The background to the coursework is as follows:
According to the Centre for the study of regulated industry (CRI), the business
structure of the water industry underwent two major changes, one in 1972 and
the other in 1989. The overall structure established at privatisation in 1989 has
not changed dramatically since.
The coursework question is:
Discuss the market structures and ownership that existed prior to 1972 and
the ones which emerged after privatization in 1989. What economic factors
contributed to the restructuring of the water industry?
The essay should be 1500 words in length. In writing the essay you should make use
of the basic principles of Microeconomics and the relevant theories associated with
perfect competition, monopoly and oligopoly. You will also need to consider how
these theories relate to the case of the UK water industry.
You should also use relevant Microeconomic diagrams in order to make your essay
analytical.
You will be submitting the first draft of your coursework essay via Turnitin in w/c
25/01/16. Your draft will not be marked but you will receive general feedback from
your tutors.
Use the skills you learned during your EAP and Study Skills classes to do research,
reference your sources, develop and support your arguments, and to structure your
coursework essay.
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2. Guidelines
2.1. Recommended Essay Structure with suggested word count and
headings:
Essay Title
Introduction [200 words] [5 marks]
You should discuss the background to the essay, the aims and objectives of the
essay and your expected findings. You should also briefly discuss how you will
resolve the aims and objectives of your essay.
Market Structure and Ownership Prior to 1972 [400 words] [20 marks]
Use an appropriate graph and or table to analyse;
? the characteristic features of the water industry prior to 1972,
? its advantages and
? its disadvantages
Market Structure and Ownership Since 1989 [400 words] [20 marks]
Use an appropriate graph and or table to analyze;
? the characteristic features of the water industry since 1989,
? its advantages and
? its disadvantages.

Economic factors that led to the restructuring [300 words] [20 marks]
? Discuss why it became necessary to restructure the water industry.
? Explain the economic benefit/rationale and the beneficiaries.
Conclusion [200 words] [5 marks]
In this section you should answer the question in the task, summarize the findings of
your analysis to explain why this is the answer you are giving and then critically
discuss the extent to which your findings are conclusive.
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2.2. Additional areas that will be assessed are:
? Research, Sources and Referencing [20 marks]
You will need to use at least 5 relevant and reliable sources:
? three sources have been provided (see the Reading List and Appendix for
details);
? additionally, you will need to conduct your own research and find two more
relevant and reliable sources to support your arguments.
Each of these five sources will be awarded up to 4 marks: 2 marks for accuracy of intext
citation (Harvard referencing system), and 2 marks for providing the full
reference in bibliography (Harvard referencing system).
Marks will be capped at 18 for inaccurate Bibliography, for example, usage of bullet
points or not putting your sources in alphabetical order.
You should not use blogs, Wikipedia, Investopedia, nonacademic
and nongovernmental
websites or other unreliable sources. Inappropriate sources will not
be awarded any marks.
Use ACCAA tool you learned to apply during your Academic English classes to
decide whether you have chosen relevant and reliable sources.
NB: For the purpose of this assignment, mass media sources (e.g. BBC or The
Guardian) are not considered appropriate.
? Format [5 marks]
1 mark for each appropriate heading; capped at 5 marks.
? Coherence [5 marks]
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3. Marking Criteria
Your essay will be marked on the basis of the following criteria:
a) Structure [20 marks]
Your essay should have a coherent, consistent and logical structure with
headings for each section. It should start with an Introduction in which you
discuss the background to the topic you will be writing about. In the ‘Introduction’
you should also state your aims and objectives and what your expected findings
will be. The essay should end with a Conclusion in which you answer the
question in the task, summarise your findings and then discuss whether you
think the findings are conclusive or not, and if not, explain why.
1) Introduction – 5 marks
2) Headings – 5 marks
3) Coherency – 5 marks
4) Conclusion – 5 marks
b) Market Structure Prior to 1972 [400 words] [20 marks]
? Identification of the market structure. [4 marks]
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? Characteristic features of the water industry prior to 1972 [4 marks]
? Its advantages [4 marks]
? Its disadvantages. . [4 marks]
? Diagram or table and analysis [4 marks]
c) Market Structure Since 1989 [400 words] [20 marks]
? Identification of the market structure [ 4 marks]
? Characteristic features of the water industry since 1989 [4 marks]
? Its advantages [4 marks]
? Its disadvantages [4 marks]
? Diagram or table and analysis [4 marks]
d) Economic factors that led to the restructuring [300 words] [20 marks]
? Discuss why it became necessary to restructure the water industry. [5 marks]
? Explain the economic benefit/rationale and [5 marks]
? the beneficiaries [5 marks]
? Diagram [5 marks]
e) Research, Referencing and Sources [20 marks]
Your arguments should be supported and sources should be referenced(both intext
and Bibliography) using the Harvard Referencing System.
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You should use ALL THREE sources from the Compulsory Reading List provided
and FIND TWO other sources by yourself.
Use LRC, City University library, JStor and other reliable ways to find
appropriate sources to support your arguments.
COMPULSORY READING LIST
NB: The entries have not been referenced according Harvard system – you will need
to do that yourself.
Chapter 5: Market Structures from Essentials of Economics 6th edition by J. Sloman
and D. Garratt, D; published by Pearson in Harrow, in 2013, pp. 93–122. (2013).
An online Research Report 14 by Peter Bailey: The Business and Financial Structure
of the Water Industry in England and Wales, published in 2013, available at
http://www.bath.ac.uk/management/cri/pubpdf/Research_Reports/14_Bailey.pdf
Unit 3 Micro: Economics of the UK Water Industry by Geoff Riley [PDF], published in
2012 (please see the Appendix for the text of this source).
Plagiarism Reference:
‘Cite them right online’ http://
www.citethemrightonline.com
4. Coursework Submission:
?The assignment should contain a maximum of 1,500 words.
?The Assignment must be typed in Arial, font size 12 with double line spacing.
?Please leave one free line between each paragraph. The pages should be stapled
together (top left corner) and page numbered (bottom right corner).
?The assignment will contribute 20% towards your final grade for this module.
?PLEASE NOTE:THERE
IS NO ORAL PRESENTATION OF THIS ASSIGNMENT
?You will be submitting the first draft of your coursework essay via Turnitin in w/c
25/01/16. Your draft will not be marked but you will receive general feedback from
your tutors.
A Turnitin Similarity Report must also be
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submitted (Please refer to Turnitin instructions in point 4).
?You need to keep the yellow copy of the coursework submission form as proof of
submission.
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?Failure to complete the submission before the deadline (both a hardcopy and
electronic submission through Turnitin) will result in penalties being applied, as per
the Student Handbook (see point 3).
4.1.What to include
?A cover page with (1) your family name and first name; (2) student ID; (3) your
Foundation group; (4) the essay title and 5) the submission date.
?Any sources should be referenced according to Harvard referencing conventions
(Please consult Cite Them Right).
?Students should bear in mind that instances of plagiarism (copying material from
any text without giving the reference) and collusion (copying work written by
another person or including in your assignment any work that is not your own) are
taken very seriously. Please refer to the student handbook for details of penalties.
4.2.Details for late submission of assignment:
Work submitted Mark Deducted
On The Due Date After 1500 Hours But Before 1700 Hours 5%
On The Day Following The Due Date Up To 1700 Hours 10%
On Either The 2nd Or 3rd Day After The Due Date Up To 1700
Hours
20%
On The 4th Day After The Due Date Or Later All marks deducted
4.3.Turnitin instructions/plagiarism:
Coursework is to be uploaded to the Turnitin Assignment through your class Moodle
page, in order to maintain academic integrity and high standards of coursework. You
will need to be logged in as yourself, and to upload your work to your specific course.
It is very important not to upload to another course. The Turnitin Assignment will be
open two weeks before the essay deadline for editing and proofreading. When
starting your assignment, please refer to the Plagiarism Moodle page, where you
should watch the videos and do the activities. You can, and should, edit your essay
as many times as you like before the deadline. Before your Similarity Report is
ready, you will see the word ‘pending’: submissions take up to 24 hours, whereas
resubmissions will always take 24 hours. When you have uploaded your final draft,
which is suggested no later than 24 hours before the deadline, wait for the Similarity
Report. Print out your Similarity Report, staple it to another clean copy of your final
draft, and submit both, with a completed cover sheet, to the Drop Box at the
Welcome Desk. The stamp on the cover sheet is considered the time of submission
– not the time on the Turnitin Assignment.
For more information about plagiarism and Turnitin, you should explore the
Plagiarism Moodle Page, and read your Handbook. For technical problems with logins
contact the IT helpdesk.
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5. Appendix
Unit 3 Micro: Economics of the UK Water Industry by Geoff Riley
(2012)

The English water and sewerage industry was privatised in 1989 and since then
household and business consumers have received water services from a regional
monopoly business. Companies such as Thames Water or Severn Trent are
vertically integrated, water companies, which provide a ‘source to tap’ service:
obtaining water from source through abstraction, treating it to an appropriate
standard, and providing it to customers’ taps via companyowned
infrastructure. Only
very large business customers are able to choose their supplier.
In Wales, Glas Cymru is a single purpose water and sewerage company with no
shareholders run solely for the benefit of customers. Scotland and Northern Ireland
have retained the stateowned
model.
Post privatisation, an industry regulator OFWAT was created. Like other regulators
OFWAT has a number of roles including the aims of promoting the public interest
and increasing cost effectiv