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Coursework Briefing 2021/22
(Individual, written)


Coursework information
Course Code ECON4021
Course Title Natural Resource Economics
Course Coordinator Paulina Navrouzoglou
Coursework format Policy Assessment
Weighting 40%
Word limit Word limit is 1200 words. Everything, other than the
bibliography, is included.
Action to be taken if word limit is exceeded Material beyond the word limit will not be read.
Submission date Friday 18/3/2022 at 12PM

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Question

Suppose that you are working as an environmental consultant for the Department of the Environmental Management
in your country. The Department is undergoing some new changes with respect to tackling some of the most important
natural resource management challenges. Your policy assessment will serve to inform the decision-makers about a
specific natural resource management problem (chosen by you) that will enable them to come up to speed quickly on
the main points, approaches and considerations that need to be contemplated as your organization moves forward in
the relation to this problem.
For this assignment, you are required to (a) select a natural resource management problem your country is facing (b)
analyse how to address the problem.
Some examples of topics may be:
– Forest conservation.
– Fishery management.
– Water management.
– Transition to renewable energy resources.

If you have any questions about your topic, please contact the course coordinator
(Paulina.Navrouzoglou@glasgow.ac.uk).




















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Coursework Rubric

Please find below the holistic rubric which provides the list of marking criteria together with broad description of the
characteristics that would be expected for each level of performance. Note that you are expected to adhere
appropriate academic and stylistic conventions (Harvard) with regard to formatting, citations and references and
conform to the required instructions. There will be no specific point deductions for spelling, grammatical or other
errors per se but it is expected that your writing will be good enough that it does not distract from your ideas (that
is, there is clarity of expression).


Criteria Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Weak
Knowledge,
Application and
Content





The work is
thoughtful and
original. Relevant
terminologies
and key concepts
discussed in class
are identified
and thoughtfully
applied to the
specific problem.
It demonstrates
excellent
development of
ideas and
synthesis of
pertinent
research.
Only relevant
details are
included. Main
criticisms and
various
perspectives are
discussed.
The work could be
more thoughtful or
original. Relevant
terminologies and
key concepts
discussed in class
are identified and
appropriately
applied to the
specific problem. It
contains adequate
development of
ideas, but it would
benefit from more
evidence and
literature or further
elaboration.
Responses are
sometimes short,
and the areas of
discussion do not
always represent
intentional,
synthesized,
complete thought.
More discussions of
The work
shows some
development
of ideas, but it
lacks sufficient
discussion or
contains
irrelevant
details.
Relevant
terminologies
and key
concepts
discussed in
class are
identified but
may be not
appropriately
applied to the
specific
problem or
application
may be missing
or wrong in
places. Little if
any
The work shows
limited
development of
ideas. Few
relevant
terminologies
and key concepts
discussed in class
are identified.
Application to
the specific
problem and/or
understanding is
limited.
Discussion
contains
irrelevant and
incorrect
information
without clear
sense of
purpose. No
documented
criticism is
discussed, and
minimal
The work needs
more details on
every level and
lacks relevance
and originality.
Relevant
terminologies
and key concepts
are not
identified.
Application to
the specific
problem if any
and/or
understanding is
very limited.
Many mistakes
are found.
Neither
documented
criticisms nor
alternative
perspectives are
discussed.
Criteria Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Weak
Structure,
Format and
Clarity of
expression



Structure is clear
with well
signposted and
balanced sections.
Arguments are
logically
connected and
easy to follow.
Appropriate
transitions are
used to link ideas
and sentences.
Well-developed
writing style. It’s a
pleasure to read!
Structure is
generally clear,
yet sections or
arguments may
not be always
proceeded in an
organised and
logical manner.
Fluent writing
style. Reading is
easy.
Structure needs
improvement.
Main points of
argument or
sequence of
ideas is not
always easy to
follow.
Structure needs
significant
improvement.
Main points of
argument or
sequence of ideas
is often difficult to
follow.
The work is not
organised and
developed in a
way that allows
reader to make
sense of the
author’s position
or argument.
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documented
criticism or
alternative
perspectives could
strengthen this
work.
documented
criticisms are
discussed and
few alterative
perspectives
are shared.
alterative
perspectives are
shared.

Criteria Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Weak
Analysis,
Evaluation
and
Selection


Statements and
viewpoints are
well-supported by
evidence and the
literature.
Information is
discussed and
critically
evaluated, not just
stated. Policy
solutions are
compared and
contrasted.
Concerns/impacts
of the problem
and existing policy
solution are
identified and
well-connected to
the
recommendation
provided in a way
that demonstrates
synthesis.
Statements and
viewpoints are often
supported by
evidence and the
literature.
Supporting
information is
summarised but not
always synthesized
or linked to
alternative
perspectives. Some
concerns/impacts of
the problem and
existing policy
solution
are identified and
connected to the
recommendation
provided.
Recommendation is
reasonable.
Statements and
viewpoints made
are sometimes
supported by
evidence and the
literature.
Information is
summarised but
not
synthesized/linked
to alternative
perspectives.
Some key
concerns/impacts
of the problem
and existing policy
solution
are identified but
are not well-
connected to the
recommendation
provided.
Recommendation
is reasonable,
albeit insecure.
Statements and
viewpoints are
not summarised
or supported by
evidence and the
literature. Only a
few
concerns/impact
s of the problem
and existing
policy solution
are identified.
There is minimal
connection
between the
concerns/impact
s and
and the
recommendation
provided.
Recommendatio
n is insecure.
Statements and
viewpoints are
neither
summarised nor
supported by
evidence and the
literature. Key
concerns/impact
s of the problem
and existing
policy solution
are identified.
There is no
connection
between
concerns/impact
s and
the
recommendation
provided (if any).
Recommendatio
n is insecure or
missing.
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Feedback method

Feedback will be provided thought a formative activity which will not count on your credit points.
Its primary purpose is to improve your performance and understanding of the assignment criteria.
It will also help you to develop your interpersonal skills and reflective ability. The formative activity
will be held during the synchronous face-to-face session on Monday 7th February 2022.

During this session, an exemplar of a policy assessment will be provided. Then, in groups, you will
be asked to apply the marking criteria to the exemplar. Peer discussion will be followed by teacher-
led interaction in which the teacher will invite you to comment on the exemplar and share your
ideas in relation to preparing your work. This will allow to check your current understanding of the
project and marking criteria and so make sure you’re moving in a productive direction.

Individual feedback will normally be provided via Moodle. Generic (class-level) feedback and grade
profiles will normally be posted on Moodle. Students can use academic staff office hours for
additional feedback on their work.




















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Preparing your coursework

Document creation
1. Please use this file naming convention: StudentID_CourseCode_QuestionNo. e.g.
7299019_ACCFIN4029_1. If there is no question choice, use 1 as the default.
2. The file type must be .doc, .doxc, .xls, .xlsx or .pdf.
3. Include your student ID in your document, ideally in the header on each page with the
course code and title, e.g. 2489545_ACCFIN1003_Finance1.
4. The maximum file size limit on Moodle is 230MB

Formatting
You won’t be penalised if you don’t follow this good practice on formatting, but it will help your
markers.
• Use a Sans Serif font in black, e.g. Arial, Avant Garde, Calibri, Helvetica and Geneva.
• Use font size 12.
• Use 1.5 or double line spacing.
• Align your text to the left margin.
• Add page numbers.

Referencing and bibliography
You should reference your sources appropriately and list these in a bibliography. The bibliography is
excluded from your word limit. You should use the ‘Harvard’ referencing system, as detailed below
for written coursework.
In the text, use the following referencing conventions:
• Smith (1999) argues that…. or
• It has been argued that……. (Smith, 1999).
• If you use a direct quote, use quotation marks and cite the page number as well as the
author and date, i.e. (Smith, 1999, p. 4).
• If you have two items by the same author in the same year, refer to one as ‘a’ and the other
as ‘b’, i.e. Smith (1999a) and Smith (1999b).

For more information, please refer to the University Library webpage.

Student conduct
Plagiarism
You must adhere to the University’s rules regarding plagiarism which are based on the premise
that ‘all work submitted by students for assessment is accepted on the understanding that it is the
student's own effort’. More specifically, you must avoid plagiarism in the following forms:
• Copying from sources without ‘formal and proper acknowledgement’
• Inappropriate collaboration – working with other students to produce individual coursework
or copying work produced by another student
• Submitting work which you have obtained from another source, e.g. an essay mill
• Self-plagiarism – basing coursework on work that has already been submitted for
assessment purposes.

For advice and more information, please consult:
• LEADS web pages
• University Plagiarism Statement

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Turnitin
Note that your coursework will be processed through Turnitin for similarity checking. You can
submit a draft of your coursework to Turnitin before submitting your final copy. You will find
information about using Turnitin in the Student Information Point Moodle.

Submitting your coursework

You must submit in accordance with the stated time and date on page 1. See below for
information if you are unable to do so.
Finalising your document
Please follow the steps listed below:

1. Check your spelling and grammar using the inbuilt tool on your device. You will not be
penalised for grammatical and spelling errors but we recommend that you take the
opportunity to correct them.
2. Check your file name (see above).
3. Check that you have used an accepted file type (see above).
4. Do not include your name in the file name or the document to support anonymous marking.
Uploading your document to Moodle
1. You will upload your document to the designated section of the Moodle course, which will
be clearly signposted.
2. Try to upload your document at least 30 minutes before the deadline (page 1) in case you
encounter any technical issues. You will be able to resubmit the document as often as you
like until the submission deadline.
3. Complete the Declaration of Originality (see below).

Declaration of Originality
When you upload your coursework on Moodle, you will be required to select a checkbox to confirm
that you agree with the University’s Declaration of Originality which applies to all academic work, as
follows.
I confirm that this assignment is my own work and I have:
• Read and understood the guidance on plagiarism provided on the Student Information Point
Moodle course including the University of Glasgow Statement on Plagiarism.
• Clearly referenced, in both the text and the bibliography or references, all sources used in
the work.
• Fully referenced (including page numbers) and used inverted commas for all text quoted
from books, journals, web etc.
• Provided the sources for all tables, figures, data etc. that are not my own work.
• Not made use of the work of any other student(s) past or present without
acknowledgement. This includes any of my own work, that has previously, or concurrently,
been submitted for assessment, either at this or any other institution, including school.
• Not sought or used the services of any professional agencies to produce this work.
• In addition, I understand that any false claim in respect of this work will result in disciplinary
action in accordance with University regulations.
Extensions and non-submission with good cause
Please refer to the Student Information Point Moodle for relevant information.
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Late submission penalties

In the absence of good cause, late submission penalties will be applied as explained in Student
Information Point Moodle.
Questions

If you have any questions about this coursework briefing, please read it carefully again to ensure you
fully understand it. If you still have questions, please post these on the Moodle Discussion Forum.

Personal questions only can be sent to: business-economics@glasgow.ac.uk