I am studying an Open University course in the UK and my assignment is a 1200 Essay as follows. DD103 Investigating the social world TMA 02 essay on Comparing and contrasting the inequalities in relation to home or housing from the perspectives of sociology (Week5) and Social Policy and criminology (week 6)I am studying an Open University course in the UK and my assignment is a 1200 Essay as follows. DD103 Investigating the social world TMA 02 essay on Comparing and contrasting the inequalities in relation to home or housing from the perspectives of sociology (Week5) and Social Policy and criminology (week 6)
Student notes
For this essay you are asked to use material from both Weeks 5 and 6 in order to compare and contrast the understanding of inequalities in relation to home and/or housing from the perspectives of Sociology and Social Policy and Criminology. It is important that, in order to fulfil the task set for this assignment, you demonstrate that you have paid attention to the evidence and arguments in both these weeks when making your comparisons and contrasts.
The first thing to note is that this is a ‘compare and contrast’ question, so you will need to provide an account of some similarities (i.e. comparisons) and differences(i.e. contrasts) between the ways in which inequalities in home and/or housing have been explained from the perspectives of Sociology (Week 5) and Social Policy and Criminology (Week 6).
With any essay title, an important task is to analyse it and break it down into its key components. Looking at the title as a whole, it is important to note that the key task is comparing and contrasting the two perspectives of Sociology (Week 5) and Social Policy and Criminology (Week 6), using their understanding of inequalities in home and/or housing as the topic that helps you to illustrate those comparisons and contrasts.
Both Weeks 5 and 6 explore various inequalities linked to home and/or housing. Week 5 focuses on how some sociologists have examined and understood inequalities by looking at the use of space and time, at who does what within the home, as well as the unequal use of domestic technologies. Week 6 focuses on the various ways that social policy studies and criminology have examined and understood the relationship between housing policies and inequalities in social outcomes. This includes researching the changing status of social housing and the criminalisation of housing policy.
To ‘compare and contrast’, you need to consider the similarities and differences in the way these two perspectives address and study inequalities in relation to home and/or housing. In planning your essay, you might want to look at their understandings of inequalities, the methods and ideas that are used, and/or the ways in which they approach the theme of inequality. For instance, you can look for similarities and differences in the types of inequalities identified by the two perspectives, the way they measure particular types of inequality, the way they seek to describe and explain the inequalities, and/or the sort of policies they advocate to reduce inequalities in the home and/or housing or to remedy the harmful effects of such inequalities.
When you choose your sources of material, aim to include a combination of book chapters and online examples of evidence – this will develop and demonstrate your skill of synthesizing different sources into a coherent discussion, and will be rewarded in the TMA mark.
To get you thinking about potential comparisons and contrasts you might want to revisit the comparing and contrasting skills activity in Section 12 of Week 7 to help you prepare.
You do not have to draw on Weeks 5 and 6 in equal proportions, but you should demonstrate that you have paid attention to the evidence and arguments in both these weeks when making your comparisons and contrasts. Failure to draw from both weeks will mean that your essay cannot score higher than a bare fail grade.
Information sources
The main sources of information for TMA 02 are summarised in the table below.
Information source Summary
Week 5 (including Chapter 1 of Investigating the social world 1) This week introduces some key sociological concerns including social change and social divisions. It considers studies that aim to examine and account for these and how they are played out in the home. The week also examines the role of technologies in the home and how these are relevant to divisions of gender and age/generation in the home, particularly in relation to time and space inequalities.
Week 6 (including Chapter 2 of Investigating the social world 1) This week’s module materials introduce some key concerns of social policy and criminology studies in relation to housing policy. Different forms of evidence are drawn on throughout this week which highlight various aspects of the relationship between housing policy, housing provision and social inequalities. It also looks at the impact of poor housing provision and the links with crime and life chances, including inequalities in relation to who is likely to be criminalised.
Writing tips
Before you start writing you should ensure that you have a clear understanding of the module theme of inequality and that you have worked through the relevant Skills activities, particularly those related to the study skills of identifying, and comparing and contrasting.
The Skills activities ‘Writing an essay plan’ and ‘Writing effective introductions and conclusions’ in Week 6, and ‘Writing effective paragraphs’ and ‘Comparing and contrasting’ in Week 7, will be particularly helpful. The ‘Comparing and contrasting’ activity provides you with very practical guidance about how to structure a compare and contrast essay that will be useful for TMA 02, and again for TMA 03 (and in other modules too – compare and contrast is a very common essay type). The activities on reading and note-taking in Week 5 will also be useful in preparing your answer. If you are still unsure, you might find it worthwhile to revisit the Skills activities in Block 1 (‘Writing in your own words’ and ‘Preparing for your first TMA’).
Remember to state the word count at the end of your answer. It is acceptable for your essay to fall 10 per cent above the word limit. It is important to observe this limit. If your essay exceeds the TMA word limit by more than 10 per cent, you will receive a warning and guidance from your tutor on complying with the word limit. If you have previously received a warning, the TMA will be marked down by 10 percentage points.
For TMA 02 your tutor will be looking for you to:
• begin your essay with a clear introduction
• demonstrate your understanding of the Block 2 materials (in particular, Weeks 5 and 6) by clearly identifying several examples of similarities and differences in the study of inequalities in relation to home and/or housing
• produce an essay that is clearly written and structured
• end your essay with a conclusion that briefly summarises how your essay has met the tasks set by the title and gives an overall response to the task
• cite the sources of information you use within the body of the essay and provide a full reference list at the end of the essay. See Section 3.2 of the DD103 Assessment Guidance for examples of how to do this.
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Student notesStudent notes
For this essay you are asked to use material from both Weeks 5 and 6 in order to compare and contrast the understanding of inequalities in relation to home and/or housing from the perspectives of Sociology and Social Policy and Criminology. It is important that, in order to fulfil the task set for this assignment, you demonstrate that you have paid attention to the evidence and arguments in both these weeks when making your comparisons and contrasts.
The first thing to note is that this is a ‘compare and contrast’ question, so you will need to provide an account of some similarities (i.e. comparisons) and differences(i.e. contrasts) between the ways in which inequalities in home and/or housing have been explained from the perspectives of Sociology (Week 5) and Social Policy and Criminology (Week 6).
With any essay title, an important task is to analyse it and break it down into its key components. Looking at the title as a whole, it is important to note that the key task is comparing and contrasting the two perspectives of Sociology (Week 5) and Social Policy and Criminology (Week 6), using their understanding of inequalities in home and/or housing as the topic that helps you to illustrate those comparisons and contrasts.
Both Weeks 5 and 6 explore various inequalities linked to home and/or housing. Week 5 focuses on how some sociologists have examined and understood inequalities by looking at the use of space and time, at who does what within the home, as well as the unequal use of domestic technologies. Week 6 focuses on the various ways that social policy studies and criminology have examined and understood the relationship between housing policies and inequalities in social outcomes. This includes researching the changing status of social housing and the criminalisation of housing policy.
To ‘compare and contrast’, you need to consider the similarities and differences in the way these two perspectives address and study inequalities in relation to home and/or housing. In planning your essay, you might want to look at their understandings of inequalities, the methods and ideas that are used, and/or the ways in which they approach the theme of inequality. For instance, you can look for similarities and differences in the types of inequalities identified by the two perspectives, the way they measure particular types of inequality, the way they seek to describe and explain the inequalities, and/or the sort of policies they advocate to reduce inequalities in the home and/or housing or to remedy the harmful effects of such inequalities.
When you choose your sources of material, aim to include a combination of book chapters and online examples of evidence – this will develop and demonstrate your skill of synthesizing different sources into a coherent discussion, and will be rewarded in the TMA mark.
To get you thinking about potential comparisons and contrasts you might want to revisit the comparing and contrasting skills activity in Section 12 of Week 7 to help you prepare.
You do not have to draw on Weeks 5 and 6 in equal proportions, but you should demonstrate that you have paid attention to the evidence and arguments in both these weeks when making your comparisons and contrasts. Failure to draw from both weeks will mean that your essay cannot score higher than a bare fail grade.
Information sources
The main sources of information for TMA 02 are summarised in the table below.
Information source Summary
Week 5 (including Chapter 1 of Investigating the social world 1) This week introduces some key sociological concerns including social change and social divisions. It considers studies that aim to examine and account for these and how they are played out in the home. The week also examines the role of technologies in the home and how these are relevant to divisions of gender and age/generation in the home, particularly in relation to time and space inequalities.
Week 6 (including Chapter 2 of Investigating the social world 1) This week’s module materials introduce some key concerns of social policy and criminology studies in relation to housing policy. Different forms of evidence are drawn on throughout this week which highlight various aspects of the relationship between housing policy, housing provision and social inequalities. It also looks at the impact of poor housing provision and the links with crime and life chances, including inequalities in relation to who is likely to be criminalised.
Writing tips
Before you start writing you should ensure that you have a clear understanding of the module theme of inequality and that you have worked through the relevant Skills activities, particularly those related to the study skills of identifying, and comparing and contrasting.
The Skills activities ‘Writing an essay plan’ and ‘Writing effective introductions and conclusions’ in Week 6, and ‘Writing effective paragraphs’ and ‘Comparing and contrasting’ in Week 7, will be particularly helpful. The ‘Comparing and contrasting’ activity provides you with very practical guidance about how to structure a compare and contrast essay that will be useful for TMA 02, and again for TMA 03 (and in other modules too – compare and contrast is a very common essay type). The activities on reading and note-taking in Week 5 will also be useful in preparing your answer. If you are still unsure, you might find it worthwhile to revisit the Skills activities in Block 1 (‘Writing in your own words’ and ‘Preparing for your first TMA’).
Remember to state the word count at the end of your answer. It is acceptable for your essay to fall 10 per cent above the word limit. It is important to observe this limit. If your essay exceeds the TMA word limit by more than 10 per cent, you will receive a warning and guidance from your tutor on complying with the word limit. If you have previously received a warning, the TMA will be marked down by 10 percentage points.
For TMA 02 your tutor will be looking for you to:
• begin your essay with a clear introduction
• demonstrate your understanding of the Block 2 materials (in particular, Weeks 5 and 6) by clearly identifying several examples of similarities and differences in the study of inequalities in relation to home and/or housing
• produce an essay that is clearly written and structured
• end your essay with a conclusion that briefly summarises how your essay has met the tasks set by the title and gives an overall response to the task
• cite the sources of information you use within the body of the essay and provide a full reference list at the end of the essay. See Section 3.2 of the DD103 Assessment Guidance for examples of how to do this.
Previous
Student notes