LW166 Skills Portfolio 2026–27: Harvard Referencing, Spotting an AI-Written Essay and Critical Reading in Criminology | Maynooth University

This first-year criminology portfolio at Maynooth University tests the study skills students will rely on for the rest of the degree: writing accurate Harvard references, recognising plagiarism and the risks of generative AI, and reading sources critically. It is split into three short parts, each with its own marking criteria.

Format and Submission Instructions

• The portfolio has three parts (Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3), submitted together in a single Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx).
• Use a clear font (e.g. Times New Roman, Calibri or Arial), 12-point size and 1.5 line spacing.
• Use the Harvard referencing system, following The Maynooth University Guide to the Harvard Referencing System.
• Submit through the Skills Portfolio submission inbox in the Assessment tile on the LW166 Moodle page. The inbox is linked to Turnitin, which checks for plagiarism and AI use.
• AI tools or other computer-generated material cannot be used for any part of the assessment, including research and preparation.
• Penalties: 5% per day for late submission and 5% for going below or above the word limit (a flat 5% of the assignment). The word limit excludes cover pages, headers/footers and the reference list.

Part 1: Understanding the Harvard Referencing System (70–100 words)

Using The Maynooth University Guide to the Harvard Referencing System, correct the citations below so that they conform to the Harvard system, written in full as they would appear in a reference list:

1. Tim Newburn 2017. Criminology. Third edition. New York: Routledge.
2. David Garland. “Criminology’s place in the academic field.” In What is criminology?, edited by Mary Bosworth and Carolyn Hoyle, 2011. Chapter 20, pp. 298-317. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
3. Claire Hamilton and Lynsey Black 2023. ““Strikingly and Stubbornly High”: Investigating the Paradox of Public Confidence in the Irish Police.” Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 39, no. 1: 38-57.
4. Maynooth University Library. Referencing & avoiding plagiarism. Last Updated: Aug 7, 2025. (Library referencing guide web page.)

Part 1 Marking Criteria (per citation)

Part 2: Understanding Plagiarism and the Risks of Using Generative AI (600 words)

Watch the School of Law and Criminology videos “Plagiarism training for students” (20 minutes) and “AI and Assessments in Law and Criminology” (9 minutes).

To show the pitfalls of generative AI, the module team asked AI to write a short essay titled “Measuring Crime: How Do We Really Know?”. Critique the essay, point out its problems and explain how we can tell it was written by AI. The essay discusses:

• police recorded crime (official statistics) and the “dark figure of crime”, supported by citations such as “Smith (2015)” and “Jones (2018)”;
• victimisation surveys such as the Crime Survey for England and Wales and what they miss;
• self-report studies, including a claim attributed to a “Professor Michaels” (1996) that they are the “gold standard” of criminological data;
• triangulation, changes in police recording practices (e.g. newly criminalised offences such as cyberflashing) and problems comparing crime rates between countries;
• a conclusion that crime rates are a construction of methodology and that “more research is needed”.

The essay also contains spelling and grammar errors, informal language, unsupported generalisations and an irrelevant, out-of-place sentence that students are expected to spot.

Part 2 Marking Criteria

Part 3: Critical Reading of Sources (complete A and B)

Part A: Critical Reading of Two News Articles (300 words)

Read the two articles: Ciara Kelly, “‘Zero Tolerance’ Crackdown Needed on Dublin’s O’Connell Street”, and Kevin Wozniak & Ian Marder, “Would ‘zero tolerance’ policing make Dublin city centre safer?”. Then answer all of the following:

1. What are the main points of each article?
2. What evidence do the authors provide to support their arguments? (Hint: pay attention to the web hyperlinks.)
3. What do you know about the authors and their qualifications to write about the topic, according to the articles?

Part B: Understanding the Evolution of Criminological Theory Over Time (300 words)

Consider the case of a 16-year-old boy who physically assaulted a man on the street and stole the money he had on him. Explain how (1) a criminologist in 1890 and (2) a criminologist in 2023 might explain why the youth committed the crime.

Part 3 Marking Rubric