climate action

3000-3500 words

choose climate action

RMIT Classification: Trusted

ACCT2127 Assessment 3 instructions –

Semester 2, 2020

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RMIT Classification: Trusted

ACCT2127 Assessment

3

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Essay

Semester 2, 2020

DUE DATE: Sunday 18 October 2020, 10 pm (Melbourne time)
(You may submit the assignment more than once before the due date. Only the latest submission
will be marked. Please be advised that it could take a few hours for Turnitin’s Originality Report to be
generated. Please also note that Turnitin will only generate one Originality Report in any 24-hour
period – so you may have to wait longer to see a report on a resubmitted assignment than on your
first submission.)

LENGTH: 3000-3500 words (excluding table of contents, reference list and Appendix (if any-
appendix is optional)

MARKS: This assignment is worth 40% of the total assessment for this course. (There is no hurdle
requirement for the individual assessment. Students need to achieve 50% or greater overall adding
together all forms of assessment to pass the course).
(Note: This assignment is to be completed as an individual exam)

Objectives of the Assignment

This assignment develops your capabilities to analyse and conceptualise the Sustainable
development goals (SDGs) issues and relate them to the contemporary business and reporting
practices and is aligned with the Course Learning Outcomes of identifying, understanding and
interpreting accounting and reporting concepts. The use of Sustainable development goals (SDGs)
enables you to apply your accounting and reporting knowledge to a real-world context. That is,
better understanding of the implication of SDGs in business, Sustainability Accounting and
Reporting.

Overview of the Sustainable development goals (SDGs)

“The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by all
United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the
planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. The 17 SDGs are integrated—
that is, they recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development
must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability. SDGs are designed to bring the
world to several life-changing ‘zeros’, including zero poverty, hunger, AIDS and discrimination
against women and girls. Everyone is needed to reach these ambitious targets. The creativity,
knowhow, technology and financial resources from all of society is necessary to achieve the SDGs in
every context.” (United Nations Development Programme, 2020).

RMIT Classification: Trusted
ACCT2127 Assessment 3 instructions – Semester 2, 2020

2

RMIT Classification: Trusted

Picture source: United Nations Development Programme (2020)

Overview of assignment requirements- step by step:

1. Choose one of the Sustainable development goals to write your report on (see:
(https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html for
the full list of goals.)

2. Conduct some preliminary research using academic journal articles to identify one or more
contemporary business case issues related to your selected SDG. Please try to use the
following journals as much as you can. (note: you are suggested to use Google Scholar for
searching academic journals https://scholar.google.com/ ; additional information on Google
scholar can be found here: https://www.rmit.edu.au/library/help/how-to/using-google-
scholar). All other sources (including reliable online websites etc.) are acceptable too. You
need to ensure you use appropriate referencing.

3. Conduct additional research on your selected topic using one of the following approaches to
investigate further into the selected issue(s):

 Historical study (Focus on one topic and investigate changes in perspectives over time)
 Critical analysis (Focus on one issue and critically analyse the issue identified using prior

literature).
 Case study (Focus on one case, issue, problem, and explain pre-, peri-, and post-

situations)

The assignment’s structure/ template, suggested word counts, and marking allocations for
each section are as follows (the headings are compulsory and strictly need to be followed,
but subheadings are only recommended, optional, and up to students’ decisions)

 Title Page (including report title, student name and ID) and table of contents (3 marks)

https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html

https://scholar.google.com/

https://www.rmit.edu.au/library/help/how-to/using-google-scholar

https://www.rmit.edu.au/library/help/how-to/using-google-scholar

https://www.rmit.edu.au/library/help/how-to/using-google-scholar

RMIT Classification: Trusted
ACCT2127 Assessment 3 instructions – Semester 2, 2020
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RMIT Classification: Trusted

 Introduction (400-500 words)- General background on your selected Sustainable
development goal (SDGs) using appropriate research, paraphrasing, and referencing,
and overview of the issue identified. (5 marks)

 Literature review (1500-1800 words)- on the particular issue identified (here is the link
from RMIT website to explain how to write the Literature Review.
https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/writing-literature-review) (15 marks)

 Discussion (900-1000 words)- on the connection with business and/or reporting and/or
accounting (8 marks)

 Conclusion (300-400 words)- Brief summary of your essay, and your substantiated
opinion as to the SDG identified and its implication on business and/or reporting and/or
accounting (6 marks)

 Reference List (3 marks)
 Appendix (optional)

Referencing guideline:

 Suggested style: APA 7th ed. style ( https://www.lib.rmit.edu.au/easy-cite/).
 Minimum of 5 references is required (You may need more references to support your

arguments).

Please go through the following link for additional writing skills information and activities:
https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/writing-skills

Other appropriate issues in completing this assignment:

• A report format should be used for your written submission. Please ensure you use

headings and sub-headings to structure your essay. Please ensure that your essay is typed
with the following formatting style recommended: 1.5 line spacing, 11 point font, minimum
3 cm margin on left-hand side of paper.

• Your assignment must be appropriately referenced (the APA 7th ed. style referencing

system is suggested but RMIT Harvard referencing is also acceptable). Both in-text citations
as well as a reference list at the end of your assignment are required. Please review the
referencing guidelines provided on the following link: https://www.lib.rmit.edu.au/easy-
cite/

o Penalties for inadequate or incorrect referencing will apply.

• This assignment is to be completed as an individual task. All electronically submitted
assignments will be automatically forwarded to Turnitin and subjected to an assessment
of authenticity/originality, so please ensure your submission is your own individual work –
severe penalties will apply for work that is not original/individual. You are allowed
to submit your work prior to the due date to obtain an originality report. If the report
requires revision you are allowed to adjust your assignment and resubmit. Please
note: if you resubmit your assignment it may take Turnitin up to 48 hours to generate a
new Originality Report.

https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/writing-literature-review

https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/writing-literature-review

http://www.lib.rmit.edu.au/easy-cite/)

https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/writing-skills

http://www.lib.rmit.edu.au/easy-

RMIT Classification: Trusted
ACCT2127 Assessment 3 instructions – Semester 2, 2020

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RMIT Classification: Trusted

• The similarity percentage you receive (when you submit your report it is automatically
reviewed under Turnitin) is a guide only. There is no standard acceptable level of similarity
(Direct quotations are to be kept to a minimum). Students should avoid directly copying
from sources including online sources, and must write using THEIR OWN WORDS with
appropriate referencing. There are possibilities of receiving high similarities with no
problem. So, all reports, particularly those with higher level of similarities, will be audited
independently for the nature of the similarities. Reports containing high similarity that
potentially breach the University’s plagiarism policy could be subject to penalties including
receiving zero (in cases of copying from other sources or other students work) for the
assessment.

• Your assignment must be submitted electronically (via the course canvas site, in the
‘Assessment 3 submission box) by Sunday 18 October 2020, 10 pm (Melbourne time). This
deadline will be strictly enforced for this piece of assessment. Late submissions will not be
considered, unless a formal extension of time through RMIT special consideration
department has been granted.

• Please refer to the Academic Integrity presentation available on the course Canvas site.

o Do not include the wording of the assignment instructions in your submission;
o A hard copy submission is not required.

Note 1: There is no right or wrong answer in writing this assessment task. The quality of writing,
research, discussions and well-supported opinions for each section of assignment will be assessed.

Note 2: Please also insure you leave ample time to submit – it is recommended students submit well
before the deadline, and no later than 7 pm Sunday 18 October 2020 (Melbourne time) (3 hours
before deadline) to allow for unexpected delays / internet lags etc. Students are reminded that
difficulties in submitting (such as due to internet issues) is specifically their own responsibility and
not an acceptable reason for late submission, unless found to be a general RMIT outage.

Reference

United Nations Development Programme. (2020). Sustainable Development Goals.
https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html

https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html

https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html

Objectives of the Assignment
Overview of the Sustainable development goals (SDGs)
Overview of assignment requirements- step by step:
• The assignment’s structure/ template, suggested word counts, and marking allocations for each section are as follows (the headings are compulsory and strictly need to be followed, but subheadings are only recommended, optional, and up to students’ dec…

Referencing guideline:
Other appropriate issues in completing this assignment:
o Penalties for inadequate or incorrect referencing will apply.
Reference