Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POC1003: British Government and Politics

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Please note that this module is only delivered on the Penryn Campus.

Module Aims

This module provides you with an introduction to British politics which is intended to provoke thought and provide foundational concepts for the academic study of this topic. The lectures introduce you to the main institutions and processes of government with contemporary emphasis but historical awareness. The module covers democracy in Britain, electoral politics, executive politics and structures for developing and implementing public policy. A theme of the course will be the changes in the British constitution over the last 20 years or so. A second theme is to stress the new politics of permanent campaigning and direct action in a context where power is shifting upwards (to Europe) and downwards (to the devolved territories).

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. demonstrate your knowledge of the basic institutions and operation of British politics, recent political history and contrasting perspectives on developments in British politics; 2. evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches and perspectives on British politics and anticipate how British politics is likely to evolve over the next five years.
Discipline-Specific Skills	3. place descriptive material within a conceptual and theoretical context and to move from the concrete to the abstract and vice versa, and an ability to assimilate and analyse a wide range of disparate data in written work; 4. interpret and apply theory and evidence about political institutions and processes.
Personal and Key Skills	5. demonstrate effective essay writing techniques, including the ability to evaluate and synthesise relevant material; 6. engage effectively in group discussions; 7. engage effectively in group work.

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Group Activity	400 words per student	1,3,4,6,7	Written feedback

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Bibliographic Exercise	40	1,500 words	1, 5	Written
Essay	60	2,000 words	1-5	Written
	0
	0
	0
	0

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Bibliographic Exercise	1,500 words	1, 5	August/September reassessment period
Essay	2,000 words	1-5	August/September reassessment period