Part 1: Essay

(90 per cent of the mark for this assignment)

Drawing on the Ordering Lives chapter and film as well as your feedback from TMA01, define ‘Making and Remaking’ and outline examples in relation to ordering.

Word limit: 750 words

Part 2: Self-reflection

(5 per cent of the mark for this assignment)

Identify two areas of your work (relating to TMA 02) that you would like your tutor to feed back on, stating briefly why you welcome feedback on these areas.

Word limit: 50 words

Part 3: Forum posting

(5 per cent of the mark for this assignment)

Write up to 100 words responding to another student’s post about their street, commenting on how it is different from and/or similar to your own street.

Word limit: 100 words

What to submit for TMA 02:

  1. Part 1: a 750-word essay (90 per cent of the mark)
  2. Part 2: a 50-word self-reflection (5 per cent of the mark)
  3. Part 3: a 100-word forum posting (5 per cent of the mark).

Parts 1 and 2 should be submitted in a single file. Part 3 should be posted on your cluster group forum and also copied and pasted into the single file to be submitted along with Parts 1 and 2.

 

Guidance

Before you complete your assignment make sure you read these guidance notes carefully so that you can follow the advice and instructions they contain.

In the following pages, you will find:

  • student notes for each part of this assignment
  • learning outcomes addressed by this assignment
  • a checklist to ensure you have done everything required for this assignment.

Student notes for Part 1

Part 1 of TMA 02 is asking you to define ‘Making and Remaking’ and then outline some examples in relation to ordering on City Road in Cardiff, drawing on what you have learnt from the DD102 Ordering Lives module materials and your work and tutor feedback from TMA 01. It is designed as a straightforward exercise to give you a chance to practice writing in your own words for an academic purpose and to reference the materials you use.

An important part of writing about examples of making and remaking is that you are ensuring that you are able to discuss what is meant by these terms. In this regard, TMA 02 has been designed to build upon the work you did in TMA 01. When you have received the feedback from your tutor on TMA 01, you should review this prior to writing TMA 02 to ensure you have a clear sense of what making and remaking means as defining them will be a part of TMA 02. Check that you understand the feedback on your definitions and on the examples you chose to illustrate the concepts – what advice did your tutor give you? It will also be helpful for you to go back to Chapter 1 ‘The life and times of the street’ to ensure that you refresh your understanding of the concepts of making and remaking and rewrite your definitions as appropriate as part of TMA02.

As well as using the feedback from your previous TMA, the assignment is specifically asking you to draw on what you have learnt about making and remaking in relation to ordering on City Road. You should provide three examples of making and remaking, with each example highlighting making and remaking as contiguous, connected processes. The main source for your essay will be Chapter 4 of Understanding Social Lives, Part 1 and the related film in Week 5. These resources explore making through a focus on the ways that people’s lives are made and remade through ordering and how ordering may impact on the making of the lives of others. Children learning to cross the road, vehicle drivers following rules or forms of ordering that are taken-for-granted are just some examples found in the module resources.

As you view the film and read the accompanying chapter, it would be useful to write some notes on where discussion focuses on making and remaking in relation to ordering and highlight some examples of these on City Road. This will help you to identify relevant examples for your essay and clearly highlight how they illustrate making and remaking as concepts.

Information sources

The main sources of information for the essay are summarised in the table below.

Information source Function
Chapter 1 of Understanding Social Lives, Part 1 This chapter introduces the street as a place to start thinking about the social sciences and introduces City Road in Cardiff as a place to start looking at the module questions of ‘How is society made and remade?’ and ‘How are differences and inequalities produced?’
‘The life and times of the street: Part 1’ and ‘The life and times of the street: Part 2’ films The films introduce City Road in Cardiff and follow Lloyd Robson as he explores different aspects of life on the street, meeting different people and looking at different activities and practices, with academics offering observations on the films from the view of the social sciences.
Chapter 4 of Understanding the Social Sciences, Part 1 and the film ‘Ordering Lives on the street’ This chapter and the accompanying film explore the different ways in which ordering can be seen on the street and the relationship between ordering and the making and remaking of society.

Writing tips

This question requires you to write a short academic essay.

You should ensure that you have worked through the skills activities on Constructing references, Writing in your own words, Avoiding plagiarism, Writing effective introductions, Writing effective conclusions, Writing effective paragraphs, and Learning from feedback, as preparation for this TMA. Although there is no one right way of approaching this essay, we suggest that several key points need to be borne in mind:

  • Before you start writing, make sure you have a clear understanding of how making and remaking are defined within the module materials, and that you have read the feedback from your tutor from TMA 01 so that you can write about these concepts and look for examples on City Road in relation to Ordering Lives.
  • The best written work is always carefully planned. Although you won’t need to produce an essay plan until TMA 03, we would recommend that you build planning your work into every piece of academic writing you produce.
  • Try to identify a clear structure for your short essay and stick to this. You only have 750 words so you should start with a brief introduction saying what your short essay will do. Once you have defined making and remaking, the essay should focus on outlining a number of examples of making and remaking on City Road in Cardiff in relation to ordering. You will not be able to cover many examples so choose three examples of the concepts to focus on. Your conclusion should then summarise the key points your essay has made about making and remaking in relation to ordering on City Road in Cardiff.
  • Another key skill that should form part of the planning and writing of every essay is referencing, and you need to reference the sources you are drawing on, both in the essay itself and in the reference list at the end of the essay.
  • Finally, remember to include a word count. Your reference list at the end of your assignment is excluded from the word count but your in-text citations are included.

Sample references for Part 1

DD102 follows Harvard referencing rules except for the use of page extents in book chapters in the reference list at the end of your essay.

In-text citations which you might include in the body of your assignment should look like this:

For book chapters: (Blakeley and Staples, 2014, p. 26)
For module videos: (The Open University, Year of module start)
For module online activities: (The Open University, Year of module start)

NB: ‘Year of module start’ refers to the year in which you begin the module so if you begin in 2020, this is the year you would insert into the reference e.g. (The Open University, 2020).

Full references which you might include in the reference list at the end of your assignment, should look like this:

  • Blakeley, G. and Staples, M. (2014) ‘The life and times of the street’, in Allen, J. and Blakeley, G. (eds) Understanding Social Lives, Part 1, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
  • Staples, M. (2014) ‘Making lives’, in Allen, J. and Blakeley, G. (eds) Understanding Social Lives, Part 1, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
  • The Open University (Year of module start) ‘Difference and inequality’ [Video], DD102 Introducing the Social Sciences. Available at https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=796306&section=3.4 (Accessed date).
  • The Open University (Year of module start) ‘Writing effective introductions’ [Online], DD102 Introducing the Social Sciences. Available at https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=796308&section=4 (Accessed date).

If you cite a source that is mentioned in the module materials but that you haven’t actually read yourself, this should be presented as a secondary reference. An example of an in-text citation for a secondary reference is:

For the full reference, you simply show the publication details of the source that you have read:

  • Booth (1902–03) cited in Blakeley and Staples (2014, p. 9) described …
  • Blakeley, G. and Staples, M. (2014) ‘The life and times of the street’, in Allen, J. and Blakeley, G. (eds) Understanding Social Lives, Part 1, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

In Part 1 of TMA 02 your tutor will be looking for you to:

  • briefly introduce what your essay will be doing through a clear introduction
  • show that you have understood and used the feedback you received from TMA 01 through:
    • the way you define making and remaking, using both your own words and module materials
    • offering up to three relevant examples of making and remaking in relation to ordering on City Road in Cardiff. Provide an essay that is clearly written, with a good structure, divided into paragraphs and with a conclusion at the end
    • providing references within the body of the TMA and in a reference list at the end of the essay.

Student notes for Part 2

Part 2 of TMA 02 consists of a reflective exercise which aims to continue to help you to develop as a reflective learner. Your task here is to consider which two areas of TMA 02 you would find it most useful to have your tutor provide feedback on.

Write no more than 50 words in total that identify two areas of your work (relating to TMA 02) that you would like your tutor to provide feedback on, stating briefly why you welcome feedback on these two areas.

Getting feedback from your tutor is one of the most important aspects of your study with The Open University. A number of activities have already helped you to think about how to engage effectively with this feedback. Week 4, Section 6 provided an opportunity to think further about how you learn and to do a reflective quiz in Activity 4.13, and Week 5, Section 6 invited you to think about how to get the most from your tutor feedback.

Information sources

Before tackling this part of the assignment, you will find it helpful to do the following:

  • Look back at the feedback you received for TMA 01 and reflect on what you found really useful from this feedback.
  • Think back over your preparation for, and writing of, TMA 02 and identify two areas that you would find it most helpful to have your tutor provide feedback on. You will all have particular needs but possible areas might include: referencing, how to write introductions and conclusions, how to signpost your essay, how to write effective paragraphs, how to write to the word count and how to write in your own words.

Writing tips

Your response should be written in complete sentences and structured in clear, short paragraphs. You might find it helpful to dedicate one paragraph to each area of your work you identify as requiring feedback. Please include a word count for this part of the assignment. References will not be needed for this part of the TMA.

In Part 2 of TMA 02, your tutor will be looking for you to:

  • identify two specific areas of your work (relating to TMA 02) that you would like your tutor to provide feedback on
  • state briefly why you welcome feedback on these two areas
  • keep within the word limit of 50 words.

Student notes for Part 3

Part 3 of TMA 02 will build on the forum activity you did as part of TMA 01. For this task, you are being asked to go online to your cluster group forum, which can be found on the DD102 module home page on Student Home (look in the menu at the top of the Study planner).

Once there, we would like you to go back and look at the forum postings that the students in your cluster group posted about the streets and roads that they know. Remember that the heading of the thread was something similar to ‘TMA 01 Part 3 Describing a street’ and your tutor’s name. Your task is to choose one of the postings by another student in your tutor group and then write no more than 100 words outlining the differences and/or similarities between your street and the street described by another student. Your description should then be posted into a thread, which your tutor will have labelled something similar to ‘TMA 02 Part 3 Comparing streets’ followed by your tutor’s name.

Information sources

Before tackling this part of the assignment, you will find it helpful to look at:

  • the description of your street that you posted for TMA 01 Part 3 on the cluster group forum
  • the descriptions of the streets posted by your fellow tutor group members as part of TMA 01 Part 3 on the cluster group forum.

Writing tips

Once you have posted to the forum, you have 30 minutes in which you are still able to edit your post.

There is no one right answer to the task, but what you should be aiming for is a short statement that clearly describes some differences and/or similarities between the street that you know and a street that another student has described. Are the activities that take place different or similar? For example, is one street more residential or commercial? Is one street busier than another? Is one mainly made up of flats while the other consists of houses? Given the word count of 100 words, you will not be able to cover many similarities and/or differences so think about choosing only one or two similarities and/or one or two differences to describe.

In order for your tutor to know which street you are comparing, you will need to clearly identify the post you are responding to. To do this, you must include both the name of the student and, if possible, the street they described. For example, ‘John Smith discussed Long Lane in a post on 12 March 2020. The street I am writing about is…’

Your description should be written in complete sentences and presented as a short statement. Although using the forum is generally a relaxed skill, this post is part of a TMA so you should not use ‘text’ language and you should check the grammar and spelling of your work by using the ABC link in the top menu above your message. This will get you into the good practice of running a spell check before submitting your assignments. You do not need references for this piece of work.

Your description of differences and/or similarities needs to be posted by midnight on the same day as the TMA cut off. You should also copy and paste your forum posting into the single file to be submitted to your tutor along with Parts 1 and 2 of your assignment.

In Part 3 of TMA 02, your tutor will be looking for you to:

  • write up to 100 words in a posting to your cluster group forum, describing some of the differences and/or similarities between your street and another street posted by someone else on the cluster group forum
  • communicate clearly in complete sentences
  • post your description in your cluster group forum, clearly referencing the post that you are responding to (e.g. identifying the name of the student and their street)
  • keep within the 100-word limit.

NB: up to five marks are awarded for completion of this task and your tutor will provide feedback on your post.

Learning outcomes

Each TMA is designed to help you to develop particular skills and knowledge. These are referred to as learning outcomes.

Elements of the following module learning outcomes are addressed by the different parts of TMA 02:

  • An understanding of selected concepts, theories and debates within the social sciences.
  • An awareness of inequalities, difference and diversity in contemporary societies.
  • An ability to access, and make notes on, information from a range of sources including written, audio-visual and ICT.
  • Anability to communicate information accurately and appropriately to the subject matter, purpose and context.
  • An ability to engage with feedback received from previous work and to reflect on own learning processes.

TMA 02 checklist

Have I: Yes No, where can I look for guidance?
looked at the feedback on my previous work? Your tutor will have commented on your previous TMA to provide you with some guidance about how to develop your skills for future TMAs.
read all of the guidance notes for this assignment? Read through these assignment notes to check you have followed all the advice and instructions.
written in my own words? In Week 3, Section 6 contains useful advice on how to write in your own words, while Section 7 in the same week contains useful information about how to avoid plagiarism.
referenced my sources? The following Skills activities will help you to develop and practise the skill of referencing: Week 2, Skills Activities 2.1–2.4 and Week 5, Skills Activity 5.9.

Also, remember to look at the sample references provided in the student notes for each TMA when doing your assignments.

In TMA 02, you will need to make some attempt at referencing, although this may be imperfect, in order to obtain a good pass (70–84 per cent).
checked my word count? The guidance notes tell you the word limit for each part of the TMA.

TMAs should not exceed the word limit by more than 10 per cent. It is Faculty policy that students who exceed the TMA word limit once will receive a warning and guidance from their tutor on complying with the word limit. On a second occasion, however, the TMA will be marked down by 10 marks (10 percentage points).

An answer that is shorter than the word length by more than 10 per cent is likely to be too short to have fully answered the question.
written the word count at the end of each part of my TMA? Check the word count for each part of the assignment and write that figure clearly at the end of the relevant section. Reference lists at the end of your assignment are excluded from the word count while in-text citations within your essay are included.
set out my assignment properly? Read the conventions for presenting work at the start of this Assignment Booklet.
completed each part of the TMA? TMA 02 has three separate elements – Part 1: an essay, Part 2: a self-reflection and Part 3: a forum posting. The essay and self-reflection must be submitted in one single file. The forum posting should be posted in your cluster group forum and also copied and pasted into the single file to be submitted along with the essay and self-reflection.