial discussions – and to determine your familiarity with the key concepts and ideas of the course.
The Multiple-Choice Test, worth 25% of the course’s total marks, will cover all sections/topics of the course, with
questions derived from lectures, weekly readings and the set textbook.
The Test will be distributed and conducted on Tuesday 01 August, under standard examination conditions.
Students who fail to sit for the Test at the designated time and venue will forfeit all Test marks.
Specific instructions for the Multiple-Choice Test are available on Blackboard.
5. Tutorial Participation & Contribution (20%)
Tutorial Participation & Contribution will be assessed on the degree to which you contribute to and actively
participate in tutorials. This active tutorial participation includes: asking and responding to questions, discussing
the weekly seminar topic, making productive and informed comments, and demonstrating that you have
completed the weekly readings and consulted the set text book.
It is extremely important to read the set text, to do all the required weekly readings, to research the topic area
further and to come to the tutorial prepared to discuss the topic for that day. Please note that opinions and
assumptions not backed up with authoritative evidence will not earn significant participation points.
It is difficult to participate or to contribute if you are not actually present in tutorials, and you will not pass this
assessment task by only showing up to class without saying anything.
Submission of Assignments
The School requires students to sign a declaration for all submitted assessments (on the assessment cover sheet
provided on Blackboard) confirming a statement that:
1. the submitted work is original;
2. the submitted work has not been submitted previously for academic credit in this or any other course;
3. acceptable acknowledgement of sources has been made through referencing appropriate to the
discipline within the assignment; and
4. the student understands that the assessor of the assignment may, for the purpose of assessing this
assignment:
• reproduce this assessment item and provide a copy to another member of the University and/or
communicate a copy of this assessment item to a plagiarism checking service (which may then
retain a copy of the item on its database for the purpose of future plagiarism checking); and
• submit the assessment item to other forms of plagiarism-checking.
Repetition of Work
Students are not allowed to submit repetition of work in any part of this course. Students who submit a repeated
work are liable to lose all the marks for one or other of the repeated pieces of work.
Additional Assessment Information
Students who fail to submit through Turnitin the electronic copy of any assignment on or before the specified due date,
without an approved extension of time, will be penalised by the reduction of the mark awarded for the assessment item
concerned, according to the ‘Late Submissions’ policy in the Course Outline.
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