The Report Assessment

Academic and Professional Skills

Week 3 Session 1

Student’s version
Session Outline

• Key dates
• The report task
• Guidance on structure and word count
• Understanding the task/the assessment criteria
• Stakeholder opinions
• Identifying impacts
Rationale
This session develops skills you will need throughout your time at university, as
well as for your APS assessments:

• Understanding assignment briefs

• Critical thinking

This session also develops employability skills, specifically:

• Communication skills (written and oral)
• Cultural sensitivity
• Working in a team
• Analytical thinking

Use Bailey on Kortext to support this session:

1.9 Activities 2-3 Combining sources p65
Assessment Relevance (Report)
Grade Task Fulfilment (40%)
 On topic and succinct without digression.
80-89%
 Report sections fulfil their functions effectively and
Outstanding thoroughly.
   Analysis is outstandingly original and is present throughout
  the report.

 Report stays on topic (there may be extremely minimal

70 – 79%
digression).
Excellent
 Report sections fulfil their functions.
 
 Analysis is excellent and very frequent.
 
 Report is mostly on topic with only minor digression.
60 – 69%
 Most report sections fulfil their functions.
Good
 Analysis is good and frequent.
 
 
Individual Assessed Report

• Your report is worth 70% of your final grade.

• This is an individual piece of work.
• You should submit your work via Turnitin.
• You should complete your work with academic integrity.
 Submission Deadline
• Final submission through Turnitin: Friday Week 10,
2pm (late submissions are capped at 40%).

• You can see the deadline date on the VLE in the

‘Assessments and Assessment Guidance’ tile.
Feedback and Workshop Sessions
• To help you to meet the deadline, there will be classes
dedicated to editing drafts of your work. You will be
able to edit your own work using checklists, and your
lecturer will give you feedback.

• To get the most out of these sessions, your drafts should

be the best they can be when showing them to your
lecturer.

• To be fair to everyone, your lecturer will only look at

your drafts once.

• If you miss the session or you are not prepared, your

lecturer is not obliged to look at your work.
Feedback and Workshop Session Dates

• Introduction: Week 7 Session 1

• Analysis section: Week 8 Session 2
• Conclusion, Recommendations section and Executive
Summary (you should have all these sections ready to work
on, and your lecturer will look at one of your
recommendations): Week 10 Session 1

Your lecturer may ask you to email your work to them in

advance of these sessions.
How will APS sessions support you?
The APS sessions will support you in multiple ways:

1. Development of academic skills including: research

skills, referencing skills and use of academic style.
2. Development of analytical skills (to avoid simple
description).
3. Input on structure including paragraph structure and
report structure.
4. Workshops and feedback sessions where you bring in
sections of your report for self-review and guidance.

It is therefore important that you do not miss any classes. These

classes will not only increase your chances of getting a good
grade for this course, but they will also provide you with skills
you need in your other courses and throughout your time at
university.
What is a report?

• A report is not the same as an essay.

• It has a practical purpose – your report is designed to analyse

a complex issue, then provide recommendations based on
that analysis

• It is divided into sections, each with a different function.

Each section has its own subheading.

• Reports should use academic style.

• Go to the VLE and read through the assignment brief.

Read the report title carefully.
 Basic Report Structure and Suggested Word Counts
Executive Summary Not included

Introduction 300
Analysis 1200
Conclusion 150
Recommendations 350
Reference List Not included

You should also include a cover page (see the

assignment brief for more details) and a table of
contents.
Word Count

• Your report should be roughly 2000 words long, excluding the

Executive Summary, Contents Page, Reference List and in-text
citations e.g. (Smith, 2021).

• If you write fewer than 1800 words, it will be difficult for you to
answer the question fully and you are likely to lose marks.

• If you go over the word limit, you will lose 5 marks for every extra
200 words you write. This is a university-wide policy. For example:
• 2201-2400 words = 5 mark penalty
• 2401-2600 words = 10 mark penalty
Guidance on structure and word count (1)
This information can be found on page 4 of the assignment brief.

You must submit a Word doc (.doc/.docx/.odt), not a PDF.

Cover page:
• Title of the report (the assignment question).
• Title of the module.
• Student Number (1xxxxxx).
• Date of submission.
• Word count. This should exclude the Executive Summary, Contents Page, Reference
List and in-text citations e.g. (Smith, 2021).

Executive summary (not included in word count):

• Summary of each section of the report and its key points.

Contents page:
• Section headings with page numbers.
Guidance on structure and word count (2)
This information can be found on p.4 of the assignment brief

Introduction (suggested: 300 words):

 Definition of key terms (see the assignment brief for specific guidance)
 A discussion (with examples) of the various stakeholders involved
 A sentence summarising the main aims of the report.

Analysis (suggested: 1200 words, 400 for each perspective):

 One subsection for each of the 3 perspectives. Ideally, each perspective

should cover 2 to 3 different issues.
 Each subsection should have a subheading.
 All key ideas should be supported with reliable, relevant source evidence.
Guidance on structure and word count (3)
This information can be found on p.4 of the assignment brief

Conclusion (suggested: 150 words):

• A summary of key points from the Analysis section.

Recommendations (suggested: 350 words):

• Three or four recommendations. Each one should have a subtitle.

• Each recommendation must suggest a way to maximise a benefit or minimise a challenge which
has been discussed in your Analysis section.
• The recommendations should be supported by research.

Reference List (not included in word count):

• A list of all sources you have cited.

• This should follow the conventions of ARU Harvard referencing.
 The First Analysis Subsection
• The first Analysis subsection (400 words) should relate to your degree.
There are 3 different perspectives to choose from.

• By choosing a perspective that is related to your field of study, you are

not only demonstrating your academic skills, but you are also extending
your knowledge of the field.

If you are studying a degree related to Health and Social Care, your
first subsection should be The Health Impacts.

If you are studying a degree related to Business or Law, your first

subsection should be The Economic Impacts.

If you are studying a degree related to Hospitality, Events and

Tourism, your first subsection should be The Impacts on the
Tourism, Hospitality and Events Industries.
The First Analysis Subsection

• If you are not sure which perspective to choose, think about your
other module. Is it related to healthcare, business or
hospitality/tourism/events?
The Other Analysis Subsections

• All students should then write 2 more subsections (400 words each).

• The first should be The Environmental Impacts.

• The second should be The Social Impacts.

• By adding these two additional perspectives, you are demonstrating

your ability to analyse the topic within a wider context. 
Activity 1: Understanding the task

• Look at Activity 1 on your handout and answer the questions about

the report.
Activity 1 Answers (Part 1)

1. What are the two task words in the question? Analyse, Recommend

2. What should you analyse the impacts of? (See task in the assignment brief/on
PPT slide 11 for answer)

3. What should your recommendations be about? Ways to maximise benefits

and/or minimise challenges discussed in the Analysis

4. Use the answers to questions 1-3 to rewrite the task in your own words (think
back to session 1.2 on understanding questions. Rewriting the task should help
you to understand it better).
No suggested answer – this is up to you!
Activity 1 Answers (Part 2)
5. Which source MUST you use in your answer?
Olander, S., 2007. Stakeholder impact analysis in construction project
management. Construction management and economics. [Online] 25
(3), pp.277–287.

6. Can your report be about a specific city or country? No (but you can
use specific examples)

7. What will the subheading for your first Analysis subsection be?

Degree related to Health and Social Care: The Health Impacts

Degree related to Business or Law: The Economic Impacts.
Degree related to Hospitality, Events and Tourism: The Impacts on the
Tourism, Hospitality and Events Industries

8. What will the subheadings for your other two Analysis subsections be?
The Environmental Impacts and The Social Impacts
 Activity 1 Answers (Part 3)
9. Roughly how long should each Analysis subsection be? 400 words

10. In which section of the report will you define key terms? Introduction

11. In which section of the report will you analyse impacts? Analysis

12. In which section of the report will you make recommendations?

Recommendations

13. What will the last section of your report be? Reference List

14. How long should your report be? Roughly 2000 words

15. Which parts of your report are NOT included in the word count? Executive
Summary, Contents Page, Reference List and in-text citations e.g. (Smith,
2021).
Assessment Criteria
You will be assessed on the following:

• Task Fulfilment (40%):

Relevance, report section function, level of analysis

• Structure (20%):
Organisation of ideas, paragraph structure and cohesive language

• Use of Sources (20%):

Quality and appropriacy of sources, use of paraphrase/summary and use of
Harvard referencing

• Language (20%):
Range, accuracy & style

All of these aspects will be covered in class, so it is vital that you do not
miss any classes.

Read through the Assessment Criteria on the Assignment Brief now.

Any questions?
Perspectives: Stakeholder Opinions

• In the Analysis section, you will need to consider the viewpoints of

various stakeholders.

• This will require critical thinking and research. You will need to come
up with your own ideas and look for evidence to support them.

• Considering the views of stakeholders is also an important

professional skill, especially in management positions.
The Scenario

• Consider this scenario:

A new shopping mall is going to be built in central London.

• Imagine you have been asked to analyse the impacts of building this
mall.

• Many different stakeholders would be impacted by this. There are

some examples on the next slides.
Local business owner
Local pensioners
Councillor responsible for the
Environment
Activity 2: Stakeholder Opinions

• Identify the opinions – both positive and negative – that each of these
stakeholders might have about a plan to build a new shopping mall in
central London.

• Complete the table on your handout.

Activity 3: Classifying Impacts
• Look again at the table you created in Activity 2.

• The impacts you identified could be divided into different

categories, such as:

1. Economic impacts

2. Environmental impacts

3. Social impacts

• Look again at the impacts you identified. Write ‘1’ next

to the economic impacts, ‘2’ next to the environmental
impacts and ‘3’ next to the social impacts. (Note: It is
possible that not all the impacts will fit into these
categories.)
Activity 4: Identifying Impacts
• Imagine you have been asked to analyse the impacts of a
new Hotel & Spa being built in central London.

• The Hotel & Spa will have different types of impact:

Economic impacts
Environmental impacts
Social impacts

• Use the table on your handout to make notes on the possible

impacts – both positive and negative – from these three
perspectives. In the last column, write down which
stakeholder/s would be affected.

• There are some examples of impacts you may want to

consider on the following slides.
Impact on taxes
Burden on local infrastructure
Job creation
 Activity 5: Planning your Report
• At this stage, you need to start planning and researching your
report.

• You will get more information on report structure next session

(Week 3 Session 2).

• In the meantime, you can start your plan.

• Go to Activity 5 on your handout. Use the outline provided to

start work on your Report plan. You won’t be able to fill
everything in now – you should keep adding to this plan as you
do your research. Today your main focus should be planning
the Introduction.

(Note: Some sections [Conclusion, Recommendations] cannot

be planned until you have chosen the key points you will
include in your Analysis section.)
Homework

Use Bailey on Kortext to support this session:

1.9 Activities 2-3 Combining sources p65

• Continue planning your report.

Be ready for the report feedback sessions:

• Introduction: Week 7 Session 1
• Analysis section: Week 8 Session 2
• Conclusion, Recommendations section and Executive
Summary (you should have all these sections ready to work
on, and your lecturer will look at one of your
recommendations): Week 10 Session 1
Q&A