Why MLA723 Feels So Challenging for Students
MLA723 is a sustainability module that turns something most people never think twice about, their daily diet, into a detailed research project. Instead of writing about a case study or analysing existing literature alone, students become the subject of the research. Over four weeks, they must record everything they eat and drink, create their own sustainability scoring framework, evaluate each food item against multiple criteria, and then use the findings to assess how their eating habits align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The assignment combines data collection, sustainability theory, critical analysis, and self-reflection in a way that many students have never encountered before.
The biggest challenge is that there is no ready-made dataset to work with. Students have to generate, organise, score, analyse, and interpret their own information before they can even start writing the report. Many discover that collecting the data is only the beginning. The real difficulty comes when trying to justify scoring decisions, identify meaningful patterns, connect findings to sustainability frameworks, and propose realistic improvements backed by evidence. It is essentially a research project, sustainability audit, and reflective report rolled into one assignment.
Where Students Commonly Get Stuck
- Keeping a consistent food journal for the full four weeks
- Creating a scoring system that feels objective and defensible
- Understanding environmental, social, economic, and personal sustainability impacts
- Managing large amounts of food data in spreadsheets
- Turning raw data into meaningful findings and trends
- Linking dietary habits to specific SDGs
- Identifying the weakest-performing areas of their diet
- Finding real-world sustainability initiatives to support recommendations
- Writing critically rather than simply describing what they ate