Introduction to Economics Assessment Brief 2026 | Independent College

Introduction to Economics Assessment Brief

You Are Advised To Regularly Save Your Work. Send A Back-Up Copy Of Your Final Version As An Attachment (Not A Link) In An Email To Locker@Independentcollege.Ie Before The Submission Deadline. Files Emailed To Other Accounts Will Not Be Considered.

Emails To Locker@Independentcollege.Ie Must Be Sent From Your Independent College Email Address. Files Emailed From Other Accounts Will Not Be Considered.

Note: Locker@Independentcollege.Ie Is An Unmonitored Account. Any Queries Should Be Directed To The Appropriate College Department.

Assessment Requirements:

Task 1 (lo1)

How does economic principles affect your day-to-day consumer behaviour? Choose three and provide examples to illustrate your answer.

(30 marks)

Use of 3 economic principles = 9 marks

Solid examples = 21 marks

Task 2 (lo1, lo2)

Using the external factors of demand, choose three to illustrate some scenarios on your personal life.

(30 marks)

3 external factors of demand + scenarios = 30 marks

Task 3 (lo2)

Considering the concept of price elasticity of demand, provide two scenarios where a demand for one product is relatively elastic and a demand for another product is relatively inelastic, on your personal life.

(30 marks)

Definition of p.e.d. = 10 marks

1 scenario for product relatively elastic = 10 marks

1 scenario for product relatively inelastic = 10 marks

Please using reference sources when necessary.

(10 marks)

Additional Instructions and Information for Students:

It is your responsibility to inform yourself of the relevant instructions and information. The examiner has the right to refuse to mark your work if the submission instructions have not been observed. Should the examiner not assert this right, you are notified that no precedent is thereby established regarding submission to any other module.

A. Word count

1. The word count, if applicable, is stated in the assignment specification. The word count includes everything in the main body of the text from the introduction to the conclusion. The word count does not include the cover page, table of contents, reference list or appendices (if any).
2. Appendices should be kept to a minimum and relevant to supporting key points of the submission.
3. If your submission is more than 15% below the word count guide specified, the examiner will decide whether the main requirements of the assignment have been satisfied or not and will decide on the appropriate mark for the submission if academic expectations have not been met.
4. If your submission exceeds the word count guide by more than 15%, the examiner will reduce your mark in light of the excess content. See the assignment specification for details.
5. You can view the independent college word count policy here.

B. Format

1. Unless otherwise stated in the assignment specification, your assignment must be typed. One-and-a-half or double spacing must be used with a font size of 11/12. The preferred font type is calibri.
2. Work must be presented properly: ensure that you spell-check and proof-read your work before submission.
3. Typed assignments must be submitted to moodle in word or pdf Read the information provided here: guidance on supported file types for turnitin. Do not submit your assessment in a format that is not listed on this page, unless explicitly authorised to do so by the examiner. Screenshots/images of type will not be accepted. The examiner may refuse to grade your work, or you may be asked to send the typed work in word or pdf format to locker@independentcollege.ie. This submission will be checked against the original in moodle; work that has been altered in any way other than that required by the college will not be accepted and a score of zero will be recorded.
4. Your work must include the completed official cover sheet. The examiner will not correct any assignment submitted to moodle without the correct, completed, cover sheet. You may be asked to send the originally submitted work with an attached, correct, completed, cover sheet to locker@independentcollege.ie; work that has been altered in any way other than by the addition of the cover sheet will not be accepted and a score of zero will be recorded.
5. Please note that the grading of work delivered late under sections b3 and/or b4 above may be significantly delayed; the examiner is not required to return a result for such work within the usual timeframe.

C. Referencing

1. Independent college uses the harvard anglia referencing system.
2. Your assignment must include a reference list of all the sources that you used.
3. Failure to reference the ideas and work of others is plagiarism and a serious academic offence.
4. Consult the following library guides for more information on referencing:● referencing and citation explained
   ● referencing and how to avoid plagiarism

D. Academic integrity

1. This assignment assesses your own learning and understanding; write in your own words and in your own style.
2. It is a breach of academic integrity:

• To copy and paste without referencing the source – this is plagiarism.
• To paraphrase without referencing the source – this is plagiarism.
• To work with others on an individual assignment or allow others to amend your work in any way – proof-readers may highlight issues but may not correct them for you.
• To submit your own work from any previous assessment/s for this assignment.
• To submit work that has been created artificially e.g., through artificial intelligence – this includes translation tools or grammar-editing software, which may be used only to correct small amounts of text or specific words or phrases.
• To use any ai-tools to an extent beyond that specified by the examiner – it is your responsibility to retain evidence of your ‘process’ of learning and completion of this assignment. If any concerns regarding inappropriate use of ai are raised, you may be asked to furnish this evidence to the college. This evidence may include, but is not limited to, a research trail showing what resources cited in the work were accessed, and when; proof of multiple versions of the work being saved and the content therein, as well as the ‘journey’ you undertook in completing the assignment. You are encouraged to send as many versions of your assignment to locker@independentcollege.ie as you wish. You are also encouraged to review turnitin’s ethical checklist for students before submitting your work.

3. Alleged breaches of academic integrity will be investigated under the college academic misconduct regulations.
4. You can view the independent college academic misconduct policy here.
5. You can view the independent college artificial intelligence policy here.

E. Upload and back-up

1. Unless otherwise agreed by the examiner in advance of the submission deadline, your work must be submitted to moodle to the designated link.
2. You are encouraged to upload your assignment to the designated link well in advance of the submission deadline to obtain the turnitin similarity report and to make appropriate edits to your work before the deadline. Note that after the third such submission, a 24-hour wait period is imposed by turnitin to generate the similarity report. Only the most recent submission to a given link is available: previous submissions are overwritten and cannot be recovered.
3. Ensure that you allow sufficient time to upload the final version of your assignment before the submission deadline: systems may be slower at times of high demand.
4. Check and retain your final digital receipt as proof of your submission.
5. You are advised to send the final version of your work as an attachment (not a link) in an email to locker@independentcollege.ie before the submission deadline. This copy of your work in locker@independentcollege.ie is your official back-up copy. It is the only copy of your work that will be accepted for grading in the event of an issue with your submission in moodle. Emails to locker@independentcollege.ie must be sent from your independent college email address – files emailed from other accounts will not be considered.
6. Work sent only to locker@independentcollege.ie in lieu of moodle will not be accepted for grading unless also accompanied by evidence (e.g., time-stamped screen capture/photograph) that an it issue precluded upload to moodle within the final hour of the submission period. This evidentiary requirement does not apply in the case of a timed test.
7. Once the submission deadline has passed, you cannot amend or change your submission in moodle. If you uploaded the wrong† file in error, you should immediately send the correct file as an attachment in an email to locker@independentcollege.ie and then inform student services (learnersupport@independentcollege.ie) in a separate email. The college may facilitate the upload of your correct file provided that the final late-submission deadline (if any) has not passed and will apply a late-submission penalty with reference to the date of receipt of the file in locker@independentcollege.ie.
   † please note that, in line with the late submission policy, the upload of a revised version of the work will not ordinarily be facilitated by the college.
8. Please note that the locker@independentcollege.ie address is not monitored. You are required to inform learner support (learnersupport@independentcollege.ie) in a separate email if – and why (please see point e6 above) – your work is in ‘locker’ instead of in moodle. Do not send your work to learner support; files emailed to any accounts other than locker@independentcollege.ie will not be considered.

F. Late submission

1. Late submission, subject to penalty, is permitted for all assignments except time-limited tests. Late submission, if permitted, is penalised by 5 marks of the awarded mark per calendar day or part thereof. This is subject to a maximum of 5 calendar days, after which time the work will not be accepted.
2. Where an assignment is undertaken in a group, the work should be submitted in its entirety, and any penalty incurred for late submission applies to all group members.
3. You can view the independent college late submission policy here.

G. Extenuating circumstances

1. If you are unable to submit this assignment on time due to circumstances beyond your control you may seek an extension by completing the extension request form and emailing it to student services (learnersupport@independentcollege.ie). Extension request forms must be submitted before the deadline for submission of the assignment. The maximum permitted extension period is five calendar days. You are advised not to assume that an extension request will be accepted.
2. If you are unable to submit this assignment within the maximum-permitted five-day extension period, or at all, due to circumstances beyond your control, please provide a completed extenuating circumstances form with the relevant documentary and supporting evidence to learnersupport@independentcollege.ie not later than one working day after the final late-submission deadline. Extenuating circumstances forms with the relevant documented evidence presented more than one working day after the final late-submission deadline will not be accepted.
3. You can view the independent college extenuating circumstances policy here.

H. Non-engagement

1. A student who fails to adequately engage in the assessment components of a programme may be presented to the examination board with a recommendation to withdraw them from the programme. Any of the following may be grounds for withdrawal:

• Non-submission of more than 50% of assessment components for that semester
• Non-participation in more than 50% of assessment components for that semester
• Repeated failure to respond to communication from the college, within a reasonable period, in relation to extremely poor academic performance
• Non-submission of more than two modules in a resit period (with derogation for a student in the first semester of a stage).

2. You can view the independent college failed module policy here.

Please see the quality assurance manual for further information on independent college policies.

Assessment Criteria