GROUP REPORT INSTRUCTIONS
Weighting: 20%
Due date: WEEK 12
Length: approximately 1400 – 1500 words for two people and 1600 – 1800 words for three people
Topic
You are required to write a report on ONE of the topics below and then form a research question for your report:
- Student eating habits
- Cultural adjustment difficulties for international students
- Time management
- Mental health of students, eg. stress, depression, etc
- Participation in leisure activities
- Student health
- Financial demands on international students
- Opinions of international students about UC and its facilities, courses, etc;
- Difficulties associated with learning English
- An investigation into the smoking habits of university students
- Issues of overseas students with the types of accommodation available at UC
Write a report on the information you have found to answer your research question using information gained from:
- Questionnaire/survey
- At least three secondary sources (research)
Submission Information
Part 1: You must each submit an electronic copy of Part 1 (Research Report) via Canvas through the English for Tertiary Studies site by 11.59pm on the due date. Remember that files can become corrupted so always keep a soft copy yourself on a flash drive or other method. Your report must be typed and formatted and include a cover page with the names of the students in your group, student numbers, course name, lecturer’s name, assignment title, topic and due date.
Students who do not submit by this date will be penalized at the rate of 5% per day (ie for each day or part day that Part 1 is late, 5% of the total possible mark will be deducted).
Note: This assignment must be written in your own words. Suspected plagiarism from other sources or other students’ work will be very heavily penalized and could result in a FAIL grade for the members in your group. Assignments are assessed for plagiarism using URKUND text-matching software. Canvas will be used to check your submission time and date. Your assignment will be assessed according to the assessment criteria.
Part 2: Group Presentation
You are required to give an oral presentation based on the same topic as the research assignment. Specific information on how to make an effective oral presentation will be discussed in class.
You should draw on information, ideas and arguments you plan to use in your report, but you need to summarize your assignment and make use of cue cards containing brief points to help your presentation. The oral presentations will take place, in a random order, from week 12- 13.
Note that reading your essay to the class is not an appropriate way of making a presentation.
Length of presentation: 7-10 minutes for two students and 10-15 minutes for three students
Please do not hesitate to discuss with your lecturer any part of the assignment which you have not understood.
**NOTE: You will be required to submit a Reflection as a part of your Portfolio. This will be discussed further in class during the coming weeks.
Let’s begin the Research Process:
- Write your topic here:
- Make your topic into a question:
- What information have you already found?
Complete Topic Approval form and submit on Canvas by the date indicated by your teacher.
Requirements of Report
No matter which topic you choose, the report must follow conventional report format and should be written in formal academic style (Refer to the guidelines for report writing in your unit materials workbook). It should include the following information:
- Title page
- Table of contents
- Abstract (Write the abstract last)
- Introduction
- Body –
- Part (1) – Methodology
Summarize what you did, how you did it and why.
- Part (2) –Findings or results
In this section you should describe what you have discovered by using primary source materials based on information from questionnaires. You should also illustrate findings using tables, charts, graphs and so forth.
- Part (3) – Discussion
In this section you should discuss and explain your findings and relate them to previous secondary research. Use a combination of primary and secondary source materials, which will provide a background to your findings.
- Conclusion
- Recommendations
- Appendix: Add your questionnaire and other material you feel might be relevant.
- Reference list
Citing Sources
You should follow the APA referencing system and use paraphrasing and summarizing techniques You should consult at least THREE different sources, and refer to these, both in your text and in your list of references. Failure to do this will result in a FAIL grade.
Preparation Guidelines for Questionnaire:
a. Primary Source Materials – Guidelines for Writing the Questionnaire
- Devise a questionnaire of 10-12 questions based on the topic you have chosen. You should be careful not to make your questions too broad because the information you gain will be difficult to write up in the results section of your report.
You will be given more information on how to write a questionnaire in class.
- Carry out the survey by interviewing at least 20 people.
- Collate the information and analyse the data.
- Finally, plan how you would illustrate and present this information in the results section of your report. You will need to include some figures and tables or other illustrations to present your findings.
b. Secondary Source Materials – Guidelines for Note-Taking
Using the note-taking sheet you have been given, take notes to answer your investigation question. Keep in mind that you are going to form questions for your survey.
