ESSAY:
STEP 1: CHOOSING A RESEARCH TOPIC
Think about a research topic that interests you. Write down why this is an important issue (why is this research important to society at large, and to you personally). Then ask yourself what is the main research question that you want to investigate. Consider how your topic is geographical in nature and allows you to understand the role culture plays in shaping peoples identity.
Any topic of interest related to geography and culture:
Examples:
1.Food culinary traditions in a specific region or country
2.How Sports are part of a culture that affect significantly culture in a particular country
3.Gender issues affecting cultural representation in some countries
4. How religion is part of some cultures and that effect significantly culture in a particular county
5. Disability issues affecting cultural representations
The paper should be based on at least 6 scholarly articles, peer-reviewed Academic, scholarly material and the rest of the sources does not have to be all peer-reviewed but the more peer-reviewed the better
STEP 2: FIND RELEVANT ARTICLES
A prerequisite for conducting library search is developing a set of keywords. For instance, if you want to get articles on remittances to Bangladesh, you should probably use keywords such as remittance, Bangladesh, migration, and development. Input your keywords into electronic resources and specific bibliographic databases. If you prefer, there are expert librarians at the Ryerson library who would be glad to provide guidance and advice. You may find a wealth of information in the peer-reviewed journals listed below (this list is by no means exhaustive):
Journals
ACME
Annals of the Association of American Geographers The Canadian Geographer
Environment and Planning A & D
Antipode
Area
Progress in Human Geography
Canadian Ethnic Studies
Canadian Journal of Disability Studies
Critical Ethnic Studies
Journal of Cultural Geography
Social and Cultural Geography
Gender, Place, and Culture
Geoforum
Cultural Geography
Page 3 of 8 Course Outline CError! Reference source not found. Error! Reference source not found.
ESSAY
The essay is around 2000 words (max 2100 – min 1900, bibliography, notes, headings, tables, and title page included) and must be double-spaced. Turnitin counts every single word in the submission and I will use that counting to assess whether the word count has been met. ANY ASSIGNMENT THAT DOES NOT RESPECT THE WORD LIMIT WILL INCUR A 20% DEDUCTION (this includes all assignments with a word count above or below the limit). Use 12-size font.
IMPORTANT:
Objective: Throughout a critical analysis, you are expected to demonstrate an understanding of course content. You are also required to show an active engagement with the subject and be able to formulate an original perspective on it.
Evaluation: The essay requires the student to carry out an analysis of the subject, and make and justify an evaluative, comparative or explicatory judgement. The essay will be evaluated based on clarity of organization, logic, syntax, and grammar of student writing.
Follow an essay format and make sure your paper includes an introduction (clearly indicating topic and how you plan to structure your paper), a proper body, and a conclusion (reviewing and summarizing the arguments and evidence presented in the body).
When you quote or paraphrase other scholars, you MUST provide in-text references and a full list of work cited at the end.
You are required to use at least 6 peer-reviewed journals articles (books chapters, commentaries, book reviews etc. will not be accepted) outside class readings.
Limit the number of quotations as this is expected to be an original student paper rather than a mosaic of quotes; paraphrasing is often a better option than quoting.
Grammar and Style:
Before submitting your work, please make sure that you have conducted a spell and grammar check in word, and strictly followed the word limits. In order to write a good assignment, it is not enough to follow the instruction and have thoughtful arguments, you also need to present the material in a clear and organized fashion. Submissions must be made on D2L by the end of the day indicated in the course outline.
While writing your assignments, keep in mind the following:
All sources must be cited appropriately following MLA, APA or Chicago style (choose the one you are
most familiar with);
Make sure your argument unfolds in a logical, coherent fashion, and that the discussion emphasizes
analysis over description, remains focused, and avoids irrelevancies and repetitions;
Quotations must be introduced, contextualized, and explained adequately;
Your goal should be to write an essay that is well structured and a pleasure to read: avoid one-sentence
or one-page paragraphs;
Very important: make sure all sentences are complete; discussion uses formal language (no jargon or
slang); no contractions or abbreviations; paper has been proofread and avoids typos, errors and punctuation problems; title page is included; pages are numbered.
