INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY

PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA IN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP (Edexcel

BTEC Level 7)
ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET 2013/2014
Fill this as per the module
UNIT TITLE & Fill this as per the module LEVEL Specification
CODE Specification Fill this as per the module
CREDITS Specification
STUDENT NAME Name of you (Mandatory) STUDENT ID
ASSESSOR IV by
ASSESSMENT Word Count
ASSIGNMENT
ASSIGNMENT
SUBMISSION
ISSUE DATE
DATE
ASSIGNMENT ASSIGNMENT
DISCUSSION RESUBMISSION
DATE(s) DATE

FINAL GRADE ORIGINAL SUBMISSION RESUBMISSION

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA TO BE ASSESSED IN THIS ASSIGNMENT

(Identify all criteria to be assessed in this assignment)

LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4

Achieved Pass
1.1 1.2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 4.1 4.2 4.3
Criteria
Original Submission
Re submission

Merit Criteria Distinction Criteria

Grade Achieved
M1 M2 M3 D1 D2 D3
Original Submission
On resubmission

AUTHENCITY STATEMENT

I certify that the attached material is my original work. No other person’s work or ideas have been used without
acknowledgement. Except where I have clearly stated that I have used some of this material elsewhere, I have not
presented it for examination / assessment in any other course or unit at this or any other institution

SIGNATURE: ……………………………………….. DATE:………………………..

Feedback issued to the student Date of Issue:

This assessment brief has been internally verified for use.

Subject Name Individual / Group Assignment

Executive Summary
This section should contain a brief summary of the whole report. Also should contain at least three
paragraphs and should not be more than a page.

Paragraph 01: Introduction to the assignment, theories relevant, case, scenario or the company you
have selected to complete the assignment. Purpose of this section is to get the reader up to date on
the background and layout the flow of arguments you are planning to bring out in the body of the
report

Paragraph 02: Should summaries the highlights of your analysis including the major findings and
fundamental logical developments

Paragraph 03: Summary of the conclusions should be given here. Here you do not need to state the
conclusions precisely but can outline the conclusions which will entice the reader to go on and read
the full report.

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Subject Name Individual / Group Assignment

Table of Content
Following format should be followed

1.0 Main Heading ……………………………………………………………………… 01

1.1 Sub heading ……………………………………………………………… 05
1.2 Sub heading
.
.
.
.
2.0 Main Heading ……………………………………………………………………… 14

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Subject Name Individual / Group Assignment

Introduction
This is the place where you will be introducing the background of this report to the reader in detail.
If the assignment is regarding a scenario, case study or a selected organization; then use this section
to give comprehensive background information regarding the content, context and the current
situation or the problem existing in the selected organization or identified/explained in the case
study/scenario.
If there is no case study/scenario or haven’t being asked to pick an actual organization; then use this
section to give a background on the subject area.

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Body of the Report

This is the place where you answer the questions asked in the assignment in an appropriate order.
Use headings, subheadings to clearly separate the answers as well as show the logical development
of arguments. Use the following guide lines in writing the body of a report.

A. Logical approach to answer questions (If the question has phrases “Critically evaluate”)
Step 01: Brief construction of the problem (Especially when the problem was clearly
explained in the introduction)
Step 02: Theoretical development of literature (Here the relevant theories and past case
studies [if applicable] will be discussed. Most appropriate theory, concept or theoretical
approach will be logically determined by comparing and different perspectives.)
Step 03: Apply the selected theory to the given context, argue both the positive
effects/supporting factors and negative effects/barriers in applying the theory in the context
and determine the validity of the solution.
*Step 02 and 03 can be done together also

Other phrases there can be and possible approaches

Phrase Meaning / Expectation
Compare Examine qualities, or characteristics, to discover resemblances. "Compare" is
usually stated as "compare with": you are to emphasize similarities, although
differences may be mentioned.
Contrast Stress dissimilarities, differences, or unlikeness of things, qualities, events, or
problems.
Criticize Express your judgment or correctness or merit. Discuss the limitations and
good points or contributions of the plan or work in question.
Define Definitions call for concise, clear, authoritative meanings. Details are not
required but limitations of the definition should be briefly cited. You must
keep in mind the class to which a thing belongs and whatever differentiates
the particular object from all others in the class.
Describe In a descriptive answer you should recount, characterize, sketch or relate in
narrative form.
Discuss The term discuss, which appears often in essay questions, directs you to
examine, analyze carefully, and present considerations pro and con regarding

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Subject Name Individual / Group Assignment

the problems or items involved. This type of question calls for a complete
and entailed answer.
Evaluate In an evaluation question you are expected to present a careful appraisal of
the problem stressing both advantages and limitations. Evaluation implies
authoritative and, to a lesser degree, personal appraisal of both contributions
and limitations.
Explain In explanatory answers it is imperative that you clarify and interpret the
material you present. In such an answer it is best to state the "how or why,"
reconcile any differences in opinion or experimental results, and, where
possible, state causes. The aim is to make plain the conditions which give
rise to whatever you are examining.
Illustrate A question which asks you to illustrate usually requires you to explain or
clarify your answer to the problem by presenting a figure, picture, diagram,
or concrete example.
Interpret An interpretation question is similar to one requiring explanation. You are
expected to translate, exemplify, solve, or comment upon the subject and
usually to give your judgment or reaction to the problem.
Justify When you are instructed to justify your answer you must prove or show
grounds for decisions. In such an answer, evidence should be presented in
convincing form.
List Listing is similar to enumeration. You are expected in such questions to
present an itemized series or tabulation. Such answers should always be
given in concise form.
Outline An outline answer is organized description. You should give main points and
essential supplementary materials, omitting minor details, and present the
information in a systematic arrangement or classification.

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Subject Name Individual / Group Assignment

B. Referencing (Most commonly used)

Content Taken From In – Text Referencing End Text Referencing
Surname Initials, year, name of the book, edition, publisher, ISBN
One Author (Surname, year)
number (If available)
(Surname 1 and Surname 2, Surname 1 Initials 1 and Surname 2 Initials 2, year, name of the
Two Authors
A book year) book, edition, publisher, ISBN number (If available)
Surname 1 Initials 1 et. al., year, name of the book, edition, publisher,
Three or more
(Surname 01 et. al., year) ISBN number (If available)
Authors
*Or You can list all the names instead of et. al.
Surname Initials, year, title of the article, name of the journal,
One Author (Surname, year)
publisher, Volume no
A (Surname 1 and Surname 2, Surname 1 Initials 1 and Surname 2 Initials 2, year, title of the article,
Two Authors
Journal year) name of the journal, publisher, Volume no
Article Surname 1 Initials 1 et. al., year, title of the article, name of the
Three or more
(Surname 01 et. al., year) journal, publisher, Volume no
Authors
*Or You can list all the names instead of et. al.
Web site (URL of the home page) Full URL, Referred date and time

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Subject Name Individual / Group Assignment

C. Method of including charts, tables and diagrams

a. Including a Figure

Figure Number: Name of the Figure

b. Including a Table
Table Number: Title of the Table

Source: reference to the source if the table was drawn based on referred data

c. Including Charts / Diagrams

Chart / Diagram number: Name of the chart / diagram

Source: Reference to the source of the diagram/chart or the data used

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Subject Name Individual / Group Assignment

Conclusion and Recommendations

Here the student has to derive the answers for the problems identified in the introduction and
analyzed in the body section. Students need to emphasize the logical derivation of the conclusions,
hence are advised to give a two or three sentence summary on the problem and key data analysis
findings before going in to explain the conclusion you have arrived in detail.
In recommendations you can discuss about;
A. The implementation and way forward from the point where you have stopped in this
assignment. You can discuss how the solutions can be implemented and what further analysis
a new researcher can do in to the subject matter based on your results
B. The difficulties and barriers that you have faced in finding realistic solutions to the problems

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Subject Name Individual / Group Assignment

References
Give the respective end text reference for the content referred in the body

If you want to provide reference to any material which was not referred in the body, they
have to be included in a Bibliography using the end text referencing format.

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Subject Name Individual / Group Assignment

Appendix
This can be used to provide any additional information you think is helpful to understand the context
in the body.
Also you can use this section to give evidence for the existence of the secondary data (Ex/ Print
screens of web sites, attachments of documents, etc.)
You can use cross reference to emphasize the validity of your arguments during the completion of
the body of the report.
No critical questions, requirements of the assignments should be included purely here (Such as the
assignment requested analysis since nothing in this section will be considered as a part of your
answer. This is just for further clarification.)

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General Guide lines in writing Reports

Language: Should always use the “Reporting” (3rd person view) style of writing, unless
otherwise mentioned
Type your assignment clearly
o Font type: Times new roman
o Font size
 Headings : 14 pt, Bold, Underlined
 Sub-headings : 12 pt, Bold, Underlined
 Body : 12 pt, normal
 Align : Justify
 Line spacing : 1.5
 Margins : 1” form each side
 Numbering : at the bottom right hand corner
 Header
Left side- subject name
Right side- individual/group assignment
 Footer
Left side- batch number
Right side-page number
All the Figures, Tables, Diagrams etc. should be numbered
Label sketches properly and neatly.
Write on only one side of the paper.
Utilize a table of contents and section headings where applicable.
Use size A4 paper.
Provide a title page and a front cover.
Do not forget to sign the plagiarism statement on the cover sheet of your assignment.
Please note that plagiarism is treated as a serious offence and therefore the work you
produce must be individual and original although may work in groups in some instance
All sources of information must be referenced using “Harvard referencing” where a reference
listing should be included at the end of the assignment
The ethical procedures of the course strictly maintain a data security policy on students’ work
and you should submit a soft copy of your completed assignment along with your completed
assignment hard copy in order to avoid assignment information distribution among others.

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