‘Sustainability is a paradigm for thinking about the future in which environmental, societal and economic considerations are balanced in the pursuit of an improved quality of life’ (UNESCO 2015).
CUC100 Assessment 4: Persuasive Essay
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Value: 50% Length: 1500 – 2000 words Due: Monday, 23:59 (CST), Week 13 Submission:
Submit your persuasive essay through the “A4: Persuasive Essay” link in the “Assessment Submission” area of Learnline by 23:59 on Monday of Week 13.
NOTE: If your essay does not adequately meet the assessment criteria (please see the “Assessment 4 Rubric” under “Assessment Tasks” in Learnline), your lecturer or tutor will invite you to resubmit a new version that satisfies the requirements. If you are invited to re-submit, the maximum grade that you will then be able to achieve is a Pass.
Task Overview:
This assessment represents the final product which brings together all your brainstorming, thinking, planning, learning, researching, notetaking and summarising into a clearly organised, referenced discussion essay. So, it is a chance to put into practice what you have learned about writing academic essays and bring it together with all you have learned in the unit about sustainability.
The skills you learn through writing this essay you will continue to apply throughout your study and the knowledge about sustainability will be relevant to your daily lives and in the professions you are studying for.
Task Details:
For your final assessment you need to write a 1500-2000 word essay on the following: ‘Sustainability is a paradigm for thinking about the future in which environmental, societal and economic considerations are balanced in the pursuit of an improved quality of life’ (UNESCO 2015).
• Choose a scenario from the list below and scope it to a specific location, community, organisation or aspect.
• Explain the key sustainability concerns from an environmental, social and economic point of view.
• Discuss responses to these concerns that could help to achieve sustainability.
Scenarios
1. Food production 2. The health and livelihoods of groups of people seeking asylum 3. Lifestyle choices in urban or community settings 4. Resource usage in a professional workplace (e.g. hospital, school, law firm, etc.) 5. Tourism
After the introduction paragraph, provide the background (a concise description of your scoped scenario, and the stakeholders involved); and a definition of sustainability that is applicable to your scenario and reflects your potential solutions.
CUC100 Assessment 4: Persuasive Essay
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Further Instructions:
• You must support your arguments with in-text references from credible academic sources;
• You must include at least 6 references;
• Consistently format in-text citations and a complete reference list at the end of your essay using APA 6th edition Referencing Style.
Points to consider for passing Assessment 4:
• All of the work in CUC100 is intended to prepare you for your final essay. Review what you have learned throughout the semester and build on the research, planning, notes and ideas you have developed through your learning activities and previous assessments;
• Ensure you have scoped your scenario to a specific location, community, organisation or aspect, in order to focus the explanation and discussion in your essay;
• Reflect on what you have learned about referencing in Week 7 and your annotated bibliography to consolidate your understanding of the correct referencing conventions. Your PowerPoint presentation has assisted your planning for this essay and will help structure your discussion;
• Draw on your textbook (Rolls & Wignell, 2015). It is an excellent source of information and advice on writing an academic essay and referencing. Chapters 1-5, 8, and 10 are particularly relevant;
• Remember you can use the three core readings as references but you will also need to do your own further research because you need at least 6 references overall;
• Use credible sources for your research and references. This means textbooks from your field, academic and/or professional journals, and credible websites (i.e. not Wikipedia or randomly chosen sites you may have Googled). Refer to the CDU Library webpage for more information;
• Before submitting your essay, check the Pre-submission Checklist on the following page to make sure that it meets all of the requirements.
CUC100 Assessment 4: Persuasive Essay
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Assessment 4: Pre-submission Checklist
Text organisation ✓
Introduction
Does the introduction include:
• an orientation to the topic?
• a clear thesis statement?
• an outline of the key ideas to be covered in the essay?
Body Are the ideas organised logically into paragraphs which are arranged in an order that reflects the outline and the thesis?
Conclusion
Does the conclusion include:
• the thesis statement, re-stated and qualified if necessary?
• a summary that is clear, captures the key concerns, and flows from the
body of the paper?
Content ✓
Response to the question
Are the ideas relevant in the context of a scoped scenario, and do they provide a comprehensive response to the essay question?
Critical analysis
Is evidence of critical analysis of the concerns reflected in:
• your definition of sustainability?
• the presentation of different perspectives related to the concerns?
• analysis of all three points of view (environmental, social, economic)?
Language Style Is the essay written in a formal academic style?
Does the essay include persuasive language to reinforce arguments?
Sentence Fluency Is the sentence structure consistently logical and clear with ideas appropriately linked within sentences?
Word choice Are specific words relating to the concerns used? Is the essay written using sophisticated language?
Grammar Is the writing free of grammatical and spelling errors?
Quality of evidence ✓
Research Are the ideas supported by a minimum of six different credible and relevant sources?
Referencing Are in-text references and a reference list provided to support ideas and consistently follow accepted referencing conventions?
Presentation ✓
Word processing conventions
Is the essay presented with correct formatting, line-spacing, headers and footers with student name, unit code and assignment number included?
