ASSESSMENT 4 - RESEARCH ESSAY (25%)

Due date: Wednesday 26 October, Week 10 (11.55pm)

Submission: Your essay MUST BE submitted on Moodle using turnitin (ensure your name and Id
number is on the cover page of this document). It is a University requirement that all written work is
submitted through turnitin via Moodle.
2.3 Mandatory use of Turnitin and similarity index software (a) Students are required to submit all
written work through Turnitin via Moodle online to check their work for originality and ensure that
appropriate referencing and citation is used. (USP Handbook & Calendar, 2022, p. 122)
Essay Length: 1500 words – this does not include references. Do not submit a plan or abstract.
Essays that are 10% above OR below the word limit will be penalised accordingly.
Objective: To conduct research on ethics and governance issues in national, regional and global
arenas.
WARNING!!!
1) ESSAYS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN SUBMITTED USING TURNITIN WILL NOT BE
MARKED! YOU WILL GET A ZERO.
2) ESSAYS WITH EXTENSIVE USE OF SYNONYMS WILL GET A ZERO.
3) ESSAYS THAT USE ANY ONLINE PARAPHRASING TOOLS WILL BE AWARDED
ZERO.
4) ESSAYS THAT FAIL TO USE ANY IN-TEXT REFERENCS WILL GET A ZERO.
5) ESSAYS WITH MANY DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN THE BIBLIOGRAPHY AND
INTEXT REFERENCES WILL GET A ZERO.
6) IF YOU DO NOT UPLOAD THE BIBLIOGRAPHY WITH YOUR ESSAY, YOU WILL
GET A ZERO.
7) IF YOU TAMPER WITH THE PUNCTUATION TO REDUCE THE SIMILARITY
INDEX YOU WILL BE AWARDED ZERO.
8) IF YOU GIVE YOUR ESSAY, USB OR LAPTOP TO A FRIEND AND SHE/HE
UPLOADS YOUR ESSAY, BOTH OF YOU WILL BE AWARDED ZERO FOR
COLLUSION.
9) IF WE DETECT ANY PLAGIARISM IN YOUR ESSAY, (EVEN IF THE SI IS LOWER
THAN 20%) WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO AWARD YOU A ZERO.
10) IF YOU HAVE A VERY HIGH SI, YOU WILL BE AWARDED ZERO
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The Similarity Index should be below 20% and all references used must be properly
acknowledged. Check the Similarity Index using turnitin PRIOR TO the final submission.
Once the final version of the essay has been submitted, you will not be given a chance to rework
the essay! However, a low SI does not mean that you have not plagiarised. If the essay is
plagiarised, you will be graded according to the extent of plagiarism. Carefully read the
Student Academic Integrity Regulations (page 120-124 of the 2022 USP Handbook and
Calendar).
RESEARCH ESSAY QUESTIONS
Choose ONE of the three questions listed below and write a 1500-word PERSUASIVE essay.
Read the question selected carefully and conduct extensive research on the topic. Your views should
come across clearly. Ensure that you conduct research prior to writing the essay. The essay requires
you to critically and theoretically engage with a topic and you must show evidence of research.
DO NOT WRITE AN ESSAY BASED PURELY ON PERSONAL REFLECTION. You must
include a BIBLIOGRAPHY and IN-TEXT CITATIONS that match the sources listed in the
bibliography. Refer closely to the warnings on page 18 of the course outline.
Question 1: “Extreme heat is a killer… Every heatwave occurring today is made more likely and
more intense by human caused climate change” (https://theconversation.com/how-likely-would-
britains-40-c-heatwave-have-been-without-climate-change-187368).
As the world heats up around us, how should the people and governments of the Pacific respond to
this crisis? What is our moral obligation as global citizens? Refer to ethical interconnectedness,
anthropocentrism, the formula of humanity principle and two approaches of governance in your
essay. You must support your arguments with examples from the Pacific.
Question 2: “Proponents of legalizing recreational marijuana say it will add billions to the economy,
create hundreds of thousands of jobs, free up scarce police resources, and stop the huge racial
disparities in marijuana enforcement” (Britannica, ProCon.org)
At a time when the people of Fiji and the Pacific are battling with hunger, widespread unemployment
and the increasing cost of living, should our governments take the necessary steps to legalize
recreational marijuana use? Refer to the cost/benefit principle, the greatest happiness factor, the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and two approaches to governance in your essay. You
must support your arguments with examples from the Pacific.
Question 3: “A restaurant is under the spotlight after it served a customer chicken soup that had
maggots in it and in another incident, served a customer a chicken wrap that had a dead cockroach in
it” https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/food/restaurant-under-the-spotlight-for-violation/. 19
Critically evaluate the social and moral responsibility of food businesses using three examples from
the Pacific (including the one above). Make reference to the following in your essay: chrematiske,
the golden mean, moral autonomy and two principles of corporate governance.
IMPORTANT:
THIS IS A PERSUASIVE ESSAY.
A persuasive (or argument essay) uses logic and reason to show that one idea is more legitimate than
another. Decide on your position in relation to one of the topics above and use examples and reason
to demonstrate that position throughout the essay.
RESEARCH ESSAY FORMAT/CHECKLIST
1. INTRODUCTION: EMBARK, CLARIFY
 Have you selected one of the above topics?
 Have you defined/unpacked the keywords and theories?
 Have you stated the essay‟s aims or purpose?

2. BODY: ANALYSE AND SYNTHESISE

 Have you addressed all the parts of the question?
 Have you presented original arguments using your own words?
 Is there evidence of analysis/synthesis using ethical theories?
 Is your personal stance clear in the essay?
 Do you cite examples from two Pacific Island countries?

3.CONCLUSION: CRITICALLY EVALUATE INFORMATION

Have you summarised the main arguments in the conclusion?
Have you restated and stressed your own view in the conclusion?
4. RESEARCH AND REFERENCES: FIND, GENERATE, ORGANISE AND MANAGE
 Have you conducted extensive research on the topic in the library?
 Have you conducted extensive research on the topic using online sources?
 Have you cited 10 credible in-text references within the essay? (Not Wikipedia)
 Have you listed 10 references in the bibliography (3 online, 7 book/journal)?
 Do the in-text citations and the bibliography match?
 Is the Harvard System used to prepare the bibliography and in-text references?

5. ACADEMIC STYLE: ORGANISE, MANAGE, COMMUNICATE AND APPLY

 Is your essay coherently structured? (Do the arguments flow well?) Have you used a
formal/academic writing style?
 Is your essay free of spelling and grammatical errors? Have you proof-read it?

6. OTHER GENERAL GUIDELINES THAT YOU NEED TO FOLLOW TO AVOID

LOSING MARKS:
 Is your essay 1,500 words in length? Marks will be deducted for essays 10% above/below the
limit.
 Is the essay submitted on time? A penalty of 10% will be deducted for each day the essay is late.
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 Have you submitted a draft of your essay using turn-it-in correctly?
 Are all sources correctly referenced within the essay?
 Is the Similarity Index below 20% (after you exclude quotes)?
 Have you shown your essay to another student or copied another student‟s essay? This is called
collusion (see USP Handbook and Calendar). If two or more essays are similar, both students will be
awarded 0.
 Is your essay uploaded on Moodle using MSWord format? PDF copies will not be marked.
PRIMARY RSD FACETS TESTED IN THE ESSAY: EMBARK & CLARIFY, ANALYSE & SYNTHESISE,
CRITICALLY EVALUATE, FIND, GENERATE, ORGANISE & MANAGE, COMMUNICATE AND APPLY.