Assessment Task 2: Reflective Essay

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Assessment Task 2: Reflective Essay

As you prepare to submit your essay, here are some things to please consider:

· Make sure that you have responded directly to the essay task. This may seem obvious, but it’s very easy to get caught up in your own discussion and to forget to make clear, strong connections back to the essay task. You are being asked to either talk about your transformed understanding of literacy as a result of this subject or identify and analyse a specific literacy issue. Present a clear, succinct argument about this in your introduction and keep returning to this overall argument throughout your essay. Also check that you have attended to each of the criteria on the Assignment 2 page in Canvas.

· If you choose to write about transformed perception of literacy as an overall topic, make sure that you focus on the main question “how do you see yourself as locally and globally literate” after you took this subject. You can analyse this through the lens of different topics we had in the course and through pandemic lens, but please make sure that it is not written in a fragmented way (i.e.: do not write about each lecture topic separately), we need integration of ideas in your argument and a holistic analysis.

· If you choose to write about one topic/literacy issue, make sure your essay and argument embraces other topics in the course as well, for example if you choose to write about Academic Literacy, clearly the main attention will be given to what is the literacy issue in the specific/local academic context you are arguing, but also you need to show how your understanding of other topics for example transnational/translingual or policy aspects impact that academic literacy issue. In other words, the reader must realise that you have been in the whole subject, and not just in one lecture. Also you can choose to write about other topics such as emotional literacy, health literacy, information literacy etc as far as you can analyse them with the lens of subject topics and ideas.

· Local/global are not two separate things: please keep in mind that whatever topic/literacy issue you chose to write about should resonate that local/global aspect. These are not two separate things, remember the term glocal, any matter you identify as a local issue (e.g in secondary school in China) has implications for global context. So thin holistically even if your full essay is about one small village r town and its literacy issues.

· There is no limit to reference list: Please note that at Master level, there is no limit to refence list, however it does not mean that the more, the better! You need to use references meaningfully and appropriately. You need to ring a relevant reference ONLY if it really adds to the strength of your work, and it supports your argument. And make sure you reference correctly. We expect minimum 15 references for your final essay.

· Check that you have clearly ‘signposted’ your logical progression through your argument via topic sentences, linking sentences (between paragraphs and sections) and semantic markers. Remember that it is YOUR voice that should dominate throughout your essay. Consistently reminding the reader why you are making a particular point in relation to your overall argument will ensure that your voice is coming through consistently and will add unity and coherence to your discussion.

· Check that you have engaged appropriately with the literature that you cite. This means that you should sometimes take time to be explicit about the connection(s) between the ideas/arguments of the author(s) that you are citing and your own points/arguments. When you simply add a citation at the end of one of your own sentences it is often not clear how the cited author supports what you are saying. It is your job to make this clear to the reader. Please consult Academic Skills links in Canvas to show you good examples.

· Avoid including too many section headings. In a discursive essay, you should really be relying on prose to develop a logical structure to your discussion and to move it forward, rather than relying on headings and sub-headings to do this work. If you feel strongly that your essay needs headings, make sure that they are phrased such that they help to make the overall structure of your argument clearer to your reader.

· Check the size of your paragraphs. A paragraph should rarely, if ever, be formed by a single sentence. Even a two-sentence paragraph is probably too short. Explain and elaborate on your points to make full paragraphs, and/or link shorter paragraphs together. You should also avoid making your paragraphs too long, with too many different points in them. If any of your paragraphs are approaching or exceeding a page, you should check to see where you could insert a paragraph break and separate out your main points into shorter paragraphs.

· Stay close to the word count. While you are allowed +/- 10% as a 'buffer' in the word limit for any assignment, if a student's essay is under the word limit then markers often pay extra attention to whether or not they have fully elaborated on all their ideas and arguments, and thoroughly explained and justified all their points. If they haven't done this, it means they could have written more to reach the word limit, so then they will lose marks for that. Similarly, if they are well over the word limit, markers will be looking to see where they could have been more succinct. Your essay will be much stronger if you check these things yourself before you submit.

· Keep your similarity score well below 20%. This is mainly about how you integrate and include the words and ideas of others. Your own words, your own ideas, your own voice should clearly dominate throughout your paper. Also, double (and triple!) check your reference list to make sure that there are corresponding citations in your essay for every reference you include in your final list, and that your citations and reference list conform with the APA style guide. Please consult academic integrity if you have not been already consulted.

· Proofread, proofread, proofread! *Please* make sure that you proofread your writing carefully before you submit it. Spelling mistakes, typos, punctuation errors and simple grammatical errors such as with pluralisation - all of these can be easily fixed if you take a break from your writing after you finish it, then come back to it and read it through carefully with fresh eyes, looking for these kinds of mistakes. Or, if possible, ask someone else to read through it and comment on the clarity. It will make a big difference to the fluency and smoothness of your discussion and argumentation if you do this!

· Attend to formatting. Please use a consistent, professional font, 12pt size, 1.5 line spacing, with a 12pt space inserted between paragraphs (just add ‘12pt after’ in ‘paragraph settings’). Please also include page numbers at the bottom of each page and a header with your name and the assignment number (i.e., Assignment 2) in a header that appears on each page. There is no need for a title page.

I hope that you do carefully consider these final suggestions before you submit your essay. Checking and attending to the above things will make your essay much stronger, easier to read, and more likely to achieve a higher grade (though this last thing is the least important of those three, in our view!).

Best of luck with your final essay. We look forward to reading your essays and hearing your thoughts on the local and global issues related to literacy and literacy education that matter most in the current era.