PL1016 Order and Disorder: IR 1989 to the Present Assessment 1: EPAB Information Jan 2026

PL1016 Order and Disorder: IR 1989 to the Present

Assessment 1 Guidance: Essay Plan and Annotated Bibliography

All students are required to submit an essay plan and annotated bibliography by 12 noon on Thursday, 12 March 2026. This assessment is worth 50% of the overall mark for this module. The total word count for this assessment is 1,000 words.

This assessment has two elements: (A) a plan identifying the central argument and supporting points of your intended essay, and (B) an annotated bibliography reviewing four scholarly sources.

An example plan and annotated bibliography will be provided based on questions from previous years. These can be found in the Assessment Information section of our blackboard site. A copy of the essay questions can also be found in this section.
A core aim of this assessment is to help you build planning and reading skills. You are encouraged to select the same essay question for both this assessment and the second assessment, the essay.

A.Your Essay Plan

The first part of the assessment is a 1-page essay plan setting out your intended approach to your selected essay question. The essay plan should include a “thesis statement”: a 1 to 2-sentence summary of your argument/response to the selected essay question. Your plan should also identify the supporting points for your essay’s argument and indicate where relevant examples or scholarly literature will be incorporated.

B.The Annotated Bibliography

The second part of the assessment asks you to create an annotated bibliography for at least four scholarly sources. Scholarly sources can include peer-reviewed journal articles and books, but for the purposes of this assessment should not include sources such as primary sources, government documents, or news sites.

For each source you should provide the full bibliographic entry. You should then summarize the argument and core contributions of each source in around 160-175 words. To do well on this assessment, you should also identify how the source will connect to or be used within your essay.

Some questions you may want to consider in creating your summary:

-What does the source discuss?
-What is the central argument?
-Does the source use relevant evidence or examples for your essay?
-Identify how the source connect it to the essay: How does the source speak to the selected essay topic? How might it help you evaluate the essay question? Does the reinforce or counter a key point you want to make in the essay?

A note on AI usage:

You are strongly discouraged from using generative AI to create an essay plan or to summarise sources for annotation without reading those sources yourself. While generative AI can be a useful tool, it should not be a replacement for brainstorming ideas, reading, writing, or even thinking about your coursework!

PL1016 Marking criteria for the assessment:

First Class. 72, 75, 78, 85, 95.

A first class assessment will show a high level of knowledge and understanding of the subject matter of the selected essay question. The essay plan will have a clear statement of argument, a clear structure, and incorporate identification of relevant examples and scholarly sources throughout. The structure presented in the essay plan will be coherent and logical.
The annotated bibliography will contain at least four scholarly sources. The discussion of these sources will accurately identify their central arguments, relevance to the essay’s topic, and demonstrate reflection on the usefulness or contribution of the source.

Upper Second Class. 62, 65, 68.

An upper second class assessment will show a good level of knowledge and understanding of the subject matter of the selected essay question. The essay plan will have a clear statement of argument, identifying the overall structure of the essay, and will identifies some relevant examples and scholarly sources. The structure presented in the essay plan as a whole will have a logical structure.
The annotated bibliography will contain at least four scholarly sources. The discussion of the sources will accurately identify their central arguments, relevance to the essay’s topic, and demonstrate some reflection on the usefulness or contribution of the source.

Second Class. 52, 55, 58.

A lower second class assessment will demonstrate an adequate level of knowledge and understanding of the subject matter of the selected essay question. The essay plan will include a statement of the argument, contain some indication of the overall structure of the essay, and may seek to identify examples or sources. The structure presented in the essay plan as a whole will be logical and generally coherent.
The annotated bibliography will contain at least four scholarly sources. One or two sources might not be from the scholarly literature or may be unrelated to the essay question. The discussion of the sources will provide some summary of their central arguments. There may be limited or inconsistent discussion of the relevance of these sources to the essay’s topic.

Third Class. 42, 45, 48.

A third class assessment will show limited understanding of the subject matter of the selected essay question. The essay plan may include a statement of the overall argument but this statement may be insufficiently clear or precise. The essay plan may give some indication of the intended structure, but may be imprecise, illogical, or poorly structured. Examples or literature, if identified, may be vague, tangential, or irrelevant to the essay question.
The annotated bibliography will contain at least four sources though several of these may not be from the scholarly literature. The discussion of sources may provide a largely descriptive summary of their contents with little to no reflection on their relevance to the essay question. Some attempt may be made to identify the arguments of sources though this identification may be inaccurate.

Approaching Pass: 32, 35, 38.

A failed assessment may show little if any knowledge or understanding of the subject matter of the selected essay question. The plan may lack a clear statement of argument, and may have little or no sense of structure. The plan may be repetitive or contain points not well-linked to the question. The plan itself may be quite short and missing a statement of the essay’s argument.
The annotated bibliography may contain fewer than four sources or contain resources irrelevant to the essay question. There may be a very general summary of the sources which is lacking in any discussion of their relevance to the essay topic. Summary of sources or their arguments may be inaccurate.

Clear Fail: 0, 15, 25.

A clear fail of this assessment will show a lack of basic knowledge or understanding about the subject matter of the selected essay question. Parts of the annotated bibliography or essay plan may be missing from a clear fail.

The essay plan provided will not provide a sufficient statement of argument and may be confusing or illogical in its structure. Examples or literature if identified will be unrelated to the essay topic. The plan itself may be quite short.

The annotated bibliography may contain fewer than four sources and contain resources irrelevant to the essay question. A brief summary of the sources may be provided though the summary may miss important information and not identify the arguments of sources.