ASSIGNMENT

Answers to questions must be submitted in the expected format (e.g. Word document, Excel spreadsheet,
PowerPoint presentation etc.), using digital tools only. Handwritten assignments will not be accepted. Refer
to the Student Guide for further applicable general and academic policies.

To be completed by the professor/assessor:

Final grade: __________ / 100%

Academic year: 2021 - 2022

Academic quarter: Spring
Academic term: Term B
Campus: Zurich
Course name: Academic Skills
Professor: Prof. Dr. Camelia Nistor
Assignment type: Select

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INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
These assignments assess the following Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO):

1. Recognize the importance of academic honesty and consistently apply referencing techniques
correctly
2. Distinguish between fact and opinion in a reading passage and make inferences from readings
3. Use quotations, paraphrasing and summarizing of sources together with independent, supported
arguments for improved academic writing
4. Feel comfortable in reading, understanding, and delivering business content
5. Evaluate and select appropriate sources to support business topics and discussion

ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES
Both assignments must have a clear structure: title page (university's name, course title,
assignment title, student's name, academic year), short introduction – explaining what the paper
will refer to / will focus on (1/3 – ½ page), body of the paper (the main part of the paper where the
fundamental ideas will be fully developed), a short conclusion (1/3 – ½ page); a list of reference will
need to be inserted at the end of the assignment. Same referencing style to be used throughout the
entire paper. Harvard referencing style is recommended at UIBS (in-text citations and a list of
references to be inserted in the paper accordingly).
For both assignments, it is compulsory for students to use references (mainly books and academic
articles; some few pertinent and reliable websites may be consulted as well, to a considerably lesser
extent, though) in order to explain different fundamental theories, key-concepts / notions etc in the
approached field & insert researchers’ / experts’ views in this sense. For writing the assignments,
students’ personal contribution (personal analysis, interpretation, comments on the key discussed
elements) is also strongly recommended and encouraged.
Deadline for submitting both assignments: 8 June 2022 (by midnight)
Both individual and group assignments will be submitted by students in Turnitin. Papers will be
only uploaded once in Turnitin (i.e: only one member of each group should upload the group
assignment on this platform). Coordinates to be used in this respect are:
Enrollment Key = SKILLS
Class ID = 34569454
Deadline must be respected. The papers will take into consideration all above-mentioned
requirements.
Group assignments will be presented by students at class (on the 9th of June, in the session starting
at 15h30).
Plagiarism is to be avoided. If detected (in Turnitin), plagiarism is to be penalized.
In case of questions / further details needed, feel free to contact me in Teams and /or by email at
camelia.nistor@faculty.uibs.org
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ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
Individual assignment:

Students will write an assignment composed of two parts:

a) A personal essay on a topic of preference in the business field – this will be a creative
composition expressing the ideas, views, opinions which students have regarding the
selected subject (in this case, students will not make use of any external sources; therefore,
no need for books, academic articles etc to be consulted; implicitly, no referencing
requested);
b) A paper on the same topic as for the above-mentioned personal essay at point a). This time,
it is compulsory for students to conduct research and make use of relevant external sources;
therefore, mainly books, academic articles to be consulted; quotations and paraphrasing will
be used; implicitly, referencing is requested.

By the end of the paper, students will provide a brief analysis of the two methods / styles used
(in both papers) in order to write on the respective topic (for example, reference can be made to
how the formal / informal style used in the papers, differences / similarities between expressing
personal views vs incorporating views of consulted author’s etc).

This assignment should have approximately 2000 words (+/-10%): around 700-750 words for
part a), 700-750 words for part b), and the remaining number of words will be allocated for the
analysis to be conducted by the end of the paper as explained above.

Group assignment (depending on the total number of students enrolled for the class, groups will,
ideally, consist of 4-5 students; please feel free forming the groups yourselves; in case of any
potential difficulty in this sense, students will inform me as soon as possible for finding a solution
promptly; students will mention in the assignment what was the specific part prepared by each):
Students will prepare a paper on a topic of interest in the business area – in this sense, each
student in the respective group will consult at least 2 books and 2 academic articles on the selected
topic. Every student in the group is asked to prepare a summary based on the pertinent parts of the
materials read with also, when applying, paraphrasing key information from the given reading
materials. Intertextuality will be used where possible.
The contribution of each student in the group will be put together by, in a first instance,
evaluating and determining – inside of each group – what you consider to be crucial information in
order for this to be placed in the final paper (the final paper represents the group assignment as
such, based on the contribution of every student in the group following the indications provided).
Referencing is compulsory. By the end, all members of the group will also offer their personal views
regarding the addressed topic.

Around 1000 words (+/-10%) will be prepared by each student for the group assignment; for
example, if the group consists of four members, the assignment would have around 4000 words (+/-
10%).

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