1 This resource contains example(s) of critical evaluation in Education-related disciplines. Follow the steps below to customise the slides for your course: 1.Choose an appropriate example extract from a student assignment (graded A) 2.Copy the extract into the example slides (slides 4&5) 3.Highlight words and phrases that illustrate effective demonstration of depth and breadth 4.Provide the full version of the assignment  students identify further examples (slide 6) 5.Encourage the students to bring in their own writing (slide 6) 6.Delete guidance slide 1 in this resource before using in your sessions Guidance on customising this resource How to demonstrate depth and breadth in assignments PAD team for further guidance In this resource: Breadth can be demonstrated through connecting the knowledge from different disciplines, with a view to provide a wider context/ scope or a historical perspective. Depth assumes author’s engagement with the subject knowledge at a more profound level, in order to ‘drill down’ to the roots of the discussed / analysed topic. Both depth and breadth can often be seen in analysis and synthesis.

Write to attract a higher grade: How to demonstrate depth and breadth of knowledge Skills Edge Project Workshop 2

Discussion: How do we demonstrate ‘depth’ and ‘breadth’ in academic writing? How to demonstrate depth and breadth of knowledge in your writing 3 o What do we mean by ‘depth’ and ‘breadth’ in academic writing? o Why would your lecturers want to see this in your work? o Think of parts of assignments - where would it be most suitable to demonstrate ‘depth’ and ‘breadth’? o How might you be able show evidence of ‘depth’ and ‘breadth’ in your assignments?

Example 1. How does the author achieve ‘depth’ and ‘breadth’ in the following extract? 4 How to demonstrate depth and breadth of knowledge in your writing “More specifically, this affective filter is a combination of emotions creating a negative effect on the learner; stress, anxiety, embarrassment and fear are all examples of potential components for a raised affective filter. These are comparable with Harmer’s (2007) “Angel of Motivation” component of achievement, in as much as each negative emotional effect (dependant on circumstances) could be attributed to the learner’s view of their achievement in learning the target language. Moreover, the angel of motivation achievement construct is linked to balancing the difficulty of tasks to be challenging enough to enable students to feel some sense of achievement when they are able to provide adequate responses, which is along a similar vein to the concept of “i +1” in that the aim is to provide comprehensible input to the learner…” Supplementing the Affective Filter Hypothesis: Teachers as Tools for Affective Engagement

Example 2. How does the author achieve ‘depth’ and ‘breadth’ in the following extract? 5 How to demonstrate depth and breadth of knowledge in your writing Reflective Journal “Campbell (2004) believes that children can learn from the stories which are told or read by adults. Shared book reading is believed to contribute to, and provide a context for language development (Wasik and Bond, 2001). This planned group activity, and the adult-child interaction during the story, appeared to support children’s learning in particular within the prime area of learning and development ‘communication and language’ (DfE, 2012). Chambers (1991) compares reading to children to what Vygotsky (1978) would term a ‘loaning of consciousness’, he believes that children learn to read by joining in with those who can read and gradually beginning to read independently. This suggests that the EYP has created a zone of proximal development (ZPD) (Vygotsky, 1978) by reading aloud to the children, as they are currently unable to read independently at their actual developmental level. Goouch and Lambirth (2011) believe that reading aloud to children inducts them into rich potential of reading… “

Task 1: Can you identify any other examples of ‘depth’ and ‘breadth’ in the text provided? Justify your answer. 6 Task 2: Try to identify evidence of ‘depth’ and ‘breadth’ in both your own and your peers’ writing How to demonstrate depth and breadth of knowledge in your writing