Public Law (read description)
7 TMA 01
Assessment builder activity
Activity 9 is a compulsory assessment builder activity that forms part of your credit for TMA 01. It is important that you read this carefully and complete the activity by the stated deadline. You will be reminded about the need to complete this TMA 01 assessment builder in the following units leading up to the deadline, but you only need to complete the activity once.
Activity 9 TMA 01 assessment builder
]This is an assessment builder activity that you will complete over the course of the next three weeks. It is essential that you complete this activity by the end of Week 6 in order to receive credit for it when your TMA 01 is marked.
Please see TMA 01 for more information about how this activity fits into the TMA.
This activity is in three parts and you must complete all of them.
Part 1
Use your research skills to find one general academic source (i.e. commentary on the law, not the law itself) about one of the key topics relating to the UK Constitution set out below. It must be a source that you consider to be reliable and relevant to your W211 studies.
The topics are:
rule of law
separation of powers
parliamentary sovereignty
human rights
devolution.
The source must relate to the UK Constitution.
Part 2
Use the PROMPT criteria to evaluate the reliability of the source, to show why it is reliable. Write up this Assessment in 200 words.
Post the Assessment on your tutor group forum (TGF) in the thread titled ‘TMA 01 assessment builder’. Attach a copy of the source to the post if you can download it (or alternatively link to it). State the full reference of the source at the top of your forum post.
You should post your source by the end of Week 5 to give other students enough time to review and reply to a post of their choice.
Part 3
Find a post from another student referring to a source that you think is important and could go in your constitutional bag. Reply to that student’s post, stating why you think that source is important for your understanding of the UK Constitution.
Here is some useful guidance relating to posting on your TGF and replying to other students’ posts:
The Library’s ‘Communicating online’ pathway is a useful introduction to using various methods of online communication, including forums. It also includes information about good online communication, or ‘netiquette’. The Library’s “Communicating Online” pathway is a good way to learn how to use different ways to talk online, such as forums. It also has information about “netiquette,” which is the proper way to talk to people online.
The Forums user guide in the Computing Guide gives you detailed information about how to use forums and the different tools available, as well as information about accessibility.
StudentHome has a section called “Skills for OU Study” that talks about how to use forums well and some of the problems that can happen.
The Computing Guide’s Forums user guide gives you detailed information on using forums and the various tools available, including accessibility information.
The Skills for OU Study section of StudentHome also has a section on how to use forums effectively, and some of the problems that can arise.
You must post your reply by the Friday at the end of Week 6.
TMA 01
Before submitting this TMA you should ensure you have completed Units 1–4 of the module, including either Unit 4A or 4B, depending on your choice of Block 2.
If you have not already done so, you may also find it helpful to view the online recordings of the following tutorials available in the online tutorial room:
Tutorials 1 and 2
Library skills sessions 1 and 2
Independent research skills session 1.
The cut-off date for TMA 01 is 12:00 midday (UK local time) on 24 November 2022. This is the latest date by which your TMA must reach your tutor. You must submit your TMA using the online TMA/EMA service.
TMA 01 is worth 25% of your overall score for the module. For more information on module assessment, see Section 3.2 of the Module guide.
TMA 01 consists of two questions:
Question 1 is worth 30% of the mark for this TMA. It is the assessment builder you were asked to complete in Weeks 3–6 (Units 2–4) of the module. The deadline for this activity was Friday, 11 November 2022.
Question 2 is worth 70% of the mark for this TMA.
You are expected to answer the TMA in your own words.
The word limit for TMA 01 is a maximum of 1000 words. Any words over this cannot be credited, in accordance with Section 9 of the Law undergraduate guide. You should use a maximum of 200 words for Part 2 of Question 1 and a maximum of 800 words for Question 2. There is no word limit for Part 3 of Question 1. Remember, all the words you use to answer the question, including headings, quotations and in-text citations, count.
You must provide a reference list and a word count at the end of your work. Your footnotes and reference list are not included in the word count. You should provide a word count at the end of each question, but you are required to provide only a single reference list, at the end of your TMA.
Learning outcomes
TMA 01 tests the following learning outcomes.
Knowledge:
Knowledge and understanding of:
aspects of the UK Constitution
the content of legal and academic sources.
Skills:
The ability to:
find and evaluate relevant and appropriate primary and secondary sources
comparatively analyse the law and legal texts
communicate effectively using appropriate language and presentation style for the intended audience, with correct referencing.
Questions
The following pages set out the questions for this assignment.
You must ensure that you have read the learning outcomes and the guidance given for these questions before starting work on your assignment.
Question 1
Question 1 is worth 30% of the mark for this TMA.
For this question you were required to complete all three parts of the TMA 01 assessment builder activity, which was introduced in Unit 2.
Parts 1 and 2 should have been completed by Friday, 4 November 2022. Part 3 should have been completed by Friday, 11 November 2022.
To remind you of the task, you can view the assessment builder here. For your work to be assessed, you should copy and paste your forum posts and submit them with the rest of your TMA, under the heading ‘Question 1’.
You will be marked on whether your chosen source is a reliable and relevant source and the quality of your Assessment of the source using the PROMPT criteria, and the reasons given for considering the other source to be important, including the style and tone used in the feedback to the other student.
No extensions are possible for this assessment builder activity.
Question 2
Question 2 is worth 70% of the mark for this TMA.
1. Use a legal database in the OU Library to find a case judgment covering any of the legal systems of the United Kingdom (i.e. England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, or the UK as a whole). The case should be relevant to the subject of the general academic source that you found for Part 1 of Question 1 of the TMA Assessment builder.
2. In no more than 800 words, write an essay providing a comparative analysis of how the general academic source you found for Question 1 and the case you found for Question 2 help to develop your understanding of the aspect of the UK Constitution that they address.
Guidance
The Law undergraduate guide contains definitions of words used in TMA questions. It also gives advice on referencing in Section 8. You should read this guide before attempting TMA 01.
You can find further advice about referencing and plagiarism on the Referencing and plagiarism page of the Library website. This includes links to:
Cite Them Right online, a practical guide to referencing that is commonly used by UK universities
a downloadable and printable Quick guide to Cite Them Right referencing for Law modules.
TMA 01 is designed to test your knowledge of the UK Constitution and your ability to carry out basic research, from Units 1–4 of the module.
You may find it useful to consult the W211 Research handbook for guidance about how to carry out the research needed for this TMA.
You may also find it helpful to explore the items in your constitutional bag when answering the questions.
Question 1
This question requires you to complete work in advance of the TMA submission deadline, by a specified date, involving the following activities:
conducting independent research into general academic sources
evaluating the reliability of a source using PROMPT
engaging appropriately with your peers
identifying significant and relevant legal texts.
You are required to post twice to your tutor group forum: once with the Assessment of your own source, once in response to a post from another student, by the deadlines stated.
There are a number of unit activities that introduce and practise the PROMPT criteria for evaluating the reliability of sources. You should use this criteria to evaluate your source and be as specific as possible in showing why your chosen source is reliable.
There is no required format or structure for your tutor group forum posts, but they should be written in paragraphs, be in a logical order, and follow the guidance on effective online collaboration:
The Library’s ‘Communicating online’ pathway is a useful introduction to using various methods of online communication, including forums. It also includes information about good online communication, or ‘netiquette’.
The Forums user guide in the Computing Guide gives you detailed information on using forums and the various tools available, including accessibility information.
The Skills for OU Study section of StudentHome also has a section on how to use forums effectively, and some of the problems that can arise.
You should copy and paste your forum posts into your answer for this TMA. However, it is not enough for you to copy and paste those posts in the TMA. Your Question 1 answer will only be credited if you posted the required content in your TGF by the stated deadlines in November 2022.
Question 2
This question requires you to use your research skills to find a primary law source that is related in terms of its subject matter to the source found for Question 1 (Part 1). You then need to write a short essay providing a comparative analysis of how the two sources help to develop your understanding of the aspect of the UK Constitution that they address.
This answer should be written in the form of a short essay. It focuses on the skills of comparison and analysis, which are defined in Section 6.2 of the Law undergraduate guide as:
Analyse: Resolve into component parts. Examine critically or minutely.
Compare: Look for similarities and differences between, perhaps reach conclusions about which is preferable.
The answer should refer to how the two sources support your understanding of the UK Constitution with reference to relevant material covered in Units 1–4, and by comparing the sources with each other in terms of how they develop your understanding.
When comparing how the two sources help to develop your understanding of the aspect of the UK Constitution that they address, you may wish to consider the following questions:
What do the sources tell you about the Constitution?
How do the sources relate to the key principles, features and characteristics of the Constitution, and to the material you have studied in the module so far?
How do they build on what you have studied so far?
How do the sources relate to each other?
How do the sources differ in terms of what they say about the Constitution?
Which source gives you the most interesting information about/analysis of the Constitution?
Which source tells you something new about the Constitution that you did not know before?
You should apply the appropriate structure and style for an academic essay, including an introduction and conclusion. For guidance on the structure of a law essay see Section 6.1.3 of the Law undergraduate guide.
Before you start you might also find it useful to review the essential legal skills activities on Academic writing for law and Developing a reasoned argument.
You should set your outline answer out in full paragraphs using fluent prose and a logical structure. You should provide a short introduction and conclusion to your answer.
Your answer should be written in Arial, 12 pt with 1.5 line spacing. Your name and PI number should be included in a header: see Section 7.3 of the Law undergraduate guide.
Your answer should also be written in standard English. It should not include any sort of list. You should not write in the first or second person (e.g. ‘I’, ‘we’, ‘my’, ‘our’, ‘you’ or ‘your’); instead you should use phrases such as ‘A person is …’ or ‘This answer will …’.
Application of assessment guidance to this TMA
The bands below give a rough idea as to how the knowledge and skills in this TMA will be evaluated when your work is marked. For full assessment scale guidance see Section 12 of the Law undergraduate guide.
Question 1 Question 2
85–100
An answer in this band will demonstrate skills of research through finding a relevant and reliable secondary source and demonstrate excellent understanding of and ability to apply the PROMPT criteria to evaluate the reliability of the source. The online communication will be clear, constructive and supportive, following relevant guidance, and the reasons given for choosing another student’s source will be sound.
An answer in this band will demonstrate skills of research through finding a relevant and reliable primary source, and show an excellent understanding of the aspect(s) of the UK Constitution relevant to the sources found. There may be minor errors. It will demonstrate effective skills of comparison and make appropriate reference to relevant study materials to present a robust analysis of how the sources support development of understanding of the UK Constitution.
The writing style will be fluent and clear and there will be an effective introduction, main body and conclusion appropriate for a short essay. All or almost all sources will be accurately referenced within the text and in the references list.
70–84
An answer in this band will demonstrate skills of research through finding a relevant and largely reliable secondary source and demonstrate good understanding of and ability to apply the PROMPT criteria to evaluate the reliability of the source, with some gaps or errors. The online communication will be clear and supportive, following relevant guidance, and the reasons given for choosing another student’s source will be appropriate.
An answer in this band will demonstrate skills of research through finding a relevant and reliable primary source, and show a good understanding of the aspect(s) of the UK Constitution relevant to the sources found. There may be errors. It will demonstrate some skills of comparison and make appropriate reference to relevant study materials to present a clear analysis of how the sources support development of understanding of the UK Constitution.
The writing style will be fairly clear, with essay style and structure generally observed, as appropriate for a short essay. Most sources will be fairly accurately referenced within the text and in the references list.
55–69
An answer in this band will demonstrate skills of research through finding a largely relevant secondary source and demonstrate satisfactory understanding of and ability to apply the PROMPT criteria to evaluate the reliability of the source, with flaws and gaps. The online communication will be supportive, following some relevant guidance, and the reasons given for choosing another student’s source will be satisfactory.
