War & Peace in Africa since 1990

Summative Assessments Guidelines

Module Title: War & Peace in Africa since 1990

Assessment point: Summative assessments
Assessment tasks: Research Essay and Presentation

Word count limit: Research Essay of 4,000 words and Presentation of
1,000 words

Academic Misconduct Including Plagiarism

By submitting your assignments, you acknowledge that you have read and agreed with the above statements.

General Guidance

Your assignments should be word processed (handwritten assignments are not accepted), using time new roman size 12 font, double spaced, with numbered pages and your student number printed as a footer on every page.

The word limits stated for these assignments excludes the reference list at the end of the assignments but includes all text in the main body of the assignment (including direct quotations, in-text citations, footnotes, tables, diagrams, and graphs).

Please be aware that exceeding the word count limit will affect the academic judgement of the piece of work and may result in the award of lower marks.

Appendices are not considered a supplement, and thus, will not be assessed as part of the content of the assignments. As such, they will not contribute to the grades awarded, however it may be appropriate to use an Appendices section for the Essay, which is a useful reference for the reader.

Please note that appendices are not included in the word count.

Most references should come from primary sources (e.g., journal articles, conference papers, reports, etc.) although you can also utilise area specific textbooks.

In the final Essay, you must ensure that you use the Harvard style of referencing. Please indicate the word count length at the end of your assignments.

Marking and Assessment

Your summative assessments consist of two elements: a Research Essay (4,000 word-equivalent), due at the end of Week 4, as well as a Presentation (1,000 word-equivalent), due at the end of Week 8.

While each of these two elements will be marked out of 100 points, the weighting for the assessment will be as follows: 80% for the Research Essay and 20% for the Presentation.

Learning outcomes assessed

• Critically analyse relevant academic sources in the area of interest.

• Critically reflect on own experience in the domain and provide discussion about how theoretical perspectives may affect practice.

Assessment guidelines

The students can choose among these topics for their two summative assessments:

1) Was the war in Sierra Leone the product of greed or grievance?
2) What role did ethnicity play in the Rwandan genocide?
3) Explain the causes and duration of the Congolese civil wars.
4) How important have clan divisions been for the conflict in Somalia?
5) Assess the record of international peacemaking and peacekeeping efforts in
Africa.
6) To what extent have elections in Africa produced rather than prevented violence?
7) To what extent has gacaca justice balanced the competing demands of justice and reconciliation in post-genocide Rwanda?

1. Structure of the Research Essay

The Research Essay should include and cover these sections, aspects, and contents
(as shown and stated in the table below).

The percentage mark allocated to each section/aspect of your work is stated below.

Title of Section
Further Explanation Marks
Available
100/100
Cover Page ● Assignment name and personal details/topic. 0

Plan Structure ● Introduce what the assignment’s plan and structure will be.
● Provide some background on your first thoughts and ideas.
● Provide the context and the rationale of the literature review
and possible debates around this research area.

50
Research Aims and Questions ● Explain the aims and objectives of the plan and outline your core research questions.
20

Methodology ● Explain your research strategy (How did you go about this? Books? Journals? Databases, etc?).
● Inclusion/Exclusion: criteria of literature for the review
(ensure the validity and reliability of the sources you will include in your Research Essay).

20

Presentation ● Cover page, table of contents, page numbering, line spacing, font consistency, separation of paragraphs.
10

2. Structure of the Presentation

The Presentation draws from the Research Essay and feedback for improvements. It should include and cover the following sections, aspects, and contents (as shown and stated in the table below).

The percentage mark allocated to each section/aspect of your work is stated below.

Title of Section
Further Explanation Marks
Available
100/100
Cover Page ● Assignment name and personal details/topic. 0

Introduction and Rationale ● Introduce what the assignment’s focus will be.
● Recall the background on your initial thoughts and ideas.
● Recall the context and the rationale of the literature review and debates around the chosen research area.

10
Research Aims
and Questions ● Recall the research aims and objectives in the
Presentation and your research questions.
10

Methodology ● Briefly recall your research strategy (How did you go about this? Books? Journals? Databases etc?).
● Inclusion/Exclusion: briefly recall the criteria of
literature review.

10

Findings (Including
Literature Review) ● Outline what the literature told you in relation to your question.
● What have you learnt from the review that you were not
expecting?

30

Conclusions and Implications ● Recall the main findings of the literature review as well as the implications and recommendations.
● This section should not include any new material.
20

Presentation ● Cover page, table of contents, page numbering, line spacing, 10 appendices (if it is necessary), font consistency, separation of paragraphs.
10
Harvard
Reference Guide ● Citations and reference list according to Harvard reference guide.
10