Task 1 (AC1.1, 1.2 and 2.1)

Your assignment for finding and reading information requires you to find out information about a chosen topic that is of interest to you in IT/Computing subject specialism area. This is a core unit and it is linked to Extended Project Unit.

Use the grids provided to record what you find out. These will help you to record the information that you find in a structured manner that meets the requirements of the assessment criteria.

1.     Start by thinking about what you already know about the subject and the information that you still need to find out. Write down 5-10 questions for which you need to find answers.

2.     Next, find a range of resources that are likely to contain answers to your questions. List the sources that you use in the Harvard style as you would in a bibliography.

To meet the AC, you must include at least three different types of resources e.g. books, textbooks, journal articles, newspaper articles, magazine articles, scripts, e-books, websites, podcasts/audio materials and videos (such as a documentary, recorded lecture or teaching video).

3.     Use the resources to find the answers to your questions. Record the specific information that you have found in response to your questions from three sources in Section A of the Task 1 grid.

It is likely that you will need to find information from more than three sources in order to meet the requirements of the task for the other unit or answer all your questions, but you only need to submit the Task 1 grid for three sources. If you find it is a useful method to record the information that you have found then you are welcome to use it for more than three sources.

4.     In Section B of the grid, evaluate each resource you have used and the information that it has provided to help you to decide how to approach the next resource.

Evaluation of sources is an important academic skill to develop, as it will help you to ensure that your work is supported by credible information and you are able to spend the right amount of time finding and making notes from sources.