Please see the Contact Section of MyUni for a full list of staff in the course, the classes they teach and how to contact them.

1	Analyse the major concepts and debates in political thinking relating to issues in Australian Politics
2	Understand the relevant social, historical, economic, ideological and international context and constraints in which those debates occur and political institutions function.
3	Understand a range of approaches to issues in Australian Politics and reflect critically on the character of political concepts and issues
4	Engage confidently in written and oral public debate in a range of social and cultural settings
5	Communicate and cooperate in a range of group activities
6	Undertake independent research in the field of Australian Politics
7	Produce analytically sophisticated, well substantiated and cogently argued written material
8	Express oral arguments in a way that demonstrates a tolerance for other points of view and an understanding of different life experiences and personal sensitivities.

There is no suitable textbook. We produce Issues in Australian Politics Tutorial Readings. These can be purchased from the University's Online Shop. Students may also find that the following books provide useful background reading but they are not required to be purchased: Rodney Smith, Ariadne Vromen and Ian Cook, Contemporary Politics in Australia: Theories, Practices and Issues (Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, 2012); Wayne Errington and Nicholas Barry, The Australian Political System in Action, (Oxford University Press, Sydney, 2nd edition, 2013). Students are expected to stay in touch with current developments via consulting media sources (electronic, visual and print) and government and political party websites.

There is an extensive course Reading List available on MyUni, which also provides key information regarding how to find additional sources. Links to online sources can be found both in the Reading list and in Lecture Powerpoints.

Copies of lecture powerpoints and recordings, the course Reading List and some additional materials will be posted on MyUni.

The key teaching & learning mode is lectures supported by problem-solving tutorials developing material covered in the lectures via a process of analysis, discussion and debate. The tutorial presentation requires small group work and there are also some additional small group discovery exercises that focuse on developing suitable knowledge and research skills.

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
Students undertaking a Humanities and Social Sciences subject such as Issues in Australian Politics are expected to spend at least 156 hours work per semester on the subject, of which 36 hours are allocated for attending classes (lectures and tutorials). So that leaves 120 hours to be allocated to this subject across the semester. We would expect students to spend approximately 2-3 hours each week preparing for their tutorials (say 33 hours in total). We would expect students to spend at least 10 hours researching and answering their bibliographic assignment (it may be more depending upon the difficulty of your topic and how advanced you are with your essay preparation – remember this work feeds directly into your major essay but is only meant to be an initial go at looking for sources). That leaves approx. 77 hours, of which we suggest approximately 27 hours should be spent researching, thinking about and writing your tutorial paper and approximately 50 hours should be spent researching, thinking about and writing your essay (though less if you spent more time on your bibliographic assignment). Precisely how you break those figures down further will depend upon your topic, the speed with which you write etc.etc.. However, do allocate sufficient time to polish your written drafts. How much time you spend in particular weeks will also depend on your other commitments but we would urge you to spend at least some time every week in finding and collecting research material for your written assignments.

These figures can only be approximate and you should use your own judgment. However, they do at least give you some idea of the time commitment we expect from you. Note that we expect full-time students to be organising their employment and leisure activities, as much as possible, around their university commitments – not the other way round! In particular, we suggest you work out a careful plan for the semester which allocates your time in advance and takes into account that many of your final assignments, exams etc will invariably be due around the same date.

Week                         Lecture                                              Tutorial  (provisional - check My Uni)

Week 1	No lectures. See My Uni for special key issues in 2016 Election study task.	No tutorial. Learning Tasks: Reading course outline, other materials on My Uni. Completing special key issues in 2016 Election task - see My Uni.
Week 2	Globalisation, GFC, political economy. Also hints on bibliographic exercise (2nd Lecture)	Key issues in 2016 Australian Election
Week 3	Neo-liberalism, Keynes and markets-includes health and welfare	Globalisation, GFC, political economy
Week 4	Politics of gender	Neo-liberalism, Keynes and markets- includes health and welfare issues
Week 5	1st lecture, Politics of Sexuality; 2nd lecture Essay research skills, incorporating SGDE facilitated by course coordinator	Politics of gender
Week 6	Politics of Race, ethnicity & religion	Politics of sexuality
Week 7	Technology & government (includes biotech and health)	Politics of Race, ethnicity & religion
Week 8	Politics of film & television	Technology & government (includes biotech and health)
Week 9	News media & public sphere	Politics of film & television
Week 10	Environmental issues	News media & public sphere
Week 11	SGDE facilitated by Course Coordinator; Summary & Essay Writing information.	Environmental Issues
Week 12	Essay consultations available, course coordinator's office	No Tutorials. Learning task: Working on Major Essay.

NA

The tutorial presentation will involve small group work. Two Small Group Discovery Experience sessions, facilitated by the Course Coordinator, will also occur in the lectures in weeks six and eleven. These sessions are designed to help you develop knowledge and research skills and will not be assessed. The first focuses on exercises designed to help you to understand key concepts in the first part of the course and to find and assess useful resources. The second does the same for the final part of the course. Both sessions will use at least some examples from recent events in Australian Politics.

ASSESSMENT TASK	TASK TYPE	WEIGHTING	COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
Tutorial Participation	Formative and summative	10%	1,2,3,4, 5, 8
Bibliography Exercise	Summative	5%	1,2,3,6
Tutorial Paper	Summative	30%	1,2,3,4,6,7
Essay	Summative	55%	1,2,3,4,6,7

Students are required to produce 1 bibliographic exercise, 1 essay and 1 tutorial paper. These are all summative forms of assessment i.e. contribute to your final result in this subject.

Tutorial participation - 10%
Source/Bibliography exercise – 5% (Due beginning week five - exact date on MyUni).
Tutorial papers - Approx 1,250 words, 30% (Due one week after verbal presentation, except that students presenting at the start of the course  in weeks two and three can have two weeks).
Essays (Research Projects)- approx. 3,250 words, 55% (Due end week thirteen - exact date on MyUni).

Further information regarding your bibliographic assignment, tutorial and essay (research project) topics will be posted on My Uni.

A lengthy Reading List will also be available on MyUni

Please note that the above word lengths DO NOT INCLUDE your footnotes and bibliography.

Students should aim to meet the above word lengths, however, they are only approximate. Nonetheless, it is most unlikely that a piece of work substantially under these lengths would be of adequate standard. Note that this course does not have a policy of automatically deducting marks for students who go over the word length for the above assignments. However, marks will be deducted if e.g. students “waffle” and do not have a tightly structured argument. We will also endeavour to ensure that students who go massively over the word lengths are not unfairly advantaged over students who have kept to the above word lengths.

See later in this outline for information regarding the grading system used and what to do if you disagree with a mark.

You'll also find information regarding citation styles, footnotes, quotation marks, plagiarism etc. later in this outline.

You’ll find information regarding how to apply for extensions and penalties for late work later in this outline. There is information regarding how ro submit work on MyUni.

TUTORIAL ATTENDANCE IS COMPULSORY and attendance in your group is included in your tutorial participation mark. If you do not attend regularly, your tutor can refuse to accept your essays and tutorial papers so that you fail the subject. If you miss more than two tutorials per semester, you should give your tutor an adequate explanation in writing (e-mail is a good form) or marks will be deducted from your tutorial participation grade. If your tutorial attendance is poor, your tutor will give you a low mark for tutorial participation, even if they do allow you to submit work.

INFORMATION ABOUT TUTORIALS

Tutorial participation - role of all students in group: All students are expected to read the tutorial reading for each week and to participate in the general discussion on the topics covered in those readings. It is not sufficient to just talk generally about the topic in tutorials, you also need to show your tutor that you have read the readings for that week and can critically engage with them. In addition, every student attending a tutorial should come to the tutorial prepared with either (a) a brief (i.e. two to three line) written comment on one of the tutorial readings or (b) a written question arising specifically from one of the tutorial readings — and be prepared to elaborate on this in class. Normally you will just be expected to incorporate these in your spoken contributions but you may be asked to hand the written document up, so please have your name written on top in case.

Remember tutorial attendance is compulsory.


Role of the student presenting the tutorial paper: In addition to participating in tutorials, you will be required to produce one tutorial paper per semester. Tutorial questions will be allocated in the first tutorial of the semester, so come with preferences worked out.

Once you are allocated a question it is your responsibility to do two things, one as part of a small group and one individually:

(1.) You and the other students presenting that week need to work together, in a small group, to develop a group verbal presentation that introduces the discussion of the tutorial question/questions to the class (needless to say you are welcome to use powerpoint slides etc if you wish). Your group presentation should take no longer than ten minutes at the absolute maximum and all members of the group should have an active part in the presentation. Note that your tutor will tell you to stop the presentation mid-stream if it goes too long. Your group can: (a) discuss main points (b) organise a tutorial discussion around 4-6 sub-questions arising from the tutorial question and which you wish the tutorial to address (c) read out sections of a group presentation (d) allocate differing political positions for other students and your tutor to role-play or (e) some combination of the above. Whatever you decide to do, the point of your group verbal presentation is to try to stimulate an interesting exchange of information and views.

Your verbal presentation will influence your tutorial participation mark (but note that the latter is assessed taking into account your participation in all tutorials during the semester – and an excellent presentation will not stop you being marked down for poor participation in other classes).

(2.) You are required, separate from your group work above, to produce an individually written tutorial paper which should take the form of a formally written short essay, answering the entire tutorial question you have been allocated for that week.

The written paper should be handed up within seven days after your group's verbal presentation. See this Outline  and MyUni for details of how to hand work in, extensions and penalties for late work. See the assessment summary section for word length.

Tutorial papers should be based on wider reading than just the set readings for that week — see the reading list on MyUni. Remember that the tutorial paper is worth 30%. Tutorial papers or essays handed up without proper footnotes will not normally be accepted for marking. If the lack of referencing constitutes plagiarism (see later in this Outline), the work will be dealt with following the procedures set out in the university’s plagiarism policies/guidelines. It is your responsibility to provide proper referencing  — indeed that is one of the things you are being assessed on. See later in this Outline for a simple system of footnote referencing. 

TUTORIAL SCHEDULE AND QUESTIONS

A detailed list of tutorial questions will be available on My Uni and will also be produced at the front of the Tutorial Readings.

Two copies of the Australian Politics Tutorial Readings will be available on Reserve (the number is limited by library policy).

NOTE THAT THE RELEVANT LECTURES FOR A TUTORIAL TOPIC ARE NORMALLY GIVEN THE WEEK BEFORE THE TUTORIAL. HOWEVER, SOME RESCHEDULING MAY BE NECESSARY TO FIT IN GUEST SPEAKERS.

Don’t forget the Reading List on My Uni!!!!!


INFORMATION ABOUT ESSAYS/BIBLIOGRAPHIC ASSIGNMENT
INCLUDING DUE DATES AND PENALTIES FOR LATE WORK.

The Sources/Bibliographic assignment is due to be handed in by the beginning of week five (exact date on My Uni). You will find an electronic copy of the assignment posted on MyUni. Assignments should be submitted as set out in the instructions on My Uni.

You should obtain a copy of the Politics and International Studies Department's Essay Writing Instructions from the Department's website https://arts.adelaide.edu.au/polis/docs/politics-essay-guide-2014.pdf before starting work on your assignment, essay and tutorial paper and should read it again before you start writing. Please note that we require footnotes, rather than the Harvard (brackets) system in this course, because footnotes are easier for markers to consult and work better for citing politicians’ speeches and government documents (e.g. you may be citing large numbers of speeches by a politician that were produced in the same year, so the author/date system is difficult to use). Information regarding a simple method of footnoting is provided below. 

The DUE DATE for essays is due the end of week thirteen (exact date on MY Uni) . See the submissions section and My Uni for information on method of submission, how to apply for an extension and penalties for late work..




ESSAY AND TUTORIAL PAPER WRITING, CITATION, REFERENCE AND PLAGIARISM ISSUES

REFERENCES
The Politics and International Studies Department's Essay Writing Instructions from the Department's website, https://arts.adelaide.edu.au/polis/docs/politics-essay-guide-2014.pdf give full details of how to use other people's material properly and
how to avoid plagiarism. I will also post additional information on My Uni. (Note that we require students to use footnotes as their referencing system in this course, rather than the Harvard system of references in brackets, because that is easier for marking and better for citing politicians’ speeches and government documents — see above. However, you may use short titles for subsequent references, rather than op.cit or ibid. as indicated in the POLIS Essay Writing Instructions  if you wish) i.e. author’s surname, short title, p. no (as long as your first footnote gives the full details) as per below:

For example, the first reference would be

Julia Baird, Media Tarts: How the Australian press frames female politicians. Melbourne: Scribe, 2004, p. 10


Subsequent references

Baird, Media Tarts, p. 12


Please include a separate Bibliography of references cited – you can also add a separate list of references consulted but not cited if you wish.

The entry in your Bibliography would be as follows:

Baird, Julia. Media Tarts: How the Australian press frames female politicians. Melbourne: Scribe, 2004.

When citing internet sources please give as much of the following information as possible: author and/or organization , title, organization/publisher, date of speech or document if available, web address, date you consulted the source.

If you have queries regarding how to cite material that are not answered by the above, please consult Snooks & Co, Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers, 6th edn, rev (Snooks & Co., John Wiley & Sons, Canberra, 2002).

PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is a very serious offence and involves major integrity and academic honesty issues. It is the academic equivalent of fraud, e.g. embezzling funds, and is treated accordingly. We need to be able to assess how well YOU have understood material; how well YOU can write and argue etc. — not how well the person you have ripped off can do these things. (In other words, the specific way in which a person combines words reveals their knowledge and expertise. Those specific combinations of words belong to them. The original ideas they develop also reflect their abilities. The facts they have collected reflect their hard work. So you need to use the proper way of acknowledging whenever you are knowingly using somebody else’s words, ideas, or facts). Plagiarism is also treated so seriously because it can falsely increase a student’s marks. Plagiarised work will be dealt with according to the strict procedures set out in the University’s plagiarism policies/guidelines – see www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/230

Plagiarism generally takes two main forms. The first form is copying the work of other students and we have various checks to guard against this possibility. The second form is copying the work of authors published in print or electronically. Please note that all quotations (i.e. use of someone else's words) must be surrounded by quotation marks or clearly indented, as well as acknowledged by footnotes. Using footnotes alone, without quotation marks or indentation, still constitutes full plagiarism and will be treated accordingly. Use of other people's ideas, figures etc. must be acknowledged by a footnote even if you are not quoting directly (see Politics Department Essay Writing Instructions for details).

Ignorance is not a sufficient excuse. It is your responsibility to ensure that you don't plagiarise. It is part of our assessment requirements that you know how to acknowledge sources properly. If you have any doubts about what constitutes plagiarism (or other forms of cheating) ask your tutor/lecturer. If you are seriously behind with your work or unable to understand things NEVER resort to plagiarism. Ask your teachers for help instead. If you come to us, we’ll do our best to help you get through. We are happy to assist students who ask us for help. We are definitely not happy to waste many hours, or even days, tracking down the sources of people who are trying to dishonestly increase their marks by cheating.

The high reputation of a University of Adelaide degree depends on us taking a strong stand against plagiarism and in supporting academic honesty. Doing so not only protects honest students from unfair competition, it also ensures the quality and high status of your degree.



WHAT WE LOOK FOR WHEN MARKING ESSAYS AND TUTORIAL PAPERS
(THIS WILL BE ELABORATED UPON IN LECTURES AND TUTORIALS)

Essays and tutorial papers should:

· Reveal very wide reading (even more for big essays than tutorial papers). Make good use of both primary sources (e.g. sources from politicians, government, social movements themselves) and secondary sources (commentaries by others).

· Reveal your ability to find the information you need by using library and other sources. (Good library research skills are essential , see reading list on MyUni for assistance).

· Reveal the ability to assess the reliability and quality of different types of information e.g. material from internet, newspapers, protest groups, politicians, academic books and journals. For example, is a politician’s depiction of an opponent a reliable source? Is your material from the internet produced by a well qualified person? Do you use enough scholarly sources?

· Be substantiated with evidence, examples, footnotes. We need evidence - not assertions.

· Show that you know how to use the scholarly conventions properly e.g. how to use footnotes, cite quotations etc.

· Be in your own words except for judicious use of acknowledged quotations. Never plagiarise (see previous page in course outline).

· Be clearly argued. We want your own, well substantiated views showing your ability for original, independent thinking and analysis.

· Analyse a range of views.

· Be polished. Write more than one draft!

· Reveal knowledge of relevant background material covered in a wide range of lectures e.g. how different views studied in the course impact on your topic.

· Generally reveal the relevant skills outlined in the Course Learning Objectives and Graduate Attributes.


ESSAY (RESEARCH) – RANGE OF TOPICS


Students must do their tutorial paper and essay on substantially different topics. In other words, you cannot do both on globalisation, or both on popular culture (film or news media), or both on race. If in doubt, ask your tutor. See summary section for information regarding word lengths.

Devising your own essay (research) topic.
A few suggestions for topics will be posted on My Uni (and if you choose one of these set questions, you needn’t get your tutor’s approval).

However, one of the things we want to do in this course is to encourage you to follow up your own interests (as long as they are relevant to the course) and develop your own research projects. This is particularly the case since there are only a handful of issues in Australian Politics that we can study in twelve weeks, so we’ve had to leave quite a lot of interesting issues out. So, if you'd like to work out an alternative essay topic on a topic covered in the course please consult with your tutor. (The wording should not be overly similar to a tutorial question or an essay question in another course — remember it is cheating to hand in substantially the same work for more than one course). Similarly, if there is a pressing issue that you would like to analyse in an essay but that isn’t included in the course outline, please talk to your lecturer/tutor about the possibility of doing an essay on that topic. For example, students in the past have done essays on topics such as Australian relations with Indonesia, the politics of Mad as Hell or The Project, drugs policy, health policy, tertiary education policy, Australian participation in Afghanistan, the politics of social media and a host of other issues. However, you should do a library search (e.g. using APAIS and, if appropriate, searches of media and government/parliamentary/party websites, see Reading List on My Uni) before you see your lecturer/tutor to ensure that there is sufficient material available.

Tutorial papers or essays handed up without proper footnotes will not normally be accepted for marking. In those cases where the lack of referencing constitutes plagiarism (see earlier in this outline), the work will be dealt with following the procedures set out in the plagiarism policies. (Remember, it is your responsibility to provide proper referencing - see above).

Don’t forget the lengthy Reading List on MyUni!!!!!


GRADING SCHEME CRITERIA , APPEALING MARKS AND REDEEMING WORK

Please see the information regarding these issues in the Grading section below.
Submission

Full information about how to submit your work is given on MyUni.

Extensions (and deductions of marks for late work handed in without an extension).
Students wishing to apply for an extension need to submit the relevant form available at http://www.adelaide.edu.au/student/exams/mod_arrange.html
to the course convenor via the School of Scoial Sciences office, or by emailing her directly at carol.johnson@adelaide.edu.au,  at least 5 days prior to the due date for the assignment. You need to state how long an extension you are asking for.

Exceptions to the Policy
If one of the following criteria is met, an informal extension can be organised with the course coordinator or tutor:
• small extension – 2 days or less (email your tutor making a case for an extension);
• assessment item is worth 20% or less (i.e. for the bibliographic assignment please email your tutor making a case for an extension);
• student is registered with the Disability Office (need to attach a Disability Access Plan – DAP) – email your tutor.


Note that essays handed in late, even with an extension, may receive only minimal comments due to marking time constraints (e.g. unfortunately we can’t get an extension for submitting our results, so this may limit how much time we have available to mark work handed in late).

Work that is handed in late without an extension will have 3% per day (including weekends) deducted.

Full information regarding how to submit your work will be given on MyUni.

Faculty of HUMSS Generic Guidelines for Assessment

General Grading Scheme

Pass 50-64%
Credit 65-74%
Distinction 75-84%
High Distinction 85+%

Pass 50-64%
• Adequate articulation of argument, theme or guiding problematic (stated problem)
• Adequate understanding and application of analytic concepts and theoretical issues
• Adequate adherence to scholarly conventions in citations
• Adequate scope of reading informing the argument
• Adequate understanding of that reading
• Adequate skills in written expression and presentation

Credit 65-74%
• Clear articulation of a theme or guiding problematic
• Clear understanding and application of analytic concepts and theoretical issues
• Argument reasonably well structured, developed and concluded
• Adequate adherence to scholarly conventions in citations
• Adequate scope of reading informing the argument
• Clear understanding of that reading
• Adequate skills in written expression and presentation
• Critical use of sources

Distinction 75-84%
• Clear articulation of a theme or guiding problematic
• Clear understanding and application of analytic concepts and theoretical issues
• Argument well structured, developed and concluded, displaying clear evidence of original thinking
• Consistent adherence to scholarly conventions in citations
• Wide scope of reading informing the argument, with evidence of directed independent reading
• Clear understanding of that reading
• Developed skills in written expression and presentation
• Critical use of sources

High Distinction 85%+
• Very clear articulation of a theme or guiding problematic
• Clear understanding and application of analytic concepts and theoretical issues
• Argument exceptionally well structured, developed and concluded, displaying ample innovation and originality
• Ample evidence of the critical use of sources
• Consistent adherence to scholarly conventions in citations
• Wide scope of reading informing the argument, with strong evidence of directed independent reading
• Sophisticated understanding of and reflection upon that reading
• Highly developed skills in written expression and presentation.


Return of work and appealing grades.
Staff will, whenever possible, endeavour to assess bibliographical assignments and tutorial papers within two weeks of submission (during semester teaching periods). However, the final essay results will only be released after course results have been submitted to, collated and approved by, the POLIS Department's examiners' meeting.

Please note that you will need to email your tutor prior to submission if you wish to have detailed feedback on your final essay.

Information regarding the return of work is given on MyUni.

Appealing grades.
Students who disagree with a mark should first consult the material given above, in the Course Outline and in lectures regarding what we expect in regard to assessment in this course. If they still feel they deserve a higher mark, they should present their case to their tutor who may be prepared to reconsider the mark they have given.

Students who genuinely still feel that their grade should be substantially higher can make a case in terms of the grievance procedure set out at http://www.adelaide.edu.au/student/grievance/process/stage2/academic/#assessment
(which could result in a lower, rather than higher, mark being given). However, this is a serious step to take and should only be undertaken in cases where you genuinely believe you have substantial grounds and can make a detailed case as to why this is the case. Please remember that your tutor has read far more student essays than you have done and generally has a far better idea of the overall standard in the subject.


Redeeming Work.
In exceptional circumstances, it may be possible to redeem your major essay by writing an essay on another topic. Tutorial papers and bibliographic assignments are not normally redeemable. Talk to your tutor in the first instance and make a detailed case as to why you think exceptional circumstances apply.

Academic Grounds for Supplementary assessment.
Students who fail but receive 45% or above for their final result will normally be eligible for additional work (what used to be called a supplementary exam) on academic grounds – it will take the form of an additional essay.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Information regarding how to submit your work is given on MyUni.

Issues in Australian Politics is continually reviewed in response to SELT feedback. Changes made in response to previous feedback include the following: (a) the word lengths for essays and tutorials were reduced (b) in response to a comment that students needed reminding what is required for tutorial papers, some key information from the course outline was also included in the Tutorial Readings page separators for each week (c) changes have also been made in response to some comments on content – e.g. in regard to explaining material that some students found harder to understand (d) Additional changes have included clarifying what is included in assessment word counts and further clarifying what is required in the bibliography exercise (e) revisions have been made to the lecture on essay writing. Unfortunately, not all changes to content asked for could be made, partly because students have wildly differing views on their favourite and least favourite topics in the course and partly because of educational grounds e.g. what we need to cover in a one semester course that introduces students to a wide range of issues. However, topics are changed and/or updated each year, so please give feedback because we will certainly consider all suggestions.

School of Social Sciences Occupational Health & Safety contingency plan & emergency procedures, see: http://arts.adelaide.edu.au/socialsciences/hsw/