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THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHAMPTON
Faculty of Business and Law
MODULE NAME:
Module Code Level Credit Value Module Tutor
MKTM033 7 20 Dr Lim Keai
Assessment Brief
Assessment title: PJ1 Business Plan
Deadline: Monday 23 May 2022
Weighting:
60%
Feedback and
Grades due:
TBC
Resit Date: Please see NILE
Please read this assessment brief in its entirety before starting work on it.
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The Assessment Task
You are required to produce a ‘professional’ standard Business Plan (using Virgin Startup
Template provided with this assignment).
The business plan must be based on either:
1. A new business idea
2. A developing a plan for an existing business (this could be a family business, or a
business known to you)
If you choose to focus on latter, please make sure that you identify a novel business proposition
for the existing business.
Please use the template provided with this assignment (see NILE).
Learning Outcomes
The learning outcomes that are being assessed in this assessment are:
b Develop a business plan which demonstrates commercial awareness of a specific
industry through the evaluation of a realistic business opportunity.
d Communicate effectively with specialist and non-specialist audiences, using evidencebased approaches and selecting appropriate tools and strategies to convey meaning
and purpose.
e Build on a recognised opportunity to systematically evaluate the selected industry and
produce a viable business plan.
Your grade will depend on the extent to which you meet these learning outcomes in the way
relevant for this assessment. Please see the grading rubric at the end of this assessment brief
for further details of the criteria against which you will be assessed.
Word Limits (where appropriate)
The maximum word limit for this assessment is 2400 words
In accordance with the Assessment and Feedback Policy, as stated in section 4.40 where a
submission exceeds the stipulated word limit by more than 10%, the submission will only be
marked up to and including the additional 10%. Anything over this will not be included in
the final grade for the assessment item. Abstracts, bibliographies, reference lists,
appendices and footnotes are excluded from any word limit requirements.
In line with section 4.41 of the same Policy, where a submission is notably under the
word limit, the full submission will be marked on the extent to which the learning
objectives have been met.
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Assessment Support
Assessment support will be provided through Virtual Classroom environments and F2F.
Generic Grading Criteria
You will find the generic grading criteria for achievement at University Grading Criteria. Also
explained here are the meanings of the various G grades at the bottom of the grading scale.
Assessment Submission
To submit your work, please go to the ‘Submit your work’ area on the NILE site and use the
relevant submission point to upload your report. The deadline for this is 11.59pm (UK local
time) on the date of submission.
Written work submitted to TURNITIN will be subject to anti-plagiarism detection software.
Turnitin checks student work for possible textual matches against internet available resources
and its own proprietary database.
When you upload your work correctly to TURNITIN you will receive a receipt which is your
record and proof of submission.
If your assessment is not submitted to TURNITIN rather than a receipt you will see a green
banner at the top of the screen that denotes successful submission.
N.B Work emailed directly to your tutor will not be marked. The only exception to this
is when you are instructed to do so because TURNITIN is down.
Late submission of work
For first sits, if an item of assessment is submitted late and an extension has not been
granted, the following will apply:
• Within one week of the original deadline – work will be marked and returned with full
feedback, and awarded a maximum bare pass grade.
• More than one week from original deadline – maximum grade achievable LG (L
indicating late).
Extensions
The University of Northampton’s general policy with regard to extensions is to be supportive
of students who have genuine difficulties, but not against pressures of work that could have
reasonably been anticipated.
For full details please refer to the Extensions Policy. The module leader can, where
appropriate, authorise a short extension of up to two weeks from the original submission
date for first sits only.
Mitigating Circumstances
For guidance on Mitigating circumstances please go to Mitigating Circumstances where you
will find detailed guidance on the policy as well as guidance and the form for making an
application.
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Please note, however, that an application to defer an assessment on the grounds of mitigating
circumstances should normally be made in advance of the submission deadline or
examination date.
Plagiarism and Academic Integrity
Unless this is a group assessment, the work you produce must be your own with work taken
from any other source properly referenced and attributed. The University of Northampton
policy will apply in all cases of copying, plagiarism or any other methods by which students have
obtained (or attempted to obtain) an unfair advantage.
If you are in any doubt about what constitutes plagiarism or any other infringement of
academic integrity, please read the University’s Academic Integrity and Misconduct Policy. For
help with understanding academic integrity go to UNPAC and follow the Top Tips for Good
Academic Practice on the student hub.
Please note that the penalties for copying work from another source without proper
referencing are severe and can include failing the assessment, failing the module and
expulsion from the university.
Feedback and Grades
These can be accessed through clicking on the Feedback and Grades tab on NILE. Feedback
will be provided by a rubric with summary comments.
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