Students are required to explore an aspect of intellectual disability which is relevant or of interest to them. Students may choose from any of the major areas of the topic or explore other areas of interest and relevance to intellectual disability. It is expected that students will research beyond the topic materials provided. The process for undertaking the assignment is as follows:

1. Choose a topic area for consideration (e.g. early intervention; social media; employment/ transition issues; NDIS; inclusive education; attitudes towards intellectual disability; sexuality; inclusive research; etc.)

2. Identify key issues that are to be considered in light of the chosen topic area, and develop a Statement of Purpose. (See FLO for example Statements of Purpose).

3. The Statement of Purpose must be posted to the FLO Discussion Forum You will not be able to see other students’ Statements of Purpose until you have posted yours.

4. All students need to visit this discussion area regularly, and comment on other statements of purpose. DSRS9060 Postgraduate students need comment on at least three other statements of purpose. The Topic Coordinator and Tutor may also comment on these
Statements of Purpose, so make sure you go back to the discussion forum and acknowledge the feedback you receive.

5. Once you have sufficient feedback from your peers and Lecturer/ Tutor, commence researching and writing your assignment.

6. If you have issues you want clarified that are specific to this assignment, please post on FLO Discussion Forum “FAQ – Research Assignment”

7. Write up and submit the major assignment as a Word document on FLO. You must submit your assignment to Turnitin Text Matching Software.

Hints & Tips:

• Read the assignment details and marking sheet carefully – highlight key aspects that need to be addressed.
• Before submitting your assignment check that you have addressed all requirements.
• Use an academic style of writing including an introduction (outline what the rest of the assignment talks about) and conclusion (summarise the argument and leave the reader with something to think about); and avoid using the first person, or abbreviations such as don’t, can’t, won’t, e.g., etc.
• Be sure that your assignment flows well; is structured in a logical manner; and that each paragraph or section links to the previous.
• Ensure that you use people first, respectful and person centred language, which means that you should refer to ‘people with intellectual disability’ or ‘individuals who have an intellectual disability’ and do not use terms, such as, ‘the intellectually disabled’ or ‘a disabled person’.
• Ensure that you proof read your assignments for spelling/ typing/grammatical errors.
• Ensure that you have not gone over the stated number of words. The number of words in your assignment does not include the reference list.