Unit Outline

Convict, prison and court records can provide rich, if sometimes disturbing, evidence of the lives led by our ancestors. This unit draws upon the expertise of leading historians of crime, the law, and convict transportation to guide you through the vast archival underbelly of the criminal justice system. You will learn about convicts’ journeys from the time of their trials and transportation, through to living under sentence in the Australian penal colonies, and what likely became of them afterwards. You will be shown how to find and use a wide range of digital records and other relevant research materials to contextualise individual convict’s life stories. This is a unit for those who want to get ‘forensic’ about the past.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1.	Be familiar with the wide range of historical records available to locate individual convicts transported to the Australian penal colonies and to trace their life course experiences
2.	Be able to read, transcribe, and understand key material presented within convict, court, and prison records
3.	Be able to situate the experiences of individual convicts within a relevant wider context and convey this information clearly and succinctly

Alterations as a result of student feedback

The unit has been updated with recently published learning materials.

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Online transcription exercise	See the MyLO site for the due date	10 %	LO2
Assessment Task 2:	Four online quizzes	See the MyLO site for the due date	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 3:	Convict case study	See the MyLO site for the due date	50 %	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Online transcription exercise

Task Description:

Online transcription exercise

In this unit you will learn how to read relevant convict records and to write down (transcribe) information from them.

You will be provided with an opportunity to demonstrate your skills through answering two (2) short series of questions about records with which you will be provided.

Task Length:

Two (2) sets of questions

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Correct response to quiz questions	LO2

Assessment Task 2: Four online quizzes

Task Description:

Four online quizzes.

Four (4) online quizzes relating to the content in Modules 2–5 (one quiz per module).

Task Length:

4 quizzes of 10 questions each (total 40 questions)

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Correct response to quiz questions	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment Task 3: Convict case study

Task Description:

Convict case study

You are required to research, write, and submit a non-fiction case study about a convict. This involves locating and transcribing relevant archival records, and summarising and explaining that information. You will be required to provide references to indicate the sources of your information, and to be consistent in using the required referencing style.

Task Length:

750–1000 words (+/- 10%), not including footnotes and bibliography

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

50 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Search for, interpret, and use archival and printed materials to write about a convict's life	LO1, LO2
2	Write a case study about a convict's life	LO1, LO2, LO3
3	Demonstrate consistency with the required referencing and presentation styles	LO3

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.