POLS0043 International Political Economy Portfolio Assessments
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Assessment Structure
Summative assessment for POLS0043 takes the form of two portfolio submissions of 1,500 words each.
The first portfolio is worth 40% of the module mark and the second comprises 60% of the module mark.
Each portfolio will consist of three exercises; prompts for these portfolio components will be posted to
the assessment section of the Moodle page each week following that week’s seminars. The exercises will
vary in scope and approach, and will build on class materials, including seminar discussions. Submissions
will be expected to combine IPE concepts, theory and evidence in their analysis of each topic.
The first portfolio, which will consist of components responding to prompts issued in the first half of
term, will be due during Week 6; the second portfolio, comprised of components responding to prompts
issued in the second half of term, will be due at the beginning of Term 3. Deadlines are listed in the module
outline.
Pedagogical Aims
The core aim of the portfolio is to help you develop your critical-thinking and analytical skills in the context
of the module’s subject matter. Portfolio components will give you an opportunity to apply analytical
insights and frameworks from IPE to a range of real-world issues, developing your ability to evaluate
evidence through a political-economy lens.
You will also have an opportunity to gain practice from writing in different styles and for different
audiences through variations in the prompts. Pay close attention to the prompt-specific guidance and
expectations when the information is distributed.
Submission Guidelines
Submission inboxes will be found on the POLS0043 Moodle page.
Portfolio Template
You can find a template for your portfolio on Moodle. Use this to provide essential information for
marking (primarily your countries and prompt choices) while minimizing and standardizing the word-
count impact across submissions (for example, not copying the entirety of each prompt you choose).
Referencing
You should reference any and all sources in accordance with UCL guidelines. In-text references should
include author surname and year, but you are welcome to use whichever established citation style you
prefer (e.g. APA, Chicago, Harvard, MLA, Vancouver, etc.).
All sources referenced within your text should be included in a reference list with full referencing
information. This list can be compiled either at the end of the portfolio or at the end of each component.
Please include URLs for web resources and preprints; URLs are not necessary for peer-reviewed academic
publications.
There is no magic number of sources for your reference list. You will be expected to draw comprehensively
from required and recommended sources on the reading list to demonstrate your familiarity with IPE
concepts and literature, complementing these with case- and issue-specific resources.
POLS0043 International Political Economy Portfolio Assessments
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Academic Integrity and the Use of Generative AI
Any suspected cases of academic misconduct, as defined in the Academic Manual will be investigated in
accordance with the procedures laid out therein. We suggest you familiarize yourself with the department’s
materials that present these concepts in an approachable manner and ask us if you have any questions.
We strongly advise against the use of generative AI on these exercises (consider this to be in UCL’s
Category 1 for Generative AI, meaning its use is prohibited).
LLMs are merely probability-based word-prediction models. Their tendency to hallucinate ‘facts’ and
sources is widely documented, as is the lack of quality control over model inputs. The likely necessity of
fact-checking output means that going directly to verifiable and specialized sources will be a more effective
approach to the assessment.
Keep in mind that you alone are responsible for the quality, originality, and accuracy of the content of
your submission regardless of the sources and tools you employ. Any and all sources must be fully and
appropriately referenced, including GenAI tools.
Prompts and Marking
Note that submissions containing fewer than three responses will be considered incomplete. There also is
no benefit to responding to more than three prompts, and each component needs to respond to a different
prompt.
Marking and Expectations
Submissions will be assessed against the department’s general marking framework. Each of the three
compositions in the portfolio will be weighted equally for the overall portfolio mark. Non-integer
cumulative scores are rounded up.
Style Guidelines
 Pay careful attention to what the prompts are asking you to do. Approaching everything from the
mindset of the standard five-paragraph academic essay will not go well.
 Use paragraphs to organize and highlight your key points. Keep your paragraphs short; 3-5
sentences is often a good length. Page-length paragraphs only serve to obfuscate whatever points
you intend to make.
 Do not rely on direct quotes from sources; the portfolio compositions are too short for this. Your
interpretation and analysis – demonstrated through paraphrasing and original composition – are
far more important.
 Your analysis should be the focus of each of exercise. Don’t spend a lot of space describing
something; instead, describe it concisely and highlight its importance for your analysis.