Harvard system of referencing has been used however closer adherence to the demands of the Harvard style guide is required. External sources are generally referenced correctly using the Harvard style but there are minor errors in formatting or the use of punctuation. All external sources are referenced correctly using the Harvard referencing style. Presents good evidence from academically legitimate sources; attribution is clear and accurate; references are primarily peer-reviewed journals or other approved Presents compelling evidence from academically legitimate sources but more evidence can be provided; attribution is clear and accurate; references are primarily peer-reviewed Presents extremely compelling evidence from academically legitimate sources; attribution is clear and accurate; references are primarily high quality and extent peer-

Referencing (10%) Did not meet criterion. External sources are acknowledged but incorrectly referenced. Extent of Research (20%) Most of the references are from sources that are not peer-reviewed or professional, and have uncertain reliability; few if any appropriate citations are provided; reader doubts Academically legitimate references are generally used but only a minimal number of them; clear and fair citations are presented in most cases; most of the information/content/evidence comes from sources that are reliable.

Distinction (70-79%) High Distinction (80-100%) High standard of presentation, including editing, grammar, punctuation, and structure. Excellent communication of ideas. Readability of the project is enhanced by facility in language use/word choice, excellent mechanics, and syntactic variety; uses language conventions effectively (e.g., spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, paragraphing, grammar, etc.) Writing is mostly compelling and generally sustains interest throughout; tone is consistently professional and appropriate for an academic research project Excellent standard of presentation, including editing, grammar, punctuation and structure. Outstanding communication of ideas. Readability of the project is enhanced by facility in language use/word choice, excellent mechanics, and syntactic variety; uses language conventions effectively (e.g., spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, paragraphing, grammar, etc.) Writing is compelling and sustains interest throughout; tone is consistently professional and appropriate for an academic research project

Meets requirements Exceeds requirements Pass (50-59%) Credit (60-69%) Acceptable standard of presentation with clear communication. Written research project displays good word choice, language conventions, and mechanics with a few minor errors in spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and/or punctuation; errors do not represent a major distraction or obscure meaning Writing is usually engaging and keeps the reader’s attention; tone is generally professional and appropriate for an academic research project Good standard of presentation, including editing, grammar, punctuation, and structure. Clear communication of ideas. Readability of the project is enhanced by facility in language use/word choice, good mechanics, and syntactic variety; uses language conventions well (e.g., spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, paragraphing, grammar, etc.) Writing is somewhat compelling and mostly sustains interest throughout; tone is mostly professional and appropriate for an academic research project

Criteria Does not meet requirements Written communication (20%) Did not meet criterion The written project exhibits multiple errors in grammar, sentence structure, and/or spelling; inadequate writing skills (e.g., weaknesses in language facility and mechanics) hinder readability and contribute to an ineffective research project Writing is unengaging, and reader finds it difficult to maintain interest; tone is not consistently professional or suitable for an academic research project

The class on “research skills and assignment workshop” is designed specifically around this assessment. You would benefit more from this class if you had already started your assignment and made sufficient progress in relation to each of the five areas listed above prior to attending this class. This is because you will have a better understanding of the assignment and thus be able to clarify your doubts in this class. The assignment should take the form of a report and include an executive summary. The entire assignment should not exceed 2000 words (+/- 10 %). There is no need to provide a table of contents. The word count includes footnotes, endnotes and appendices. A reference list should be provided but is not incldued in the word count.

This is a research assignment. Hence, you will be providing your personal view based on research evidence, theory and original thought. In your assignment, you are expected to draw on: • relevant accounting theories • scholarly articles from academic journals • reports issued by professional accounting bodies, accounting firms (particularly, the Big 4), regulatory bodies, the IIRC and other transnational organisations • media reports on sustainability and integrated reporting Sustainability and Integrated reporting are covered in Chapter 9 of the textbook. The theoretical knowledge necessary to complete this research assignment is not confined to one or few topics but spread across many topics in this unit. The theoretical knowledge provided in Chapter 8 of your textbook is particularly relevant to this assignment. However, theories explained in Chapters 7 and 10 can be drawn upon to inform your arguments where appropriate as well.