Assessment Type - Comparative Analysis - individual assessment - 1000 - 1500 word report. (Note: this report will be used as the basis of Assessment 4, the individual Oral Presentation).

Purpose: The purpose of this assessment is to build on the research and evaluation skills and techniques developed with Assessments 1 and 2, and the critical thinking skills discussed and practiced in class, to develop a comparative analysis of the Trimester topic. This assessment will help also students to develop and improve writing and information literacy skills. This assessment contributes specifically to Learning Outcomes a, c, and d.

Topic:

A short report comparing and contrasting what different academically valid sources say on the Trimester topic - topic was be provided in class and via Moodle - it is the same topic used as the basis of Assessment 2.

Students should use the 4 acceptable sources ( the ones that met the evaluation criteria as taught in class) from their Annotated Bibliography plus a minimum of 2 other sources (academically acceptable and that meet the evaluation criteria) to develop their report

Task Details:

The short report gives students the opportunity to study an assigned topic in depth. It requires students to find relevant sources of information that will enable them to write a comparative analysis from an informed point of view. This will help students to develop writing and information literacy skills.

The assessment will require students to identify 2 or 3 main points of interest about the Trimester Topic. Students should use the 4 acceptable sources from their Annotated Bibliography plus a minimum of 2 other sources (academically acceptable and that meet the evaluation criteria) to develop their report.

Using their sources which may agree and/or disagree with those points, students should compare and contrast what the different sources say about the points and draw conclusions which answer the question(s) posed. A brief evaluation (a summary sentence such as used in your Annotated Bibliography) of the sources should be included in the discussion.

It is important to note that the purpose of this assignment is to review what different authors say about the topic/points of interest. More detail about the assessment will be provided in class and via Moodle.

Presentation:

The review needs to be submitted as follows:
- 1000 - 1500 + 10% word academic style report
- Word .doc or .docx
- Font: Arial 10pt, Calibri 11pt or Times New Roman 12pt.
- Title page
- Introduction, analysis discussion using suitable headings and sub- headings and a conclusion
- Reference List

The topic for this assessment is "If a business drops its price will it always increase demand - and will it make more profit?"

This is quite a broad topic so individuals need to identify the scope / focus / theme of their assessment. This should be explained in the introduction. The overall focus is the rule relating to the price/demand relationship and consumer responses.

Some possibilities include (but are not limited to):
- Identifying research which discusses the question in general terms - compare and contrast what different authors say
- Identifying the general principle - i.e. what is usually the answer, then identifying a particular type of good (specialty good, luxury goods, Giffen goods) and discussing whether the general principles will also apply to this type of good.
- Discuss whether the rule applies to 3 different types of goods and draw a conclusion as to how applicable the rule/theory is
- Focus on 2 or 3 different industries e.g. grocery items vs furniture vs sports shoes and discuss how the rule applies
- You could also compare how the rule might apply differently between a consumer and a business to business market.