Description/Paper Instructions
The purpose of the paper is for you to analyze a concrete, on-the-ground event or process in the Greater Toronto Area, related to hyper diversity, inequity, social identity, and/or conflicts over public space.
To begin, read the introduction of the book, Subdivided: City-Building in an Age of Hyper-Diversity (2016) edited by Jay Pitter and John Lorinc. This book is available online through the University of Toronto Library. Next, choose one of the core chapters that is of interest to you. Each chapter addresses a different issue relevant to social geographies, with case studies drawn from the Greater Toronto Area.
Topics intersecting with hyper diversity, inequity, social identity, and conflicts over public space include:
Mental Health
Policing
Social Housing
Public Transit
Gentrification
Religious Communities and Racism
Immigrant Settlement
Education
While reading the chapter, think about which topics you would like to learn more about. This will be the focus for your research essay. After reading a chapter, conduct further research on both the broader social issues raised, and their specific contemporary implications in the Greater Toronto Area. It is strongly recommended that you locate, read, and cite non-academic news sources to validate any observations or claims you make (3 – 5 news articles is appropriate, the book chapter can also be included). You are also required to locate, read, and cite two academic sources in order to analyze your chosen topic. One may be from the course readings, but you are required to use at least one additional academic reading.
Where appropriate, you may use a personal writing style, using first person narrative ( i.e. “I”), but please retain a formal academic tone overall in your paper. Your assignment must be double-spaced, typed in 12-point font with 1-inch margins. Significantly exceeding the word limits will trigger penalty reductions in marks. The first page of your assignment should have your name, student number, course title and number, and the assignment title. Direct quotations and statistics must be immediately followed by an in-text citation of the source, paragraphs containing ideas from other sources should have the citation at the end of the relevant sentence or paragraph. Please follow the essay structure below, and include the subheadings in your paper.
Essay Structure (Total: 2000 words)
1. Introduction: Present a unifying thesis statement which brings together your key arguments. Outline your key arguments.
2. Framing the Issue: In this section your basic terms and concepts will be defined and the major relevant issues/debates identified. This section will generally draw on more academic sources including course readings on the chosen topic, and perhaps the book chapter.
3. Case Study: This section will take the broader issues introduced in the previous section, and apply them to the contemporary context of the Greater Toronto Area. You will likely use more non-academic journalistic sources and the book chapter here.
4. Conclusion: Provide a brief summary of the focus of the assignment, your thesis statement and a reiteration of the key arguments.
5. Bibliography
Rubric:
Clear thesis, supported by arguments and evidence; is it effective? (5 marks)
Use of geographical theory and discussion of broader context to frame the issue and provide an analysis (5 marks)
Evidence of research to support key arguments and thesis (relevant sources, use of citations to substantiate information and claims) (5 marks)
Spelling, grammar, clarity of writing, proper bibliography (5 marks)
Total: 20 marks
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RUBRIC
QUALITY OF RESPONSE |
NO RESPONSE |
POOR / UNSATISFACTORY |
SATISFACTORY |
GOOD |
EXCELLENT |
Content (worth a maximum of 50% of the total points) |
Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. |
20 points out of 50: The essay illustrates poor understanding of the relevant material by failing to address or incorrectly addressing the relevant content; failing to identify or inaccurately explaining/defining key concepts/ideas; ignoring or incorrectly explaining key points/claims and the reasoning behind them; and/or incorrectly or inappropriately using terminology; and elements of the response are lacking. |
30 points out of 50: The essay illustrates a rudimentary understanding of the relevant material by mentioning but not full explaining the relevant content; identifying some of the key concepts/ideas though failing to fully or accurately explain many of them; using terminology, though sometimes inaccurately or inappropriately; and/or incorporating some key claims/points but failing to explain the reasoning behind them or doing so inaccurately. Elements of the required response may also be lacking. |
40 points out of 50: The essay illustrates solid understanding of the relevant material by correctly addressing most of the relevant content; identifying and explaining most of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology; explaining the reasoning behind most of the key points/claims; and/or where necessary or useful, substantiating some points with accurate examples. The answer is complete. |
50 points: The essay illustrates exemplary understanding of the relevant material by thoroughly and correctly addressing the relevant content; identifying and explaining all of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology explaining the reasoning behind key points/claims and substantiating, as necessary/useful, points with several accurate and illuminating examples. No aspects of the required answer are missing. |
Use of Sources (worth a maximum of 20% of the total points). |
Zero points: Student failed to include citations and/or references. Or the student failed to submit a final paper. |
5 out 20 points: Sources are seldom cited to support statements and/or format of citations are not recognizable as APA 6th Edition format. There are major errors in the formation of the references and citations. And/or there is a major reliance on highly questionable. The Student fails to provide an adequate synthesis of research collected for the paper. |
10 out 20 points: References to scholarly sources are occasionally given; many statements seem unsubstantiated. Frequent errors in APA 6th Edition format, leaving the reader confused about the source of the information. There are significant errors of the formation in the references and citations. And/or there is a significant use of highly questionable sources. |
15 out 20 points: Credible Scholarly sources are used effectively support claims and are, for the most part, clear and fairly represented. APA 6th Edition is used with only a few minor errors. There are minor errors in reference and/or citations. And/or there is some use of questionable sources. |
20 points: Credible scholarly sources are used to give compelling evidence to support claims and are clearly and fairly represented. APA 6th Edition format is used accurately and consistently. The student uses above the maximum required references in the development of the assignment. |
Grammar (worth maximum of 20% of total points) |
Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. |
5 points out of 20: The paper does not communicate ideas/points clearly due to inappropriate use of terminology and vague language; thoughts and sentences are disjointed or incomprehensible; organization lacking; and/or numerous grammatical, spelling/punctuation errors |
10 points out 20: The paper is often unclear and difficult to follow due to some inappropriate terminology and/or vague language; ideas may be fragmented, wandering and/or repetitive; poor organization; and/or some grammatical, spelling, punctuation errors |
15 points out of 20: The paper is mostly clear as a result of appropriate use of terminology and minimal vagueness; no tangents and no repetition; fairly good organization; almost perfect grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word usage. |
20 points: The paper is clear, concise, and a pleasure to read as a result of appropriate and precise use of terminology; total coherence of thoughts and presentation and logical organization; and the essay is error free. |
Structure of the Paper (worth 10% of total points) |
Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. |
3 points out of 10: Student needs to develop better formatting skills. The paper omits significant structural elements required for and APA 6th edition paper. Formatting of the paper has major flaws. The paper does not conform to APA 6th edition requirements whatsoever. |
5 points out of 10: Appearance of final paper demonstrates the student’s limited ability to format the paper. There are significant errors in formatting and/or the total omission of major components of an APA 6th edition paper. The can include the omission of the cover page, abstract, and page numbers. Additionally the page has major formatting issues with spacing or paragraph formation. Font size might not conform to size requirements. The student also significantly writes too large or too short of and paper |
7 points out of 10: Research paper presents an above-average use of formatting skills. The paper has slight errors within the paper. This can include small errors or omissions with the cover page, abstract, page number, and headers. There could be also slight formatting issues with the document spacing or the font Additionally the paper might slightly exceed or undershoot the specific number of required written pages for the assignment. |
10 points: Student provides a high-caliber, formatted paper. This includes an APA 6th edition cover page, abstract, page number, headers and is double spaced in 12’ Times Roman Font. Additionally the paper conforms to the specific number of required written pages and neither goes over or under the specified length of the paper. |
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