Australian Citizenship (Psychology student) - Journal Critique - Essay Writing Assessment Answers

Essay Writing Assignment Help

Continuous assessment 3: critical reading and note taking

• Choose one journal article from the six scholarly sources that you found in the literature search.

• Apply the strategies that have been introduced in the ‘Reading and Note-taking’ ISpring, while you read the article that you have chosen.

• Write a critical summary (400 words) of the article.

• Begin by providing details about the article such as the title, name of the author, when and where it was published.

• Next, discuss the key ideas that were raised in the article. Remember to be critical and not just describe the article.

• Refer to Slide 7 of the ‘Reading and Taking Notes ISpring’, for information on how to be critical.

Assessment #1 -

The Essay Plan is a necessary preparation task for assessment two (essay). Therefore, the Essay Plan should not be seen as a separate exercise from the essay.

The Essay Plan should be written in succinct, coherent grammatical sentences. Dot points, numbered points, dashes, or any form of truncated listing is not permitted.

The Essay Plan must include:

• your interpretation and understanding of the chosen essay topic;
• the internal structure of the essay including key themes, issues, and arguments you propose to include in your essay; and
• a list of resources (reference list) you will use to support the essay, including academic journal articles, academic texts, and other pertinent publications.

The Essay Plan is an opportunity for you to submit your initial research and understanding of the essay topic. Your Tutor will provide guidance and feedback to support your essay preparation.

Assessment #2 –

The Essay is a major piece of scholarly work that should be viewed as a “process of development”. The Teaching Team (comprising tutors, L 3 and library staff) will during weeks 3 to 11 provide skills workshops and other resources to support your work.The essay enables you to demonstrate your understanding of the structure and processes of government in Australia, and your capacity to critically discuss key debates and issues in contemporary Australia:

Essay topics:

1. Australian politics is based on a two party system. Critically analyse this assertion with particular attention to forming government and passing legislation.

2. The High Court has been instrumental in shaping Australian federalism. Examine this statement in regards to the High Court’s role in key changes to Commonwealth/State relations and powers.

O’Brien published an article in the Australasian Parliamentary Review in 2008 about the role of the high court in preventing the growth of Australian federalism. Titled “Wither federalism: The consequences and sustainability of the high court’s interpretation of commonwealth powers”, the article explores the relationship between how the high court interprets the commonwealth powers and its effects on federalism.

The court has been given powers part of which includes interpreting the constitution. However, the way in which the court will interpret various legislations stipulated in the constitution will automatically affect the outcomes of Australian politics and the society in general. The author has clearly explored this issue in depth by citing various cases that portray the approach taken by the high court to interpret commonwealth power. The title is well structured and reflects the entire content presented in the paper with a major focus on the role of court in interpreting the commonwealth powers. The author has done a good job exploring the approach taken by the high court to interpret various provisions of the constitution part of which include the commonwealth power. However, a critical part of the paper as indicated by the title deal with Australian federalism. Although the author has shown that the approach taken by the court in interpreting the commonwealth power undermines Australian federalism, the two concepts have not been extensively linked. Australian federalism should be a core component of the paper. The link should be clearly brought out in the paper. However, the manner in which the author explores the approach taken by the high court in interpreting constitutional provisions is extensive. It is clear from the paper that the court’s approach to interpreting the law has undermined the Australian federalism. The question is what we should do about it. Based on the article, we can ascertain that the court’s interpretation of commonwealth powers has undermined federalism. So, what should the government and other players do to correct the situation? These are some of the answers and recommendations expected from the article. I agree that the author has successfully communicated the message to the intended audience. However, it would be more information if the author would give policy-oriented recommendations. Nevertheless, the article has been instrumental in showing the role of the high court in Australian federalism. Most of the discussions presented by the author are relevant and revolve around the central theme of the paper as expected by the author. Policy makers can borrow some information from this article to inform their decision-making.