Topic

How does psychological research on cognitive biases challenge assumptions of judicial neutrality, and what realistic institutional or procedural reforms could the legal system adopt in response?

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Assignment instructions

Format of assignment

• Cover-page: On the cover-page of your paper, please state your student identification number and word-count. Do not include your name.

 

• Font: Use Times New Roman Font (size 12 pt) for text, and time New Roman Font (size 10 pt) for footnotes.

 

• Spacing: Justified, with 1.5-line spacing and 1-inch margins on all sides (A4-size paper).

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• Paragraphs and pages should be numbered.​

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• Citations: Provide appropriate attribution for all materials used. Sources must be fully cited, and pinpoint citations should be used wherever appropriate and possible. Citations should be in footnotes (not endnotes, bibliography etc). Citations and referencing for legal sources should be presented in the format prescribed by the Singapore Academy of Law Style Guide 2007. Those sources from other disciplines should be presented in the American Psychological Association style.

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• Word count: 2000 words maximum, excluding the cover-page, footnotes, and the no-plagiarism statement. Footnotes should be used for citations only; no substantive content should be contained within the footnotes. If substantive content is found in the footnotes, they will not be taken into consideration during the grading of your assignment. Headings and sub headings that you may use are included in the word count. Assignments exceeding the word-count, or those that fail to state the word-count accurately, will be penalised accordingly.

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Deadline and submission instructions

• An electronic copy of your assignment in PDF format should be submitted on eLearn by Friday 10 April 2026, 5 pm. There is no need to submit a hard copy. You will be penalised if your submission comes in late (one point will be deducted from your final score for every ten-minute block by which the submission is late, or part thereof).​

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Weightage

• The assignment counts for 30% of your final course grade.  ​​​

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Plagiarism notice

• SMU takes a strict view of plagiarism. If there is evidence of you having committed plagiarism for any assignment, you may be given a fail grade for the entire course. At the end of your assignment, you must add the following statement: “I declare that I have abided by SMU’s Code of Academic Integrity”.

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Use of generative AI tools

Students are permitted to use generative AI tools, including large language models, subject to the limits set out below.

 

Permitted uses ✅

Generative AI may be used only for the following purposes:

• Writing and drafting assistance: This includes improving clarity, grammar, sentence structure, and organisation of text that the student has already written.

• Formatting and technical assistance: This includes help with formatting citations and footnotes, checking consistency of citation style, and organising references in accordance with the Singapore Academy of Law Style Guide and APA style.

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The intellectual content of the essay must remain the student’s own work.

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Prohibited uses ❌

Generative AI must not be used for any of the following purposes:

• Research: This includes identifying sources, summarising academic articles or cases, suggesting readings, or locating authorities.

• Idea generation: This includes proposing arguments, counterarguments, thesis statements, essay structures, or reform proposals.

• Substantive analysis: This includes generating explanations, evaluations, or applications of legal or psychological concepts.

 

All research, argumentation, and analysis must be independently undertaken by the student.

 

Responsibility and accountability

• Students remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of their work, including any content produced with the assistance of generative AI. Use of generative AI does not reduce or shift responsibility for plagiarism, misattribution, or academic misconduct.

• Improper use of generative AI may be treated as a breach of SMU’s Code of Academic Integrity.

 

Declaration on use of generative AI

At the end of the assignment, after the academic integrity statement, students must include one of the following declarations.

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• Declaration where no generative AI was used

“I declare that I did not use any generative AI tools in the preparation of this assignment.”

 

• Declaration where generative AI was used

“I declare that I used generative AI tools in the preparation of this assignment solely for permitted purposes, namely writing and drafting assistance and or formatting of citations and footnotes. I did not use generative AI for research, idea generation, or substantive analysis. All arguments, analysis, and sources are my own.”

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Assessment rubric

The assessment rubric for this assignment is given as follows. You are strongly encouraged to review and consider this rubric before you embark on your assignment.

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Content

• There is a clear central thesis, around which the essay is structured.

• The relevant authorities and reference materials (including, but not limited to, articles, cases and statutes) are identified, properly cited, and explained. The relevance of these materials is stated.

• The writer has effectively applied the reference materials and authorities to the question, drawing analogies and making distinctions where appropriate.

• The writer shows, at every stage, how his or her arguments relate back to the central thesis.

• The writer does more than just state arguments. There is reasoned evaluation of these ideas and arguments.

• The analysis appears to be thorough; there are no gaps in the reasoning that leave the reader puzzled by the analysis.

• The essay considers counterarguments and addresses them adequately.

• On the whole, the writer displays an understanding of the question/issues, and the essay addresses the question.

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Research

• Materials cited are relevant.

• Research is thorough, .i.e. the writer has looked beyond core readings for the course for relevant material.

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Citations

• All non-original ideas have been attributed to their sources.

• Citations conform to the styles and standards prescribed by the assignment instructions.

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Organisation and readability

• On a general level, the essay is structured using a flow that adheres to logic, i.e. the essay tells a complete “story” that is easy to follow.

• The writing is persuasive, grammatically-correct, and generally advances the writer’s point of view.

• The reader does not have to read the essay/sections in the essay more than once to understand what is being said.