Assignment Notes: DFB205 Critical Report Explained
REPORT – Assessment 2
Learning outcomes: 1,2,3,4,5,6
Weight: 60%
Words: 2000 (+/- 10%)
REPORT
This assessment task is an individual, critical report based on material covered in the unit lectures and workshop discussions.
You will write a critical report about the aesthetic AND cultural AND commercial aspects of fashion as is presented on a digital social platform of your choosing. You will analyse these cultural aspects through an informed, non-biased lens.
We recommend that you approach your investigation by:
- Selecting either 2 social media influencers (or personalities/ brands/ companies etc.) and 1 social media platform that is used by both (Instagram, Facebook, youtube, TikTok, Twitter etc)
- OR 1 influencer and 2 social media platforms that they use.
- These approaches are not a mandatory formula but are an effective way to report on the content we want you to investigate.
- Investigate the aesthetic AND cultural AND commercial aspects of fashion in their use of this platform.
- Compare and contrast the two influencers or platforms.
- Use the theory presented in weeks 8 and 9 content to guide the nature of your analysis. You do not have to touch on all of the topics covered, but some of your research and analysis must directly reference it.
Length: 2000 words (+/- 10%) (Please note the word count does not include the reference list).
Font: Times New Roman or Calibri
Font size: 12
Line Spacing: 1.5
Further Details
Your report must
- Draw explicitly (by reference) on the content of a unit lecture
- Demonstrate an awareness of fashion and its relationship with consumer and surveillance culture in the online environment.
- Use key terms and theoretical ideas as covered in unit lectures.
- Apply theoretical readings from the unit. Refer explicitly to required readings and material sourced from the reading list for the unit as well as other material or links to content provided in the delivery of this unit.
- Expand on these resources with further academic research.
- Choose Harvard or APA as your referencing style, and use it consistently, including in-text citation of sources and a reference list.
- Images and film stills included in your report must be captioned and referenced appropriately.
GET PROFESSIONAL HELP NOW! Your report will be assessed against the following criteria
- Research – While unit materials suggested by your lecturer will form the basis of your research it is expected that you extend this to the material you have been provided. A thoroughly researched topic would include books and articles sourced from academic journals, and interviews whenever they are available.
- Discussion and Analysis – The content should demonstrate a thorough understanding of the key points of the unit.
- Written Expression – This includes the overall structure of your report, the tone of the language that you use, the skill with which you cite your sources, and the readability of your writing.
All of these elements can be found in the QUT Fashion essay writing guide, which can be found in Blackboard, under Assessment.
How to structure your report
Title page
Table of contents
1.0 Introduction (your topic, what you are doing to investigate it, limitations/ assumptions related to the research)
2.0 Methodology (what kind of research you used, what you did to gather your data/ do your analysis)
3.0 Background/ contextual review (Explain, define and describe the platforms and accounts you are using, the themes you are exploring but don’t analyse them yet).
4.0 Discussion on findings (analyse what you have observed by comparing and contrasting your findings. Discuss them in relation to key unit ideas, but don’t argue for one side over another or share your opinion. It’s about investigating what the data and research are telling you).
- Aesthetic aspects
- Cultural aspects
- Commercial aspects
5.0 Conclusion (summarise the purpose of your report, the background to your topic and the findings you discovered).
6.0 Recommendations (identify the recommendations that emerge from your research and explain why they appear relevant to the discussion on your topic).
7.0 Reference list (Harvard style)
8.0 Appendices
Topics That I Will Analyse:
Surveillance culture- data collection and commercialisation.
Popular culture and self-identity- Does our social media presence and the presence of influencers and companies reflect reality? How does popular culture influence our perceptions of our own identities? Is this influence a problem if it is not authentic?
