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Food & Hospitality (Home Economics)
Choose from one of the following sections:
Only a general guide is given, since this will vary greatly between
schools:
- Semester I
- Field Investigation I
- Field Investigation II
- Minor Study
- Independent Study
- Semester II
- Minor Study
- Field Investigation I
- Research Assignment I
- Research Assignment II
- Continuous Pros (Essay) Assignment
Food & Hospitality is a TAFE accredited course in South Australia and can
be used for tertiary education entrance. Therefore, throughout the year you
will be completing work of the standard and quantity that you can expect at a
tertiary level. Surprisingly this is not as much a s people may think. The
years progression brings a general pattern of preparing for a practical,
completing the practical and then writing up that practical. In a term of
about 10 weeks, the entire class should have generally handed up 3 of these
assignments related to practical activities. However, there is an occasional
research assignment which involved no practical component, therefore the
practical aspect is used for the much needed research. In this course there is
a major assignment which is so large that it will take the larger part of 1
term (10 weeks) to complete. This is called the independent study.
This will be covered in more detail in the section dedicated especially to it -
the The Independent Study in Food & Hospitality.
The Significance
The independent study accounts for 50% of your first semesters grade.
Therefore, it can be seen this easily that this assignment plays a very big
role in your semesters grade and most definitely in your end of year grade.
This assignment is equivalent to all the major assignments in other subjects
and must be completed independently as suggested by the name. Download a copy of my Independant Study from here to 'get a feel' for the size and work involved.
Approach / Tips
- many people put off starting large assignments, but this is the only
way to fail yourself from the very beginning, these major assignments take
time
- so start early!!! Do a little bit each day, you will get a lot
done without realizing it
- spend time choosing a topic that interests you or one that you may
have had experience in or at least a topic that you feel comfortable in
writing about
- have alternative topics ready - in case you hit a brick wall with your
number 1 preference
- start researching straight away, gather as many resources as you can
if you are having major troubles obtaining at least a scrap of information
then it is time to change your topic
- use many types of resource
- write to people asking for either personal experience or even better some
resources of that person / company (this can be used in the appendix of the
assignment)
- research from the library but don't spend too much time here - it is
better to get real world resources - any marker will approve of resources
that come from the actual area that you are studying, plus these resources
are sometimes easier to get
- use the internet - cast all the stereotypes of internet users away and get
onto it somehow...the internet is a quick and easy way to obtain lots of
information, basically it is any researchers dream come true, plus there is
bound to be something on there that will interest you since it is a world
wide collection of resources
- speak to people first hand - the marker will be very impressed if
you talk to people in the industry that you are studying - but make sure that
you record the conversation and make a transcript (written copy of exactly
what was said) so that you can say things about the conversation in your main
essay and the marker can look at them in the transcript
- take photos of anything of relevance - a picture is worth 1000 words
and the marker will be more that grateful if they actually have something
in color to look at when they are reading your essay
- spend a lot of time writing the main body, and then a lot more time on
checking
(see the tips under the PAS English section for specific help)
- compile the entire project in a logical manner - there is nothing worse than
to have put a lot of effort into something and get a lower mark simply because
it is not in a good order or in a logical manner, a project should generally
consist of the following sections:
- Introduction / aims
- Introduction to body (~ method)
- Body / main arguments / presentation of ideas
- Results (only if a practical activity was involved)
- Conclusion (summary of body & results, and small report on the success
of your efforts)
For a much better idea of what to include, see the examples that I have
available for download here.
Again, Food & Hospitality is a subject where each school can vary in
greatly and therefore preparation will vary accordingly. There is not much
pre-year 12 preparation that you can do for this subject anyway, so concentrate
on all the other subjects that do need it...it will take the load off this
subject in the long run anyway if you think about it.
- don't treat practicals as a 'bludge' - they count for more than 40% of your
semesters grade, to get a good practical mark, ensure that you continually
show:
- planning
- good preparation for the practical
- efficient work in the kitchen
- continual tidying up
- easy working with others
- efficient use of ingredients
- good final presentation of the food
- start the write-ups or projects straight after or during the practical
this will make you more aware of the things that you have got to include the
report etc, plus this will save putting off the assignment later
- always have at least five items in the appendixes of your assignments
otherwise it is not worth the effort
- use the objectives as a guideline but most of all follow the assignment
sheets very closely - if you deviate too much or totally forget what to write
on you will get almost no marks
- always make presentation good, first impressions last
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