WRITING
SKILLS ASSESSMENT PROJECT
THE INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHY ON CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN JAPAN
ASSIGNMENT
Submit for instructor evaluation (no later than Wednesday, September 22, 2004) a FIVE PARAGRAPH ESSAY on a topic selected from the list below; the essay must meet the established criteria listed as part of the assignment without exception to be deemed acceptable by the instructor
TOPICS
THE INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHY AND/OR CLIMATE ON (CHOOSE ONE) -- ·
- JAPANESE LANGUAGE
AND LITERATURE
- CUISINE AND FOOD
PREPARATION TECHNIQUES WITHIN JAPAN
- "LOCAL
SELF-SUFFICIENCY WITHIN JAPAN AND REGIONAL CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
- THE DEVELOPMENT
OF SPECIFIC JAPANESE CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
- THE HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT OF JAPANESE CIVILIZATION AND CULTURE
- GENERAL CULTURAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES
SUBMITTED ESSAYS MUST CONTAIN EACH OF THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS USING THE APPROPRIATE FORMAT:
- a COVERSHEET
- a minimum of
FIVE PARAGRAPHS, including -
- an INTRODUCTION incorporating a THESIS STATEMENT (use bold typeface)
- a series of individual PARAGRAPHS constituting the BODY of the essay, each containing a TOPIC SENTENCE (underlined)
- a CONCLUSION restating the THESIS STATEMENT and the major support for it found in the BODY of the essay
- ANNOTATION crediting the sources of the ideas and quotations included in the essay (as FOOTNOTES, ENDNOTES or IN -TEXT NOTES)
- a properly prepared BIBLIOGRAPHY of sources cited in the annotation, including at least one example each of a BOOK, an ARTICLE from a periodical or journal and an INTERNET WEB SITE; include as well a bibliographic reference to the STYLE MANUAL used to provide guidance in the ppreparation of your essay.
ESSAYS WHICH FAIL TO MEET THE ESTABLISHED CRITERIA WILL BE RETURNED FOR REVISION(S) (PRIOR TO THE FINAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE) UNTIL ALL HAVE BEEN SATISFIED.
STUDENTS MUST MEET ALL THE ESTABLISHED WRITING SKILL REQUIREMENTS TO CONTINUE IN THE COURSE; FAILURE TO DO SO MAY RESULT IN STUDENTS BEING DROPPED FROM THE COURSE AT THE INSTRUCTOR'S DISCRETION
RESOURCES
An appropriate place to begin this project is with the assigned reading for the class session on GEOGRAPHY included in the COURSE SCHEDULE and the accompanying WEB ASSIGNMENTS (ONE and TWO).
"JAPANESE GEOGRAPHY", a brief essay by Milan Vrana, a student at John Abbott College in Quebec, profiles each of the chain's major islands; the essay is one of many on the Cyberport site worth exploring.
About.com has a wealth of statistical information about Japan tht might just fill in some important gaps.
GEOGRAPHY OF JAPAN, a lesson plan for junior high students adapted from longer units written by William Miller, Robert Gauksheim, Kathleen Ross, and Kelly Toy, includes a great "teacher's background" overview and some useful maps. The site is from the National Clearinghouse for U.S. - Japan Studies