WOOD 461

a.

First Essay Assignment & Grading Rubrics

2015

Globalization / Sustainability paper (due Feb 15 at noon)

Each year several students do very poorly because they do NOT read the details of the full assignment, please do
not become one of those students.
The Situation
You are a consultant hired to present both sides of an issue to a government department to help them develop policy on
this issue. They are looking for an unbiased presentation of both sides of a current issue. You will submit an essay that
provides a balanced assessment of an important issue related to globalization and/or sustainability. Each side of the issue
MUST be supported using data from reliable sources and it is only in the Discussion Section that you can logically
explain why one side or the other deserves policy support. You can make evaluate which perspective has the better
argument but be sure to be able to defend your choice.
Details
Students may select their own topic on a theme of globalization and/or sustainability with the approval of the instructor.
Submit your request through the class Connect web site by the due date with a 10% per day penalty for late submissions.
1) Minimum of 2,000 words and maximum of 3,000 words (I stop reading at 3,000 words).
2) Presentation is professional and follows academically acceptable standards and use either APA or MLA styles for
citations and references (http://learningcommons.ubc.ca/what-we-offer/citing-sources/).
3) Submit as an electronic copy in MS Word for a Windows based PC or as a PDF.
4) Please title the file you send me LastName.FirstName first essay
5) Submit through the class web site by noon on February 15th.
Sample Headings
Every year some students are curious about how to organize their essay. A simple and effective structure includes an
Executive Summary, a short introduction to the topic, a short background describing the issue (well referenced),
arguments on one side of the issue, arguments on the other side of the issue and a discussion section. Each section would
fall under a heading with the use of sub-headings if appropriate.
For example if the ``The benefits and liabilities of the oil/tar sands development to Canada`` is the topic then the
Introduction would describe the tar/oil sands and how your essay will address the issue. The short background would
describe their development to date and projections into the future. One side would argue that the negative social,
environmental and economic consequences of tar sands development indicate that no further expansion is the best route
forward. The other side would argue that the continued development would create positive social, environmental and
economic consequences d. Your discussion would use logical arguments to support one side or the other or a mix of the
two. Your discussion would use logic to explain why you support this option. You need to use well-sourced, factual
information to support all you arguments and not well entrenched opinions of any side.
Turnitin
Please see syllabus for information on the use of turnitin
Submissions
Submit through the class Connect website.
Late submissions will lose 10% of the grade for each day late and will not be accepted if more than three days late. If
there is a need to be late, you MUST contact the instructor at least a week prior to the due date.
If you have any questions about these guidelines please contact the instructor.

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WOOD 461

First Essay Assignment & Grading Rubrics

2015

The Grading Rubric

10% of
grade

Use of well
substantiated
information from
reliable sources

30% of
grade

30% of
grade

There is a balance
between each side of the
issue: Each argument is
presented logically
using factual
information from
unbiased sources.

There is clear evidence

of critical thinking

10% of
grade

Professionalism

10% of
grade

There is good structure

and flow in the essay

10% of
grade

Grammar, sentence
structure and spelling

all information is properly cited and referenced from reliable sources

opinion pieces, whether by industry or NGOs, are often not reliable sources
of information due to the rapid growth of advocacy research
Use APA or MLA styles http://learningcommons.ubc.ca/what-weoffer/citing-sources/ http://learningcommons.ubc.ca/resource-guides/citesources/
Grading Range: from all information is cited and sources from reliable
sources (90-100%) to lack of citations and use of unreliable sources (0-30%)
Grading Range: from very well balanced and persuasive arguments on each
side of the issue that are supported by logical arguments using reliable
information (90-100%) to lack of balance with clear favouratism for one side
of the argument and many points presented illogically and/or without the
support of factual information (0-30%)
Content illustrates a clear understanding of the topic providing
Blogs, industry associations, and strongly committed ENGOs rarely provide
unbiased information.
This is NOT an academic lit review but a consultants report.
This can include identifying information gaps and unanswered questions, use
of analysis based on logical arguments, identification of weak information
sources or illogical supporting arguments used in the literature
Demonstration of original analysis based on logical arguments using well
referenced data from reliable sources and not just the repetition of other`s
arguments
More information on critical thinking can be found at
http://learningcommons.ubc.ca/critical-thinking/
Grading Range: from clear evidence of critical thinking and independent
thought (90-100%) to no original thought and/or evidence of critical thinking
(0-30%)
The overall appearance of the essay (cover page, use of headers and footers,
etc.) is professionally prepared suitable for distribution to the target audience
with no revisions.
Tables, figures, photos are easy to read
The essay is visually pleasing with clear and concise headings and a simple
yet effective appearance
The essay is well organized and flows effortlessly from section to section
Each paragraph covers only one topic and is linked to the previous and
following paragraphs
Each section is briefly introduced and has a short summary or concluding
paragraph linking it to the next section.
Ranges from no spelling, grammatical or structural errors (80-100% to
requiring a major rewrite to correct language, grammatical or structural
errors (0-10%)

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