General GuidelinesAll assignments will be marked based on four key assessment criteria: 1) Content; 2) Depth of thinking/analysis; 2) Organization and structure; 3) Polished presentation.Written components must include evidence of the following: 1) Reflexivity; 2) Comprehension of course ideas and concepts; 3) Connections between course ideas across course materials; 4) Extension of the course ideas to ideas outside of the course material (i.e. to the activity chosen for the assignment). All written components must be in double-spaced, 12-point font, and in complete sentences and paragraphs, unless otherwise specified.To be complete, your paper must meet the following specifications:• Be between 1000 and 1250 words, including your references• Present an analysis of one experiential activity described below, or some other activitythat is pre-approved by the instructor• At least one paragraph describing the experiential activity, or some other form of prepwork that is used to produce, structure, or define the experience• Apply the conceptual tool box and/or Guptil, Copelton, and Lucal’s three principles asappropriate to the chosen activity• Cite at least three of the complementary articles form the course, as well as Guptil,Copelton, and Lucal’s chapters included in the module• Be presented in a polished, well-organized manner that is free of spelling errors• Use citations to present your analysis appropriately and formatted in APA consistentlythroughout the paper• Include a References section where full bibliographic citations are listed and properlyformatted according to APA formatAlthough opinions and personal insights are valuable, you must include evidence of reasoning or rationale to illustrate how or why you arrive at any opinion or personal insight. Please be sure to not simply state your opinion (agree or disagree, like or dislike etc) about a reading, concept, or argument, but to state why you hold the opinion or view that you do, and use other readings or sources to compare, contrast, or support your opinion.Write an advocacy letter to an elected official about sustainabilityWriting a letter to those in a position to influence or write policy is one effective means of advocating for change. Letter writing can be an effective way of communicating your issue and views. You can write to a politician to say that you don’t like something, and also to let them know when you support something they do, when you feel more action is needed, or to thank them for supporting your view. This assignment option gives you the opportunity to write an advocacy letter to an elected official. In addition to writing the letter per the guidelines below, you will write a discussion and rationale in which you draw on the course readings to discuss the reasons you chose the elected official you did to receive your letter, and why you chose the issue and framing you did.Guidelines for Writing a Good Letter• Letter is neatly handwritten and signed with a printed name and signature.• Personalize the letter, don’t send generic letters.• Keep it short, definitely no longer than 2 pages.• Always close with a statement regarding their response or comments, (e.g.”I look forward toyour response.”• Keep a positive and professional tone to the letter.• Write on only one subject per letter.• Attach other relevant information, such as a key messages sheet or newspaper clippings. • Thoroughly edit your letter to correct any language, grammatical, or punctuation errors. • Include your contact information.Don’t know your representative?MunicipalThe Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities has contact information on all of Nova Scotia’s Municipal units:www.unsm.ca!Click on “Membership Directory.” Then click on “quick list! Of municipal units” for addresses and phone numbers.Provincial!You’ll find contact information for all MLAs at: www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/members/Index.htmlFederal!Contact information for all MPs both in Ottawa and in their home ridings can be found at: www.parl.gc.caClick on “Senators and Members.” Then click on “House of Commons Current.” This page has a handy “Find your MP using your postal code” feature.What to include in your letter1. Begin with who you are and why are you are concerned.2. Start with a congratulatory or positive remark.3. State the problem or issue. Be sure to note its impact on health, nutrition, food access, theenvironment, the economy, or some sector that the official receiving the letter is concernedwith.4. Discuss the importance of putting this issue on the public agenda.5. Include an example to illustrate why this issue is important to you and to the area that the policy maker represents.6. State what actions you think are needed and why.7. Indicate that you look forward to hearing back from them about this issue.General Marking GuidelinesPlease note that not all of the criteria described below will relate to every assignment or piece of work. A range of criteria have been included below to give students a sense of the features that may be evaluated in an assignment and the quality of work required for each grand range. The exact grade step achieved within any grade range will be determined by the number and mix of criteria that a student meets across the various grade ranges (i.e. some aspects of a piece of work may fall within the A range and B range; this may earn an A-).A range work:The submitted piece of work meets all guidelines of the assignment (i.e. page length, spacing, number of references, referencing style etc).The thesis statement, if required, has a thoughtful, creative argument and is clear and precise; it is a complete sentence and contains an identifiable “what,” “how,” and “so what”Thesis is very well-supported by supporting arguments that develop the main thesis in a logical way throughout the paper. The thesis (or main argument) doesn’t rely on opinion, bias, or prejudice, but instead takes into consideration a range of evidenceThe mapping statement follows the thesis statement and provides a concise and effective road map to the supporting arguments that will be used throughout the paper to develop the thesis statementArguments are well-developed, relevant, and sophisticated. They show evidence of analyzing and interpreting the material using appropriate course concepts rather than observing and describing. They demonstrate insightful and/or original interpretation of the course concept(s) as it(they) relate to the material and the topic. The essay contains only necessary recall of important events or details from the reference material and does little summarizingInformation is taken from source(s) with enough interpretation/evaluation to develop a comprehensive analysis or synthesis. Viewpoints of experts are questioned thoroughlyConnection is made between course concepts and the students’ prior learning, other life experiences, and future goals. The connections made are eloquent and insightful; and there is clear evidence of the student applying the course material to make sense of, gain deeper insight into, or critically think about prior learning or experiencesKnowledge of course and reference material is intimate and evident (e.g., no factual errors, attention to detail, understands the timeline of the story, and maybe even remarks on the significance of this temporality)Knowledge of the course concept(s) used is intimate and evident. The course concepts are used to interpret and make sense of the events and themes of the reference material in a meaningful way.Concluding paragraph ties up any loose ends, leaves the reader with a clear sense of the “so what” of the essayMasterful use of formal academic language. Choice and placement of words seems accurate and natural, not forced: clear, simple prose rather than pompous, grandiloquent diction (Hint: beware the thesaurus!); no colloquialisms, slang, or contractionsSentences are well-constructed with varied length and structureParagraphs are tight, well-structured, logical: they develop one point, have a clear and argumentative topic sentence, are approx. 5-10 sentences long, and their relation to the thesis is evidentNo errors of grammar, punctuation and/or spelling. Polished presentation. (Hint: proofread, proofread, proofread, ideally out loud)Quotations are exceptionally well-used: they are relevant to the argument they are supposed to be supporting, are integrated well into the prose (i.e., they don’t interrupt flow of text), and are introduced and analyzed adequatelyReferenced according to APA (or other according to assignment guidelines) requirements, including proper in-text citationsB range work:The submitted piece of work meets most guidelines of the assignment (i.e. page length, spacing, number of references, referencing style etc).The piece of work addresses the main point of the assignment fairly well. The piece of work demonstrates an understanding of the course concepts but these may not be used to interpret the topic or questions of the assignment quite as elegantly or as deeply. The course concepts used are appropriate to the topic or question and are used in a way that elucidate the events, themes, and main ideas.Introductory paragraph is appropriate (i.e., it effectively introduces the topic to be covered in the piece of work)Thesis statement is clear, argumentative, states the topic, and is a complete sentence. It may contain a strong and interesting “what” and “how” without a strong “so what”Thesis is reasonably well-supported by accurate evidence from the course or reference materialThe mapping statement follows the thesis statement and provides a fairly accurate, although perhaps overly lengthy or cumbersome description of the supporting arguments that will be used throughout the paper to develop the thesis statementArguments are clear, convincing, logically organized. They show evidence of analyzing the course or reference material using appropriate course concepts rather than observing and describing, though the arguments are not as complex, insightful, or original as an A-range paper.Information is taken from source(s) with enough interpretation/evaluation to develop a coherent analysis or synthesis. Viewpoints of experts are subject to questioning.Knowledge of course or reference material is obvious: no errors, but perhaps some relevant details are omitted or glossed over or the scope of evidence, including the nuances of the relationships, events, or themesKnowledge of the course concept(s) used is intimate and evident. The course concepts are used to interpret and make sense of the topic or themes of the assignment in a meaningful way. There is more to the use of the course concepts in the paper than a simple mention of the course conceptConnection is made between course concepts and the students’ prior learning, other life experiences, and future goals. The connections made are interesting, but not as eloquent or insightful as an A range piece of work. Connections made are appropriate but are not used to illuminate or dig deeper as in an A range paper.Student reflects on own biases and positions and uses course material to illuminate change ways of thinking or understanding. Student does not attempt to or poorly explains how and why they arrived at news modes of thinking.Concluding paragraph explains how the essay developed, recaps the argument rather than making its relevance obvious to the readerA variety of vocabulary is used appropriately. The choice and placement of words may be inaccurate at times and/or seems overdone (e.g., overuse of thesaurus, word choice problems). Language contains very few colloquialisms, slang, contractionsMost sentences are well constructed and have varied structure and lengthParagraphs are mostly logical, with appropriate transitions. May rely too much on disparate points that all relate to the thesis, but that don’t develop over the course of the paper (i.e., 2 or 3 separate points that are all interchangeable rather than additive). Might lack a topic sentence but still have cohesion. May be too longThere are a few errors in grammar, punctuation and/or spelling but they do not interfere with understandingQuotes are well-used: they are analyzed and relevant to argument, but perhaps not elegantly integrated into the textReferenced according to APA (or other style as per assignment guidelines) requirements (including in-text citations) with minor errorsC range work:The submitted piece of work meets few guidelines of the assignment (i.e. page length, spacing, number of references, referencing style etc).The piece of work demonstrates some understanding of the course concept(s), but little insight or application.Introductory statement or paragraph is broad and general, or hyperbolic, or relies on assumptions that are not elaborated in the paperThesis statement is provided but is unclear, vague, a truism, or merely description or opinion rather than argumentThesis is not particularly well-supported by the evidence from the course or reference material: there may be unsubstantiated claims, irrelevant examples, or omission of evidence that contradicts thesisThere is no mapping statement, the mapping statement is overly long as to be unwieldy, or there is not discernment between the main argument presented by the thesis and the mapping statement.Arguments state the obvious (summarize) or are somewhat flawed: too much opinion or description rather than interpretation or analysis; don’t support/not linked to thesis; don’t fit together to build a coherent argument; repetition rather than development of ideasInformation is taken from source(s) with some interpretation/evaluation, but not enough to develop a coherent analysis or synthesis. Viewpoints of experts are taken as mostly fact, with little questioning.Knowledge of course or reference material is unclear or doubtful at times: some minor factual errors; unable to accurately name concepts/facts; minor confusion about chronologyKnowledge of course concepts(s) is questionable. The course concepts are simply referred to without being applied in a way that makes sense of or interprets main themes, arguments, or events in the piece of workStudent makes little or weak attempt to reflect on own biases and positionsConnection is made between course concepts and the students’ prior learning, other life experiences, and future goals but the connection is left as self-evident and not explained as to the significance of the connectionConcluding paragraph simply restates essay topic and summarizes main points.Inaccurate or confused word choice and sentence structure makes it difficult to decipher ideas (i.e. clichés may be used to articulate key ideas, overuse of thesaurus has made ideas markedly unclear and vague)Most sentences are well-constructed but have a similar structure and/or length. The choice and placement of words is confused at timesFrequent errors in grammar, punctuation and/or spelling interfere with understandingParagraphs do not always flow well; no transitions to the next paragraph; usually lacks topic sentence; paragraphing doesn’t organize ideas in a clear way (i.e., one idea is not elaborated per paragraph); may be too long or too shortQuotations are sometimes not introduced, may be poorly chosen (not relevant to thesis), may be poorly placed and integrated in paragraph (sometimes will appear as first or last sentence of paragraph), not always analyzedSome referencing and in-text citations conform to APA (or other style as per assignment guidelines) requirements.D range work:The ideas or argument in the essay vaguely resembles the assignment guidelines. The essay demonstrates little understanding of the course concept(s) with little to no application to the themes or ideas in the piece of workIntroduction lacks basic elements and/or includes sweeping generalizationsThesis statement is lacking, confusing, or difficult to identifyThere is no mapping statementRecounts concepts, ideas, or arguments from course or reference material without using these as evidence that can support an argument. The majority of the paper is summary of course or reference material, course readings, or lectures.Arguments are flawed: irrelevant to thesis; may contradict evidence; rely almost entirely on opinion or prejudiceInformation is taken from source(s) without any interpretation/evaluation. Viewpoints of experts are taken as fact, without question.Knowledge of the course concepts is doubtful: factual errors; unable to accurately name key ideas; confusion about chronologyKnowledge of course concepts(s) is absent. The course concepts are simply described, but are not referred to using terminology used in class or in the readings and are not used to interprets main themes, argumentsNo connection of course material to learning or experiences outside of the course.No evidence of reflexive thinkingConclusion is unrelated to the rest of the paper or introduces new ideasWord choice is exceedingly poor. Jargon, clichés, and overuse of thesaurus detracts from the meaning. Marked overuse of the thesaurus.Sentences are mostly awkward, distractingly repetitive or difficult to understandNumerous errors in grammar, punctuation and/or spelling that interfere with understandingParagraphs are jumbled with multiple ideas and no clear flowNo, inappropriate, or excessive use of quotations without adequate explanation or contextualizationPoorly referenced and/or incorrect use of in-text citationAn “F” essayNo useful introductionNo or completely garbled thesis statementEvidence irrelevant or lackingNo or inappropriate quotationsArguments are incoherentKnowledge of book lackingNo conclusionVocabulary is limited and inappropriateMany sentences are incomplete or meaninglessParagraphs have no organization or flowFrequent errors in grammar, punctuation and/or spelling that interfere with understandingIncorrect referencing and in-text citations
