The summative assessment for this module (contributing to your final grade) consists of a 3000-word critical review. In this review, you will analyse the intention, scope, argument and style of four scholarly essays (journal articles or chapters), devoting 600 words to each one.
These texts may come from a variety of fields, including feminist theory, postcolonial theory, critical race theory, disability studies, queer theory or other disciplines. The texts should be chosen in order to explore the discourses of ‘diversity and inclusion’ that we discuss on the course. Up to two of the scholarly essays (articles or chapters) can be taken from the module core or further readings; at least two should be sourced by you.
You will also choose one ‘diversity and inclusion’ policy statement to use as a case study throughout the assessment. In your review, you will demonstrate how each scholarly essay helps you to analyse the case study.
You will also include an overall introduction (300 words), which outlines your case study, and a conclusion (300 words), which synthesises how your reading of the critical material contributes to your understanding of how ‘diversity and inclusion’ function in organizations and the relationship between theory, context and practice.
This assignment is a bit like an annotated bibliography where you choose four scholarly essays and write an in-depth analysis of each one.
Preparation
All of the activities you do over the course of the module, including the questions asked about each of the readings and the prompts provided to explore the readings in more depth, have been designed to give you the skills you need to carry out this assessment. Every time you are asked to write a definition of a term, comment on the way that a particular author quotes other authors or scholars, discuss how a particular article helps us understand broader questions and concerns, or put key arguments into your own words, you practice elements that are involved in a critical annotated bibliography. So if you follow the module closely, you will have already developed the skills that you need for this assessment!
You should also choose a case study – a ‘diversity and inclusion’ policy statement or set of guidelines – that will focus your review. This is also something you practice in the module – every time you are asked to think of an example or read up on different organisations or initiatives, you build a repertoire of different ways that organisations have addressed issues of ‘diversity and inclusion’ in their communities.
Your job in the assessment is to bring the two together: the case studies/examples and the theory.
Choose a case study, taking inspiration from other examples introduced and discussed in the module.
Using the weekly core and further readings as a starting point, research relevant critical articles and chapters (finding texts that interest you in the bibliographies of core readings is a good way of broadening your research) and make brief notes on them. Ask questions such as:
What is the main argument?
Does the text build arguments about ‘diversity and inclusion’ that you are familiar with from our discussions on the course?
What makes the text different from others you/we have read?
What are the secondary issues discussed?
Who/how does the author cite (Other scholars? Popular texts? Examples from political or cultural sectors? Policy statements?).
What are the broader implications of the text?
Does the text make reference to a specific case study or is it more general?
Select the four texts most relevant to your case study that can help you to analyse it.
Draft your review of each text.
Write your introduction and conclusion.
Give yourself time to edit and proofread, drawing on skills developed on the programme’s Study Skills module.
Here are some further pieces of advice that will help you to do as well as you possibly can:
Remember that everything you cite, including the four critical essays you are reviewing in detail, must have a proper reference attached that is also included in the bibliography. All citations on Keats, including further readings, are formatted according to the MHRA style. As instructed in the Study Skills module, you are however free to decide which referencing style to use in your coursework, provided it is used clearly, accurately and consistently. The study skills module also has more information and guidance on referencing, plagiarism and many other aspects of academic writing.
A critical review consists of a reference of each source (properly and consistently cited), followed by a 600-word commentary of the source’s content and argument, with an explanation as to its broader usefulness to understanding the case study.
Choose a topic that you are interested in. Markers can tell when we are reading work by someone who doesn’t feel inspired by the content!
Take your time choosing both your case study and your critical essays. If you get a few hundred words in and realise there just isn’t enough to say, it may be better worth your while turning back and choosing again.
None of this research is ever wasted – even if something you’ve read doesn’t end up in the final bibliography, it will have informed your thinking in some way and you may even find yourself drawing on it later down the line in another module.
This task develops the research skills that traditionally precede and support the work of critical writing: finding and selecting strong critical literature, and understanding how scholarship in various interdisciplinary areas can contribute to the shape and direction of a wider research project. It is easy to do keyword searches on your topic in search engines and using online databases, but much more challenging to identify a range of relevant, intersecting and complementary sources that would help build a compelling argument around your topic.
Try writing a first draft that includes absolutely everything you wish to say about the text, possibly including many more words than are allowed, and then give yourself the time and space to come back to the draft and edit it down to the word count – this will force you to figure out how to be succinct. There are various ways you can do this, such as writing a new plan after your first draft to refine your sense of what is necessary to include, or taking a marker and crossing out any words (whole sentences or ‘sentence filler’, wordy language that you might include in conversation but don’t need on the page) that don’t contribute to your main point. In short, don’t be afraid of writing a first draft that is a bit unwieldy, as you can use it as source material for the final, concise draft (See Harris, 2006, below).
Consider carefully the difference between paraphrasing and direct quoting, and why you might do one or the other. They demonstrate different skills. Filling your review with too many quotations will make it hard to meet the marking criteria to demonstrate your own understanding in your own voice; but some well-chosen and sufficiently brief quotations will help you to pay close attention to detail (as long as you respond to them and don’t let them speak for themselves or do the hard work for you) and show why you’re interested not just in the content of the writer’s argument but in how they have put something into words (See Graff and Birkenstein, 2014, below).
Katz, Louise, Critical Thinking and Persuasive Writing for Postgraduates (London: Palgrave, 2018), pp. 231-5.
Katz’s key points include:
‘Quite often when students first attempt to review a text they find they want to write a good deal more, but one of the points about this writing genre is its brevity. It is an exercise in concision that refines critical ability. It summarises a text, identifies its strengths, and points out its value to your own work. Use this form for articles that you find particularly interesting.’ (p. 231).
Include a full bibliographic citation followed by an introduction to ‘summarise the content, and what you think is the author’s intention.’ (p. 232).
Next, ‘isolate aspects of the text that you find of particular interest. Summarise each of these individually. You might choose to look at content, writing style, methodology – whatever is the most interesting or relevant to your study. Include a brief critique and evaluation per aspect.’ (p. 232).
Finally, ‘Conclude with an overall assessment of the points evaluated – not the entire text as you’ve already covered that in the intro.’ (p. 232).