ASSESSMENT BRIEF
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MODULE: Digital Culture Project – TFT00115M
ASSESSMENT TITLE: Project
HAND-IN: Thursday, 4 September 2025 at 12.00PM (Midday) UK TIME
FEEDBACK PUBLISHED: Tuesday, 7 October 2025
MARKS: This is a Summative Assessment and is worth 100% of your module mark.
BRIEF:
1. For this assessment you must produce EITHER a 10,000 (ten thousand) word
dissertation OR a media artefact and an accompanying 5,000 (five thousand) word
report. You can only choose ONE assessment mode for this module.
2. The media artefact is defined as an artefact made from and accessed using digital
software, and which can be run on an unmodified University PC or Mac. Physical
materials are not permitted.
3. All deliverable materials must be developed in response to a clearly defined and
articulated motivating research question of your own designing, and must provide
substantial evidence of its critical contexts, core hypotheses, research methodology,
and research outcomes.
4. You MUST only conduct your work for this assessment independently, without any
outside assistance, but you will receive guidance and support from an assigned
project supervisor.
5. The deliverable materials will be effectively assessed in terms of how clearly and they
evidence a researched response to your formulated question, and the level of original
thinking and analysis that characterizes this. Your deliverable materials must meet the
specific requirements for the appropriate project categories, which are detailed below.
It is essential that you read and understand the category requirements carefully. Please
be aware that this is a humanities assessment, and is NOT scientific or technical
in focus. This means that the deliverable materials for this assessment must primarily
conduct a qualitative analysis and argument, one that is connected to, and
consistent with, the taught degree content. It is entirely at the examiner’s discretion
whether this core requirement of this assessment is being met. Failure to adhere to this
requirement could lead to a very significant loss of marks or a failed outcome. If you are
Not sure, then please speak with your supervisor at the earliest opportunity.
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DISSERTATION:
Your dissertation must:
1. Demonstrate an ability to undertake an extensive program of reading, writing,
and research.
2. Demonstrate intellectual independence, creativity, and originality.
3. Advance a sustained analysis, including interpretation, evaluation, and critical
thinking which engages closely with your research topic. This research topic
must be concerned explicitly with critically analyzing activities, artefacts,
and debates in digital media, culture, and society – it must not be
conducted only as a scientific or technical discussion or as an industrial /
marketing report.
4. Demonstrate use of and engagement with relevant research material from range
of sources, as well as their textual comprehension
5. Synthesise and integrate your analyzes and research into a coherent, sustained,
and persuasive dissertation argument.
6. Present the dissertation in a written form that shows structure, organization, and
command of expression, as well as citational practices in line with the specified
guidelines.
7. Demonstrate that you have considered and acted appropriately in response to
the ethical implications of your project, where relevant.
MEDIA AREFACT AND REPORT:
Your media artefact and report must:
1. Demonstrate intellectual independence, creativity and originality.
2. Implement an appropriate media artefact that explores or reflects on a chosen
research topic in a critically informed manner. This research topic must be
concerned explicitly with critically engaging topics in digital media, culture,
and society – it must not be conducted only as a scientific or technical
demonstration or as an industrial / marketing intervention.
3. Reflect on the media artefact in a manner that demonstrates interpretation,
evaluation, and critical thinking which engages closely with the chosen research
topic, including engaging with relevant research material from a range of sources.
4. Synthesise and integrate your research and reflections on the media artefact into
a coherent, sustained, and persuasive argument.
5. Present a written report that shows sustained critical thought and structure
argument on how the media artefact explores or reflects on the chosen topic.
6. Demonstrate that you have considered and acted appropriately in response to
the ethical implications of your project, where relevant.
7. You should only use media assets that you have either produced yourself,
using appropriate tools*, or have derived (with judgment and with
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appropriate modification / integration) from royalty-free resources, in order
to produce your media artefact. If you utilize materials from copyrighted sources
(such as media clips and audio), under a “fair use” criterion, then their origins
must be clearly acknowledged and cited, and you must accept that any artefact
generated using them will not be permissible for public upload and viewing. All
third-party resources that you use for this assignment should be expressly
cleared by your personal supervisor. You must also include a Resource List in
your report appendices, that cites all the third-party tools and media assets used
in order to complete your media artefact submission. Failure to do this (eg by
including images taken from an internet image search) will result in a marks
penalty or plagiarism charge.
8. *It is permissible to use generative AI systems to assist in the material
production of your MEDIA ARTEFACT ONLY – NOT your report – but you
MUST EXPLICITLY acknowledge and discuss its role in your report. It is
critical to be aware that while the technical execution of your artefact is not
marked directly, it is the primary source of evidence for the concept being
explored. If the examiner determines that the artefact consists primarily of the
unmodified direct outputs of AI systems, with insufficient reflection in the report
as to what affect this has or what this has sought to achieve, such unreflexive
use of AI will incur very significant mark deductions as per the assessment
and feedback criteria. You MUST check with your supervisor at every stage
that any use of AI under these terms does not pose a risk to your project
outcomes, and that you have a clear set of conceptual motivations
concerning its use. It remains your responsibility to reflect on your work,
and it is entirely at the examiner’s discretion how they assess your use of
AI.
JOINT REQUIREMENTS:
6. For either the dissertation or the media artefact and report, you must meet the target
numbers of words as stated on this brief. You are permitted a 10% margin (i.e. 1,000
words over or under the target of 10,000 words is acceptable for a dissertation, and
500 words over or under the target of 5,000 words for the media artefact report). This
length limit includes any footnotes but excludes the bibliography and any appendices.
Note that over- or under-writing beyond those limits will incur mark deductions with
respect to the structure and argument of your work as per the assessment and
feedback criteria.
7. Any included appendices should be used only to provide supporting, illustrative
evidence for the contents of the dissertation or media artefact report, which would
otherwise be difficult to integrate (e.g. survey forms and ethics clearance evidence). It
will be at the examiner’s discretion whether the appendix contents illustrate and
support the material in the assessment response, or are irrelevant, or are being used to
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circumvent the maximum word count. You should be very sparing with what you
include in any appendices.
8. If you want to gather ANY data from human subjects (specifically: anonymised
surveys, non-anonymous interviews, user testing reports), as part of your digital
project, you MUST apply for and OBTAIN Ethical Clearance from the module
convenor BEFORE you gather any such data. Students are only permitted to
conduct work that falls within the criteria for Department Level Pre-approval for ethical
work. This work must be performed under clear restrictions that ensure students only
conduct work that is considered to be low-risk. You will need to provide explicit
evidence of this ethics clearance in your final deliverable materials. Failure to
obtain and evidence ethical clearance will render any human subject data gathered
inadmissible for your submission and potentially lead to further marks penalties.
9. Owing to the fact it will be closely supervised, this assessment is not anonymous, and
you are not required to remove any such information that identifies you as the author of
the piece. It is double marked and moderated to ensure fairness.
10. You are required to read the Submission Requirements and Penalties section of this
assessment brief for information concerning how the assessment response is to be
formatted and submitted.
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SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND PENALTIES
Your submission must consist of the following:
Component Submission Procedure
Project Submit as a single .pdf or .zip file via the
VLE Submission Point.
For Dissertations this will be via the Turnitin
point. For Media Artefacts and Reports, this
will be via a system known as Storage
(instructions also on the VLE). Please
make sure you read and understand the
instructions provided EARLY, and that
you do NOT submit at the last minute.
1. Your dissertation or media artefact report must be submitted as a .pdf file. No cover
sheet is required, but as a non-anonymous submission, please include your name at the
beginning of the document (such as underneath the main title).
2. Your media artefact must be accessible to examiner’s using an unmodified University
PC or Mac, and should function standalone, without requiring the installation of any
additional software. The media artefact must be accompanied by a ‘Readme’ .txt file that
explains what the examiner has to do in order to access and view it correctly. The
Constituent files of the media artefact must be placed together with the report (formatted
as a .pdf file) into a single .zip file for submission.
3. Please ensure that you have uploaded the correct file and in the correct file format.
Standard late penalties may apply until the assessment is received in its correct file
and correct file format.
4. For all written components of your assessment, the text must be font size 12pt
minimum, spacing set at either 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, with page margins set at 2.5cm minimum.
Typeface must be one of either Arial, Helvetica, Baskerville, Garamond, or Times New
Roman. Final word count must be included on the final page. Page numbers to be
included in “1 of N” format, located in either the top or bottom margin.
5. You must use the York HARVARD system of reference for all cited quotations and
sources. See the York Library Referencing Guides for specific information. The direct
link is available here: https://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/referencing-style-guides/harvard.
6. Plagiarism under any circumstances is unacceptable. It is a serious academic
offense. Please refer to the academic misconduct policy for further information on how
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plagiarism cases are treated. The direct link is available here:
https://www.york.ac.uk/staff/supporting-students/academic/taught/misconduct/.
7. Use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) of ANY type, to produce ANY aspect
of this assessment, without EXPLICIT declaration, citation, and discussion of its
status as such, is expressly forbidden, and will be treated as academic
misconduct. Please read the university guidance on generative AI. The direct link is
available here: https://www.york.ac.uk/students/studying/assessment-and-examination/ai/. If you consider materials generated by AI to be academically
appropriate to your assessment response, then you MUST ALWAYS declare,
academically reference, and discuss these materials EXPLICITLY, in your own
words, as being AI generated materials—encompassing every specific occurrence,
justifying their appropriateness, reflecting on their potential limitations, and being
integrated within the overall context of your assessment response. It is entirely at the
marker’s discretion if they perceive that materials generated by AI have been
concealed or misused within the context of the assessment response. Always
seek advice from the module convenor at the earliest opportunity if you are
unsure.
8. It is your responsibility to check that you have submitted your work correctly.
Your assessment submission must be completed well before the deadline to ensure
that your work is recorded as submitted on time.
9. If you feel that you are facing exceptional issues that might delay your assignment
submission past the deadline, then you can explore whether you are eligible for an
extension under the Exceptional Circumstances Affecting Assessment provisions. You
can examine the policy and, if eligible, apply by using this link here:
https://www.york.ac.uk/students/studying/progress/exceptional-circumstances/. You
should favor to let your supervisor know and arrange to discuss with them the
issues you face, for they will be able to guide you to additional points of support, if
appropriate.
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ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Dissertation (100%)
Structure and Argument (50%)
How well the argument has been
taking into account (as conducted
relevant): the complexity of close reading
or interpretation of chosen; the clarity of
those readings or interpretations; the
appropriate framework for the argument;
the synthesis of relevant literature; the
rigor of data collection; the appropriate
application and description of
methodology; the depth of analysis of data;
the demonstration of appropriate data.
/100
Knowledge and Understanding (25%)
How well the topic has been grasped.
/100
Use of Sources (15%)
How well sources have been identified and
used.
/100
Style and Presentation (10%)
How well the writing is presented in the
dissertation, taking into account prose
style, and control of sentence and
paragraph structure.
How accurate is the dissertation’s
grammar, spelling and punctuation.
How accurate is the usage of referencing
conventions and style.
/100
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Media Artefact and Report (100%)
Background (20%)
How well the report introduces the media
artefact through identifying and discussing
prior and/or similar work, and any relevant
social, cultural, technological and critical
backgrounds.
/100
Description and Justification (20%)
How well the report describes and justifies
the design and development process,
including how the Media Artefact fulfills the
aim of exploring and critical thinking
through the chosen topic.
/100
Structure and Argument (40%)
How well the report reflects on the topic
and field of critical inquiry in relation to the
media artefacts, including demonstrations
and application of relevant theoretical
knowledge.