Identification and critique of a defined health inequality and the impact of government policy

Identification and critique of a defined health inequality and the impact of government policy

Summative Assessment Brief

Assessment Task

Using evidence about a health inequalities write an essay critically examining how health and social care inequalities are experienced, explained and the government interventions aimed at reducing inequalities in a specific area of health policy (4000 words)

Learning Outcomes

In this assessment, you should demonstrate the following learning outcomes:

Guidelines for this Assessment

Initial Planning

Greetham (2008) see five stages to planning an essay:

1. Interpretation of the question
2. Research
3. Planning
4. Writing
5. Revision

He points out that missing out any of these stages can lead to irrelevance, weak structure, and insufficient evidence to support your arguments and a lack of connectivity between arguments (see page 2). His book ‘how to write better essays’ is available online.

Your essay must:

• Have an introduction. This should include some information or an opening statement which sets up the issue you want to discuss and highlights your argument/opinion. This should grab the attention of the reader. In other words this is your subject statement. This part of your essay also presents the context of your essay. It should also provide a summary explaining what is coming in the rest of the essay (500 words).
• Paragraphs should be focused on an idea supported with evidence that supports your argument/opinion. This evidence should include empirical studies which ‘research inequality’. You must have a clear argument or ‘story line’ which relates to the aspect/s of inequality you have chosen.  At this point you should critically reflect on the concepts underpinning health and social care inequalities (3,200 words).
• Conclusion. This should be the summary of your argument/opinion and your final perspective on the aspect of inequality you have chosen. You can end with a memorable thought or call to action (300 words).
•  Meet the Units learning outcomes.

In your essay you should:

• Use sub-headings to distinguish between different sections and arguments within different sections.
• Try to link sentences and paragraphs so that one argument flows into the next nicely.
• Always present the evidence to support your arguments.
• Critically evaluate the existing evidence.

Your assessment will be marked against the following criteria which are described in detail in the MSc Public Health student handbook:

• Written expression and structure
• Use of literature and referencing
• Issue handling/argument construction
• Quality of understanding and analysis of professional knowledge base/use of current specific knowledge base / connections to practice
• Reflection and evaluation of policy and practice

The 16-point grading scale will be used to show how well you have met the criteria above.

Word Allowance for this Assessment 

The word allowance for this assessment is 4000 words

• A margin of 10% more or less than the word allowance is allowed without penalty. Therefore for this assessment 4400 – 3600 words will be acceptable. Any text after the limit will not be read.
• All words used in the assignment (Introduction, body and conclusion) are included in the word count. It is normal for the computer to ‘count’ all words including tables, diagrams, references in the text and direct quotes.
• The word limit does not include the reference list, bibliography or appendices.
• You should state the word count at the end of the assignment after the conclusion.

If an assignment presented for marking falls outside these guidelines, the marking team may downgrade the assignment

Guidelines for presenting written assignments 

The following guidelines should be followed:

• All written assignments must be word processed / typed.
• The recommended font style is Arial 11 or 12.
• Use line spacing of 1.5 or double spacing throughout.
• Number each page clearly.
• The unit title and Student ID must be included as either a header or footer on every page (except front page).
• Create margins of at least 2.5 cms on all sides of each page.
• The title page should contain your name and ID, the name of the University, the name of your course, the unit code / title and the title of the assessment.
• State the number of words written at the end of the assignment after the conclusion.
• Start the reference list on a new page and adhere to Harvard referencing guidelines.
• A high standard of presentation is expected and this includes accurate referencing, attention to layout, grammar and spelling.
• Your assessment should be submitted electronically through Turnitin before the deadline. There is no need to submit a hard copy.

• Number any appendices for ease of cross referencing and ensure that they are referred to in the text by the relevant number.