University of Bristol School for Policy Studies
Youth Justice
Summative assessment (25%): Annotated bibliography (1000 words)
Unit ILOs: The objectives of the unit are to develop students’ awareness and knowledge of:
• how children and young people are perceived and treated by the youth justice system in England and Wales
• theoretical, policy and professional approaches to the needs and rights of children and young people involved in offending behaviour
• international differences in the ways in which children are perceived and treated by criminal legislation.
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
1. identify the needs and rights of children and young people involved in offending behaviour
2. apply these important considerations to situations where children and young people’s circumstances and experiences cause them to be subject to youth justice interventions
3. critically assess policy and professional responses to working with children involved in the youth justice system
4. synthesise different theoretical, policy and professional approaches to youth offending
5. critically evaluate cross-national differences and similarities in perceptions of and the treatment of children within youth justice systems
Submission point: Blackboard
Type of Assessment: Annotated Bibliography
Guidance: You must submit an annotated bibliography of five sources. The annotated bibliography should be no more than 1,000 words, excluding references.
The annotated bibliography should be an alphabetical list and discussion of information sources (eg journal articles, research reports or book chapters), formatted like a reference list, accompanied by a brief summary/critical commentary (annotation) on each source. The annotated bibliography should focus on the topics covered in the first five weeks of the unit, ie should include one source relevant to each of Weeks 1 – 5. The sources should be drawn from the resource list and beyond. In-text citations are included in the word count, but the reference list is not. At least one of the annotations must have an international focus / be based on a country other than England/Wales.
You should make sure that your annotated bibliography:
• Demonstrates you can correctly cite and reference the sources used
• Demonstrates your knowledge and understanding of the topic researched
• Demonstrates you have searched and reviewed appropriate sources for your topic
• Includes the required number of sources outlined in the assignment.
• Includes sources that can be considered reliable and/or trustworthy
• Includes a variety of types of sources, eg chapters, journal articles, research reports and/or policy documents (including some from unit resource list and some from ‘beyond’ the unit resource list).
• Critiques the quality/reliability/validity etc of the sources
• Is fluently, accurately and critically written.
See the SPS Assessment Guide (here) for further details on the requirements and expectations for an annotated bibliography.
Please see presentation and referencing requirements, below.
This assessment meets ILOs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Marking criteria: https://www.ole.bris.ac.uk/auth-saml/saml/login?apId=_183_1&redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ole.bris.ac.uk%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fcontent%2FlistContentEditable.jsp%3Fcontent_id%3D_5125449_1%26course_id%3D_242918_1
Formatting guidance:
• The file name of the assessment should be your STUDENT ID NUMBER. If you don’t include this in your file name it may take longer to mark as it may be mis-filed in the submission system.
• The first page of your assessment must include your STUDENT ID NUMBER (NOT your name or candidate number)
• Word count should be placed below the student number. The word count WILL NOT include the title or the reference list . In accordance with the handbook regulations, penalties will be applied if your submitted work exceeds the word count.
• Reference Style: Harvard referencing. See: Harvard (author-date) referencing system (bristol.ac.uk)
• Assessments should be typed using: font size 12, font type Arial, Calibri or Times
• The minimum size of margins will be: 2cm top and bottom, and 3cm left and right
• Line spacing will be: 1.5
