Assessment Information/Brief 2025-26
To be used for all types of assessment and provided to students at the start of the module. Information provided should be compatible with the detail contained in the approved module specification.
Module title | Economics and Management
CRN | 40555, 40646, 63007, 64537
Level | 4
Assessment title | Assessment 1 Economics
Submission/Assessment Date | The submission deadline is Friday 13th March 2026 by no later than 16:00. Any submission received after 16:00 (even if only by a few seconds will be considered as late).
Module Leader/
Assessment set by | Dr Simona Barresi
Email: s.barresi@salford.ac.uk
Weighting within module | This assessment is worth 50% of your overall module mark.
Assessment task details and instructions | In this assessment you are required to write a well-structured two-part essay addressing the following:
PART 1: Factors affecting housing supply and demand in UK
The UK construction sector has faced significant challenges in recent years. Geopolitical tensions and economic volatility have affected the sector and the construction of new houses. Considering the various recent challenges, the current economic environment and the government’s declared priorities to stimulate economic growth and accelerate housing delivery, you should identify and discuss one current factor that is impacting, or is likely to impact, housing supply and two current factors that are impacting, or may impact, housing demand in the UK owner-occupied housing market.
Discussion should be supported by relevant references and the impact of each factor on the housing supply or housing demand curve should be clearly mentioned. It is expected that relevant graphs, covered in the module, showing the impact of each discussed factor/determinant (ceteris paribus) on the housing supply or housing demand curve (i.e. movement along the curve or shifts of the curve) and in-text citations will be included to demonstrate your understanding and effectively support your discussion. (60% of marks)
PART 2: Positive externalities in the construction sector
The negative environmental impact of the construction sector is generally well documented. Construction activities typically cause dust and gas emissions, waste generation, natural resources consumption, and pollution. Nonetheless, this sector makes a significant contribution to the economic potential of a country and plays a critical role for sustainable development. According to a recent study by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), every £1 spent on construction generates £2.92 of value to the UK economy.
By considering this, you should identify, investigate, and discuss two important positive externalities in the construction sector. For each externality you should also clearly specify its contribution to economic growth/sustainable development.
It is expected that relevant recent official data/statistics and in-text citations will be used to support discussion. (40% of marks)
The key issue in this essay will be the degree of effort and analysis. Good quality sources are expected to be independently investigated and discussed in your own words. Relevant official data/statistics should be used to support discussion where appropriate. Purely descriptive assignments will not secure the highest grades.
Please note the following:
The essay should focus on analysing theory and existing publications. It should include a combination of synthesis of knowledge gained from existing texts and your own opinions based on facts.
The main emphasis in referencing should be on good quality secondary sources such as official reports, articles, news articles, and relevant textbooks. Students can also cite good quality websites. Note that citing inaccurate sources or sources not discussed in the essay may indicate poor academic practice/academic misconduct.
Students are required to acknowledge all sources from which they obtain information, by including in-text citations and references in The APA 7th (Harvard) Style of referencing.
FORMAT
You should submit an individual Microsoft Word essay. The essay should have a cover sheet/title page and should be clearly structured. The cover sheet/title page should include the following information: assignment title, your programme of study (PMC, QS, etc.), your study mode (FT/PT), the module name, the date, your roll/ID number (e.g., @979613422), and the total number of words included in the essay (i.e., word count).
A brief introduction and a conclusion should be included. A Reference List should also be included at the end of the essay. In-text citations and the APA 7th (Harvard) Style of referencing must be used – see https://www.salford.ac.uk/skills/referencing/apa-7th-edition.
Essay basic structure example:
Cover/title page with all requested information
Introduction: briefly introduce what is going to be discussed in your essay
Main body of the essay (divided into sections):
Part 1: in this section, you should discuss the requested factors/determinants
Part 2: in this section, you should discuss the requested externalities
Conclusion: briefly summarise the key points discussed in your essay
Reference List (APA 7th Harvard Style)
Appendices (optional if you do not used generative AI software)
Checklist:
The following checklist will help you to better organise your work.
Understand the assessment task and requirements – contact the tutor to clarify unclear aspects.
Review the relevant module material in the Blackboard module space.
Research and review relevant literature to ensure you can proficiently discuss the requested topics in your own words.
Ensure that the essay is well presented and focused on the topics requested in part 1 and part 2.
Ensure that the requested graphs and in-text citations are used to support discussion in part 1.
Ensure that relevant official data/statistics and in-text citations are used to support discussion in part 2.
Check clarity, flow of discussion and use of citations to appropriately reference your sources. Use the APA 7th referencing style for in-text citations (in the body of your essay) and in the Reference List at the end of the essay.
Submit your work in the draft submission area of the Assessment Support module (in Blackboard), to produce the originality report and ensure that the essay does not contain a large amount of text copied from other sources.
Adjust the length of the essay to meet the word limit requirements (2000 words) and specify the word count in the cover page of the essay.
Note: It is your responsibility to submit the final version of the completed assignment to the correct Assessment Submission folder in the Economics and Management Blackboard module space.
Using Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) tools | For this assessment you may use tools, software, or features of software which use artificial intelligence to generate content such as text, images or data, in an assistive and supportive capacity. This means you may use the tool to explore the topic, generate or process data, or suggest draft structures and refine the wording or your work. However, the final work you submit must be your own. Use of AI to generate content to misrepresent your own abilities or mislead your assessor is academic misconduct. When using AI tools, please use University provided tools within the requirements of the University’s ICT Acceptable Use Policy, and do not upload sensitive or personal information.
You may use generative AI software to help you generate some initial ideas for your essay. However, you should not rely solely on the software and you should not copy the text verbatim. You should use your own words, discussion, and critical thinking to write your essay. You should also cite the sources that you use to find information and support your discussion. AI software may be used to identify initial ideas, these should then be checked, further investigated, and discussed in your own words by reading and citing relevant good quality sources. Note that AI software may generate incorrect or illogical information/data/references (i.e., AI hallucinations). Also, the use of AI software to generate supply and demand curves or any other graph in Part 1 is not permitted.
If you use generative AI software, you should include the following in an appendix:
– The name and version of the AI software used and a brief explanation of how you used it (e.g. to suggest draft structures).
– The exact text of the prompt(s)/question(s) you entered and relevant portions of the AI-generated response that you have used/considered in your essay.
AI generated text should be kept to a minimum and should be appropriately referenced. The specific AI-generated content you use or take ideas from should also be appropriately cited in the main body of your essay.
Word count/ duration (if applicable) | Your essay should be at least 2000 words to a maximum of 2200 words, excluding words in title/cover page, tables, figures, reference list and appendices (if any).
Word count allocation guidance
Introduction: approximately 5% of the word count should be allocated to the introduction (e.g., 100 words)
Part 1: approximately 1100 words should be allocated to part 1.
Part 2: approximately 600 words should be allocated to part 2.
Conclusion: approximately 10% of the word count should be allocated to the conclusion (e.g., 200 words)
Penalties for exceeding word count
Assessment length is set for guidance of effort and to control marking load. If you submit an essay which exceeds the number of words stated above, the exceeding words/content will not be considered for the purpose of grading and feedback. Content beyond this point will not contribute to the determination of the awarded mark and you may receive comments on your ability to appropriately summarise information, focus on relevant issues, etc.
How to submit | For coursework assessments only: students with a Reasonable Adjustment Plan (RAP) or Carer Support Plan should check your plan to see if an extension to this submission date has been agreed.
Your assessment essay should be in Microsoft Word format. The Microsoft Word file MUST be submitted electronically through Turnitin®. The final version of the completed assessment must be submitted to the correct Assessment Submission folder when it is ready for marking. The Microsoft Word filename should have the following format: your student roll/id number_Economics (e.g. 979613422_ Economics.docx). The ‘@’ symbol in the ID number should be omitted.
For submission advice and guidance (including help using Turnitin), please see your Assessment Support Module listed under your modules in Blackboard. This module contains the draft submission area for using Turnitin for text matching and originality report. Originality reports highlight where text matches against sources in Turnitin giving you a chance to make sure you have referenced your work appropriately and that you are not using too many direct quotations.
As the University will mark assessments anonymously where possible, include your student roll number and not your name on your assessment. Do not upload links in the submission area, as we cannot access them and therefore cannot mark your work. If you have saved your files on your University of Salford OneDrive, dragging files to the submission area may attach a link instead of the file. Always attach files using the paperclip icon.
Feedback | You can normally expect to receive marks and feedback 15 working days after the submission deadline. Any delay will be communicated in advance.
Formative feedback will help students to develop and improve. Formative feedback will be provided during the assessment consultation/discussion session and during tutorials/drop-ins. During these sessions, students will have the opportunity to receive individual support and to receive formative feedback on the assessment. The lecturers will be available during these times to review one assignment draft per student. The deadline to show a draft of your work to the module lecturer is two weeks before the submission deadline.
Note: Drafts submitted in the draft submission area of the Assessment Support module (in Blackboard) are not reviewed by the module tutors. This area should only be used to submit drafts to check the Turnitin Originality Report and Similarity Score of your report, to make sure you have referenced your work appropriately and you are not using too many direct quotations.
Assessment criteria | You should look at the assessment criteria to find out what we are specifically looking at during the assessment.
Marks for your assessment (i.e., part 1 and part 2) will be allocated based on the following assessment criteria:
Please note that, as clarified during the first week and during the assessment consultation session, discussion in Part 1 is worth 60% of the overall assignment mark and discussion in Part 2 is worth 40% of the overall assignment mark.
MARKING SCHEME
Outstanding 90% – 100%
Assignments in this mark range will demonstrate outstanding clarity of focus, include what is important, and exclude irrelevant information.
Students will critically discuss key information in the specified context and demonstrate outstanding critical awareness of relevance of issues. The essay will include an outstanding description of the requested key determinants/factors in the UK housing market and an outstanding discussion of the requested externalities associated with construction activities/sector. Discussion will demonstrate an exceptional level of understanding and will be supported by up-to-date data/information, relevant graphs (e.g., shifts of the housing supply/demand curve) and examples when appropriate. Works graded in this category will be of an outstanding standard. All ideas and analysis will be outstandingly introduced and articulated by considering relevant data. The essay will add extra input from a variety of top-quality sources (e.g., books, journals, reports, news articles, and relevant websites) to support arguments, in addition to own thinking and analysis. Essay presentation and appropriateness of referencing will be exceptional. Outstanding levels of research, effective use of good quality citations to support discussion and correct use of the requested reference style will be clearly demonstrated.
Excellent 80% – 89%
Assignments in this mark range will demonstrate excellent clarity of focus, include what is important, and exclude irrelevant information.
Students will critically discuss key issues by considering the specified context and demonstrate critical awareness of relevance of issues. The essay will include an excellent description of the requested key determinants/factors in the UK housing market and an excellent discussion of the requested externalities associated with construction activities/sector. Discussion will demonstrate an excellent level of understanding by using up-to-date data/information and relevant graphs (e.g., shifts of the housing supply/demand curve) and examples when appropriate. Works graded in this category will be of an excellent standard. All ideas and analysis will be exceptionally introduced and articulated. The essay will add extra input from various excellent sources (e.g., books, journals, reports, and relevant websites) to support arguments, in addition to own thinking and analysis. Essay presentation and appropriateness of referencing will be excellent. Excellent levels of research, effective use of good quality citations to support discussion and correct use of the requested reference style will be demonstrated.
Very good 70% – 79%
Assignments in this mark range will demonstrate very good clarity of focus and include most of what is important.
Students will proficiently discuss the main key issues by considering the specified context. The essay will include a very good and detailed description of the requested determinants/factors in the UK housing market and a very good discussion of the requested externalities associated with construction activities/ construction sector. Discussion will demonstrate a very good level of understanding by using some up-to-date data/information and some relevant graphs (e.g., shifts of the housing supply/demand curve) and examples when appropriate. Works graded in this category will be of a very good standard. All ideas and analysis will be very clearly introduced and articulated. The essay will add extra input from various good quality sources (e.g., books, journals, reports, and relevant websites) to support arguments and demonstrate research. A very good level of own thinking and analysis will be demonstrated. Essay presentation, independent research and appropriateness of referencing will be of very good standards. Effective use of good quality citations to support discussion and correct use of the requested reference style will be generally evident throughout the essay.
Good 60% – 69%
Assignments in this mark range will demonstrate clear scope and focus, with minor omissions or unnecessary information.
Students will discuss relevant issues by considering the specified context. The essay will include a good description of the requested determinants/factors affecting supply/demand in the UK housing market and a good discussion of relevant externalities associated with construction activities. Discussion will generally demonstrate a good level of understanding by using some relevant data/information and some graphs (e.g., shifts of the housing supply/demand curve) and examples when appropriate. All ideas and analysis will be clearly introduced and articulated. The essay will generally demonstrate good levels of communication and contextualisation of the discussed information, with possible limitations. The essay will add extra input from some good quality sources (e.g. books, journals, reports, and relevant websites) to support arguments. Essay presentation and appropriateness of referencing should be good. Good independent secondary research will be generally demonstrated, with possible deficiencies in choice and synthesis of secondary sources. Good use of citations to support discussion and good use of the requested reference style will be generally evident. Works graded in this category may need to be better contextualised, to use the requested graphs more effectively, or may present a limited level of own analysis of key issues or independent secondary research.
Fair 50% – 59%
Assignments in this mark range will demonstrate fair and evident scope, with some omissions and unnecessary discussion.
Students will discuss some key issues in the context of the UK housing market/construction industry. The essay will include a fair description of the requested determinants/factors in the UK housing market and a fair discussion of externalities associated with construction activities/sector. Discussion will demonstrate a reasonable level of understanding by using some relevant information and relevant graphs when appropriate. All ideas and analysis will be properly introduced and articulated, with possible limitations in terms of contextualisation, identification of key factors/externalities, use of graphs, or clarity of discussion. Essays in this category will generally add some extra input from few good quality sources (e.g. books, journals, reports, and relevant websites) to support arguments. A fair level of own thinking and analysis will be generally demonstrated, with possible limitation in the analysis of key issues or in the use of graphs. Essay presentation will be acceptable. Limited independent secondary research, with deficiencies in choice and synthesis of secondary sources may be demonstrated. The use of citations to support discussion and/or reference style may need improvements. Works graded in this category may need to be better contextualised and may present a limited level of own analysis, focus, or research.
Adequate 40% – 49%
Assignments in this mark range will demonstrate adequate scope and focus, with omissions and inclusion of various irrelevant factors/information.
The essay will include an adequate description of some of the requested determinants/factors in the UK housing market and of externalities associated with construction activities/sector. Discussion will be mainly generic, demonstrating an adequate level of understanding, with limitations in terms of awareness of relevance of issues in the specified context. The work will be presented in an acceptable style. Works graded in this category will generally include references to a very limited number of good quality sources and very few/no relevant graphs. There will be room for improvements, particularly in terms of identification of relevant factors/externalities, own analysis, explanation of ideas, clarity of discussion, sharpness of focus, level of research, effective/appropriate use of in-text citations to support discussion and/or use of correct referencing style.
Needs Improvement 30% – 39%
Assignments in this mark range will not be appropriately scoped, with significant omissions and focusing on irrelevant information.
This will be a submission demonstrating an unsatisfactory understanding of the requested determinants/factors and an unsatisfactory description of the requested externalities. Essay presentation and level of discussion will be inadequate. Particularly in terms of understanding of key issues, own analysis, explanation of ideas, sharpness of focus and level of research. Works graded in this category will generally be brief or not appropriately covering the requested topics and will generally include references to very few sources or to irrelevant sources.
Needs Significant Revision 20% – 29%
Assignments in this mark range will demonstrate poor knowledge and understanding of the requested topics, with no awareness of relevance of issues. Major omissions and irrelevant discussion will be evident.
Relevant discussion will be very brief or showing significant misunderstandings which prevent coherent discussion. Extremely limited and largely unsuccessful attempt at analysis will be evident. Poor levels of communication and contextualisation will be generally demonstrated. Discussion will be vague, displaying lack of focus and lack of understanding of relevant topics.
The essay will be poorly structured. Major deficiencies in terms of layouts, informative headings, relevant tables and figures may be evident.
The essay will demonstrate poor/no research or inclusion of irrelevant/inappropriate sources.
Needs Substantial Work 0% – 19%
Assignments in this mark range will show significant misunderstandings which prevent coherent discussion and analysis of relevant topics. Discussion will be irrelevant or extremely brief and vague with various contradictions/errors/omissions. Very poor knowledge and understanding of the discussed topics, with relevant elements omitted, will be evident.
The essay will be very poorly presented. Very limited communication skills will be demonstrated. Discussion will be difficult to understand and will demonstrate no meaningful use of relevant secondary source material. The report will show little to no evidence of research, or will rely on irrelevant, unavailable or incorrect sources.
Assessed intended learning outcomes | On successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to:
ILO 1: Demonstrate knowledge of key economic concepts and theories in the context of the construction industry.
ILO 2: Demonstrate awareness of current economic issues and their impact on the construction and property sector.
For Apprentices Only
Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours (KSB)
DELETE IF NOT RELEVANT | This assessment prepares apprentices for the Apprenticeship Assessment by assessing progress towards the following KSBs:
Note: Due to the introductory nature of this Level 4 module and the number of programmes involved, KSBs are only partially/generically covered to provide the foundations for more specific future modules.
Knowledge
(K6) Explain how to embed sustainability into projects and how to influence client behaviour. (Part 2)
Skills
(S1) Provide data, information and advice for clients relevant to the surveying discipline. (Part 1 and 2)
Behaviours
(B5) Always act with skill, care and diligence and deal with any complaint in an appropriate professional manner (Part 1 and 2)
Employability skills developed / demonstrated | You will develop a range of employability skills sought by employers through each assessment.
Through this assessment will have an opportunity to develop and demonstrate the following employability skills:
I = You will have been introduced to this skill
U = You will have developed an understanding of this skill in the context of your subject
A = You will be able to apply this skill in the context of your subject
D = You will have demonstrated an enhanced understanding and application of this skill in a wider context
Support for this Assessment | You can obtain support for this assessment by contacting Dr Simona Barresi during tutorials, support sessions or via email.
Dr Simona Barresi can be contacted via email regarding any aspect of this assignment. A reply can be expected within 3 working days, if you do not receive a reply, please email again stating that the email is a second request for support.
To allow you the best opportunity to succeed in the assessment, you will have opportunities to practice use of the specific knowledge and skills being assessed by completing given exercises/activities. Attendance and active participation during these exercises/activities is therefore crucial. You are expected to complete all given exercises.
Other sources of support
Understanding your assessment brief/assessment tips for success
Develop your academic and digital skills
Assessment rules and processes
Support services
Issues affecting your assessment
If exceptional circumstances have affected your ability to complete this assessment, you can find more information about the Exceptional Circumstances Procedure (previously Personal Mitigating Circumstances) here. Independent advice is available from the Students’ Union Advice Centre.
Academic Integrity and Academic Misconduct
You must learn and demonstrate good academic conduct (academic integrity). Good academic conduct includes the use of clear and correct referencing of source materials.
Academic integrity & referencing
Referencing
Academic misconduct is an action which may give you an unfair advantage in your academic work. Some examples are plagiarism, asking someone else to write your assessment for you, unauthorised use of AI or taking notes into an exam. The University takes all forms of academic misconduct seriously.
In year retrieval scheme | Your assessment is eligible for in year retrieval. If you are eligible for this scheme, you will be contacted shortly after the feedback deadline.
Reassessment arrangements | If you fail your assessment, and are eligible for reassessment, you will be able to find the date for resubmission on your module site in Blackboard. There is no resubmission if you are on a retake attempt.
For students with accepted personal mitigating circumstances for absence/non submission, this will be your replacement assessment attempt.
The reassessment task and requirements will be the same as the original assessment task and requirements.
We know that having to undergo a reassessment can be challenging however support is available. Have a look at all the sources of support outlined earlier in this brief.
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