CMNS205 2020

Writing Assignments: The Critical Analysis

 General Instructions

Relations of power between different cultural groups play a crucial, but often obscured, role in intercultural communication. As communication scholars (Macedo and Gounari, 2006; Shome and Hegde, 2002b, cited in Sorrels, 2010, 180) argue, multiculturalism and diversity serve to obscure the centuries of historical injustice, exploitation, and asymmetrical relations of power that have conditioned today’s race, class, and gender-based inequity. Using the Globe and Mail article (attached) as an example of an intercultural communication event in Canada, you are required to write a critical analysis essay to make sense of the dynamics of power between groups and individuals in Canada. In your writing, you will need to demonstrate your ability to apply concepts and theories you have learned from our CMNS 205 to critically evaluate practical issues in Canadian society.

DUE DATE

Required Sources:

In your essay, you must use all the following sources. The first media source is available from our college library website. The second academic source is uploaded in your portal’s “course documents”. The third one is our in-class academic source available in your portal. You must search our college library website to find at least one more external academic source and cite it in your critical analysis paper.

1. Bascaramurty, D. (2020, Jun 13). How class and race are playing into COVID restrictions and access to leisure.The Globe and Mail Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.columbiacollege.bc.ca:2443/docview/2412468149?accountid=132048
2. Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2013). Chapter 3 Culture, Communication, Context, and Power. In Intercultural Communication in Contexts.
3. Sorrells, Kathryn. (2010). Re-imagining Intercultural Communication in the Context of Globalization. In Nakayama, Thomas K.; Halualani, Rona Tamiko (eds), The Handbook of Critical Intercultural Communication (pp.171-189). Wiley Blackwell.

NB: the critical analysis essay is NOT a research paper per se. It is optional for you to use more academic or media sources outside the required sources. The primary metric upon which your analysis is evaluated is your ability to thoughtfully apply the theories and concepts of CMNS205 in analyzing the real-world applications.

Grading:

You will be graded on the quality and thoroughness of your analysis. Writing skills are essential to enable you to communicate your ideas to others. Therefore, grading is also based on the clarity, flow, and overall cohesiveness of the writing in your paper. The rubric – the marks you can earn for each desirable skill demonstrated – is posted on the “course documents” in your portal.

Organization, Structure & Format:

How to structure your assignment

1. Introduction: Set up a thesis statement in which you briefly identify and summarize the point(s) you will
2. Main body: The next part should provide your analysis of the article’s argument(s). Your analysis should use concepts and theories you have learned in
3. Conclusion: Briefly draw the evaluation together in a short concluding

NOTE: Any references you cite should be identified in APA format and listed at the end of the paper. They do not count toward the word limit.

Length

• Your assignment should have words between 800-1,000 (excluding the title page and the reference list). You need to seriously limit the space you devote to summarizing and quoting the sources. I am looking for a critical analysis and your arguments. Perhaps the biggest mistake you can make is submitting a writing assignment that is largely a summary of the assigned sources.

Format

You must do the following:

• Your assignment must be typed, double – spaced and have a font size of at least 12 points in Times New
• Put the word count of your assignment in parentheses at the end. For example, “(800 words)”
• The title page should have your full name, student id number and the class information (i.e., CMNS205).
• The file you submit must be a Microsoft word document.
• Files must be named Student Id Number_CMNS205_Paper.

If you fail to follow the instructions regarding the format of your assignment, there will be deductions.

Logistics:

• Submit your paper to your portal under “writing assignment”

Penalties:

• You will receive a 10 per-centage point penalty for submitting an assignment after the deadline, and an additional 10 per-centage point penalty assessed every 24
• No extensions will be granted under any circumstance (except verified illness).
• We will deduct 2% if you fail to show the word count, exceed the word count, submit an unacceptable file format, use an improper file name, choose the wrong font,
• For each additional failure, 4% will be deducted.
• Be aware that there is no cap on the total

Academic Integrity:

Columbia College takes incidents of plagiarism very seriously and prosecutes them vigorously. Not knowing what constitutes plagiarism is not a defense.

Writing Tips:

Some essential writing tips:

• Give attention to your sentence structure and avoid sentences too long.
• Accurate punctuations and complete sentences.
• Make sure your paragraphs are self-contained and coherent: put only one main idea in each paragraph. Avoid too long (more than 1/3 of a page) or too short (one or two sentences only)
• Make your main point early on, and make sure that everything you write serves to support your main point (even your counter – arguments serve to support your main point).
• Support each argument with evidence, such as examples or other scholars’ researches and arguments.