I’m working on a policy exercise and need a reference to help me learn.
Brief description: Identify and analyze an example of course concept within a piece of pop culture
Learning objective: Students will identify and analyze connections between course material and ideas found in popular non-academic references.
Grading details: Assignments are graded either “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory” (marked as “complete” or “incomplete” in the gradebook). Partial credit is not available. A satisfactory grade is worth 5% of the final course grade. To be satisfactory, this assignment needs to meet the standards listed below.
Grading standards:
Content — The first paragraph of the submission describes what is happening in the pop culture reference. The second paragraph accurately explains how the pop culture example is connected to important ideas in the course. As part of the discussion, the write-up refers to the specific readings associated with the highlighted concept and evaluates the pop culture example in light of course learning. (What is useful/accurate about this portrayal? Is there anything misleading/inaccurate?). Submission includes a link so that I can see the example of course concept on display in the pop culture reference.
Subject — A specific piece of pop culture. Some examples might include TV or movie scenes, song lyrics, internet memes, political cartoons, advertising campaigns, SNL or comedic sketches, pop art, etc.
Style — Writing uses correct spelling, good grammar, and proper punctuation. Submissions is formatted into paragraphs rather than one big block.
Length — Two paragraphs (roughly 200-250 words)
Authenticity — Submissions are students’ own work, using their own words. Copying and pasting sentences or snippets from the article (or anyone else’s work) and using it as your own is plagiarism and is unsatisfactory.
Other info:
Please do not submit a link to a Google doc (it is unviewable in the Canvas grading system). Instead, please enter the text into the Canvas-provided text box.
Pick something concrete. You will do a better job discussing a specific movie scene or a particular image than if you try to refer to an movie or a general stereotype.
Within minutes after submission, students can get feedback on grammar, spelling, and language usage from TurnitIn’s ETS e-rater software. This report will also flag any phrases that match documents in TurnitIn’s database. To find the report, click on the submitted assignment >> “Submission Details” on the right panel >> the colored square in the text box’s upper right corner (near the “Paper View” dropdown menu).
After seeing this report — but before it is graded — students will be allowed one chance to fix any highlighted issues and then resubmit. Students who wish to resubmit must do so within 24 hours of the first submission. After that, I will assign a grade and no resubmission will be graded.
