Assignment 1: Critiquing a Canadian Health Article
Assignment 1 is worth 20% of your final grade. It must be submitted after you have completed Unit 6. This assignment is designed to help you critically evaluate health articles that appear in the popular media and to identify appropriate Canadian data and research sources.
Select a health article of at least 500 words from a popular Canadian newspaper (e.g., Globe and Mail, National Post), magazine (e.g., Chatelaine, Macleans, Canadian Living), or Internet source (e.g., health-related companies). The article should be one that is intended for the general public with a publication date within the past 5 years of today’s date and focus on Canadian content. The article must relate to one of the health issues covered in Units 1–6. For example, you might select an article about a program to improve wellness, or one that discusses sexuality, pregnancy and childbirth, nutrition, active living, or weight.
Try to find an article that you are able to critique. For example, articles found on government websites may be difficult to assess for accuracy or gaps in information. Do not use articles from scientific journals or issued by the government for this assignment. Choose your article carefully; assignments that are based on articles that do not meet the criteria outlined here may be returned unmarked.
Note: You must attach or include a copy of the article with your assignment.
Research the health issue discussed in your selected article to develop some expertise in this area. Review Hales and Lauzon (2015) and course materials (Foster & Davison, 2015) as well as other resources (e.g., government reports, scientific journal articles) beyond these course materials. Some areas to examine include descriptions of the issue, recent trends, people most commonly affected by the issue, and how the issue impacts the Canadian health and/or social systems.
Prepare a 1,500- to 2,000-word (double-spaced, 12 point font, 1 inch margins) essay written as a critique that addresses the following criteria:
discussing the health implications of the issue and explaining why it is of concern in Canada.
relating the article to the information presented in the course materials (e.g., Hales and Lauzon (2015) and online Study Guide) and describing how it fits within the context of this course. Comparisons made to the course materials should include where there are consistencies and differences in information.
highlighting the strengths and limitations of the article.
determining whether or not the article contains a particular bias or position. Consider how the facts were presented, the conclusions made, , and if the author’s interpretations are consistent with other viewpoints. Also assess whether the article appears to have:
contradictions and inconsistencies.
an agenda or interests served by a article.
certain facts; but ignores or misrepresents others.
implications ignored and or emphasized.
identifying and discussing further information or research that might be needed to better understand and address this health issue.
providing overall opinions about the article as an information piece (consider the article’s clarity, accuracy, relevance, depth, breadth, and significance) for the intended audience.
Note that critiques that are significantly longer or shorter than the criteria provided for the assignment will have marks deducted. The essay should be written in the first or third person and must contain at least two (2) references to reliable sources (e.g., scientific journal articles, government reports) in addition to Hales and Lauzon (2015) or online course materials. On your cover page include the assignment title, your name and student number, the course number, your tutor’s name, the submission date, and the copyright date of this course (2015).
Assignment 1 will be graded as follows:
10 marks 1. Selection of an appropriate article
2. Critique (55 marks)
10 marks i. Health implications of the issue (e.g., rates of disease, contributing causes, costs)
10 marks ii. Relation of article to course (e.g., Hales and Lauzon (2015), online course materials)
10 marks iii. Strengths and limitations of the article (e.g., accuracy, ease of understanding, overall impressions)
10 marks iv. Discussion of bias
5 marks v. Information and research needs
10 marks vii. Overall opinion about topic of article and recommendations
15 marks 3. References (e.g., quality, proper in-text citations, proper referencing format used)
20 marks 4. Overall presentation: collection of information, organization, documentation, quality of expression, and style
Note: You must reference all ideas that are not your own (i.e., from Hales and Lauzon (2015), your readings, or other research sources), even if you are just paraphrasing them. Resources for citing and referencing can be accessed through the course website. In addition, it is not appropriate to submit an assignment that has been submitted (in whole or as substantial portions) that has satisfied the requirements for another course. This is considered self plagiarism and is a serious offence. Essays that are improperly referenced may receive a failing grade or may be returned unmarked. (See the online Student Manual for more information on plagiarism and academic misconduct.)
