Critical thinking journal
GEOG 1110: Introduction to Human GeographyInstructor: Jenny FrancisFall 2019 CRITICAL THINKING JOURNAL (CTJ) – INSTRUCTIONS**DUE Dec 1 – upload to Brightspace/Turnitin**[20% of final grade]For this assignment you will apply geographical concepts to your life and to the world around you. The assignment requires both primary and secondary research. To do this, you will visit 3 places in Metro Vancouver; while there, you will observe and analyse the sites using concepts from the course. Based on your observations and analysis, you will write three short “journal entries,” an introduction, and a conclusion (plus a bibliography), which you will put into one document.GETTING STARTEDChoose 3 small sites to study (e.g. a playground, shop, public square, school, café, living room, temple, theatre, park) in Metro Vancouver. Smaller sites are better than larger ones. For example, a neighbourhood is too large to analyse in a few hundred words; instead, focus on one small part of the neighbourhood. Decide which course concepts (selected from readings + lectures) you will use to analyse your observations at the location. To do this, you must visit the place and spend at least one hour closely observing (looking, listening, smelling, touching, making sketches, taking photos, possibly speaking to people) and taking notes. Record your reflections and observations in a journal entry. Your journal entry will connect the location and your observations to the concepts you chose. Do not take anything for granted! Even apparently minor features (a table, a photograph, a tree, a plaque, a glass of milk, mementos, a bee) are important. Look for relationships between space, place, identity, and power. How can geographic concepts help you understand such interactions? Use your observations to illustrate the concepts you selected. At the same time, you are using geographical concepts to help you understand what you observe. You may choose to focus on one aspect of landscape/objects or human behaviour. You will not be able to write about everything you observe.The three sites:-one must be a room in the apartment/house in which you currently live-one must be a location in the neighbourhood in which you live (e.g. Mount Pleasant, Guildford)-one must be a location in Metro Vancouver (no exceptions)Optional Challenge: Choose a location you don’t like! Can your analysis help you pin down what it is that you don’t like about a particular place? WRITING & SUBMISSION•Each journal entry must be 600-800 words in length. Indicate the date and time of your observation. Begin with a brief description of the place you observed, and then move into your analysis. •Each journal entry must use at least 2 major human geographical concepts (eg. “culture” is an appropriate concept; “language” is not really a concept, but it’s a good example of a cultural trait). Be sure to clearly and fully define the geographical concepts you use. Your grade will suffer considerably if you do not define the concepts fully and accurately. Find the definitions in the textbook, lecture 2 notes or a reputable geographic source such as the Dictionary of Human Geography. Do not use a general-use dictionary or Wikipedia. •If your paper contains maps, pictures or diagrams, label them clearly (eg. Figure 1, 2, etc.), and refer to them in the text. Place the figures in your text (not all at the end).IMPORTANT: Before submission, put your three journal entries into one document and write an introduction and a conclusion that ties the entries together. The introduction (1-2 paragraphs) introduces the places and concepts you cover in your paper and explains what you are going to do. The conclusion (1-2 paragraphs) summarises what you learned and connects your analyses to broader issues. Your conclusion should answer the question, “Why does the information in this paper matter?”The final document will have 6 sections, each with a subheading: Introduction, 3 journal entries (each one under an interesting, descriptive subheading), Conclusion, Bibliography. Your bibliography must include:the textbook, lecture notes, at least 3 scholarly sources, and possibly some popular sources (websites, media articles, etc.) or other documents (eg. govt or NGO reports, statistics, etc.). You must acknowledge all sources of information, data, and ideas (not only direct quotations) and provide in-text references or footnotes. All sources must be listed under the heading of “Works Cited” or “References” at the end of the paper. You must use MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, or other recognized style.Give your paper an interesting and descriptive title. “Critical Thinking Journal” is not an interesting title.FORMATTING•The paper must be typed, double-spaced, with size 12 font and 1” margins.•Pages must be numbered (page # should not appear on first page).SOURCES & CITINGFor each journal entry you must also do some outside research using at least one scholarly source. Google, Wikipedia, and corporate websites can be helpful, but they are insufficient for this assignment! Use the Langara Library website to access online data bases such as Academic Search Premier or JSTOR to find more in-depth journal articles. You will need to use a total of at least 3 academic sources (one for each journal entry). There is no requirement that you take your academic sources come from geography journals; however, doing so will likely deepen your geographical analysis. Use the scholarly sources to add depth to your analysis and to engage with what other scholars have said about the topics you are discussing. In addition to scholarly sources, you may use popular sources (e.g. website, novel, newspaper, movie), as well government or NGO reports or websites, if you wish. Any time you use an idea from somebody else, whether in a direct quotation or paraphrased, you must cite the source. Not doing so is plagiarism. You must cite your sources correctly using MLA, APA or other recognized style. Do not cite Wikipedia!You must cite lecture notes. Use the following example as a guide: Francis, J. 2017. Cartographies. Geography 1110: Introduction to Human Geography. 15 Sept 2017. LangaraCollege, Vancouver BC, Canada. 3 You may also conduct primary research by doing interviews. When conducting an interview you must explain the purpose of your interview and give some details about the assignment before the interview starts. If you record the interview, you must get the interviewee’s permission to do so. Note the time, date, and place of the interview. If the interviewee does not wish their name to be used, refer to them using a pseudonym and indicate their position or role.WORKSHOPTo help in the preparation of your paper, we will hold a workshop on Nov 21. On that day, bring all your ideas, notes, outline, drafts – whatever you’ve got – and be ready to share your ideas with your classmates in small groups. This exercise is guaranteed to improve the quality of your paper and it’s also fun : ) If you miss the workshop, arrive late or leave early, a 5% grade penalty will be applied to your paper grade.ORIGINALITY & AUTHENTICITY You must submit an original work. An original work is one that has been written by you, that has not (and will not be) submitted as part of the requirements for any other course, and does not copy directly from other sources. Any submission of work that is not your own is plagiarism.In order to assist you in understanding expectations for academic honesty and to provide practice in summarizing, paraphrasing, quoting, and citing sources appropriately, I will be using Turnitin. Turnitin is a text-matching software that screens assignments for potential plagiarism and verifies the accurate citation of all sources used in the assignment. You may submit your assignment to Turnitin in advance to check your work before final submission. I will only read and mark the final submission. Note: When you upload your paper to Brightspace, it is automatically submitted to Turnitin.Avoiding Plagiarism Anytime you use another person’s ideas, expressions, information, line of thinking or argument without acknowledging them you are committing plagiarism! You must acknowledge all sources of information, data, and ideas (not only direct quotations) and provide in-text references or footnotes. All sources must be listed under the heading of “Works Cited” or “References” at the end of the paper. Yes, that’s right – you need to include both in-text references AND a bibliography. FAILURE TO ACKNOWLEDGE ALL YOUR SOURCES CONSTITUTES PLAGIARISM. PROVIDING INCOMPLETE REFERENCES WILL RESULT IN A GRADE PENALTY. Suspected Plagiarism All cases of suspected plagiarism will be reported to the Dean of Student Services. To guard against plagiarism, I reserve the right to inspect notes and drafts and to examine students orally on the final version of their papers. Therefore, keep your notes and drafts! You will be asked to discuss your paper as well as your research methods with the instructor. You will be asked to demonstrate how you did the research and show where and how you obtained the references for the paper. You may also be asked to supply your original working notes. You may also be asked to answer some written questions on your paper. Become familiar with Langara’s Code of Academic Conduct. You are responsible for making yourself aware of plagiarism guidelines. Plagiarism may lead to a failing grade on the assignment or on the entire course, or suspension or expulsion from Langara College. If in doubt, cite!EVALUATIONThe paper is worth 2O% of your final grade. Grading will be based on insight, the quality and depth of your research, the organization and structure of your paper, originality of ideas presented, demonstration of critical 4 thought, your ability to present your ideas in a logical and clear manner, the depth of your analysis, and yourinclusion and understanding of the geographic concepts involved. A rubric will be posted on D2L.Writing a paper is hard work. Do not think that you can write it in a few days and do well. You should expect to write several drafts of your paper before handing it in for grading. The clarity and cogency of your work will be hampered if you do not pay careful attention to spelling, grammar, and organization—all of which will be considered in assigning a mark. Write as clearly and precisely as you can. Think hard about the logic of your position and whether your argument contains gaps that need to be addressed. Think of objections to your argument and address those in your paper.LATE PAPERSPapers are due at 11:59pm on Dec 1. Submit your assignment through D2L. Papers that are submitted on time will receive extensive comments and a grade. Papers submitted within 7 days of the due date will receive a grade but no comments. Papers submitted more than 7 days after the due date will be penalized 3% per day and will receive a grade but no comments. Extensions will only be granted under exceptional circumstancesand documentation will be required. NO ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER DECEMBER 10.OTHER INFORMATIONFeel free to use “I” (first person), but do not use “we” or “us.” If you are tempted to use “we” or “us,” decide exactly who “we” refers to and say that instead. Avoid statements like “I think” or “I believe” or “I feel.” Using such statements once in your paper is fine, but in most cases you can delete “I believe” and simply present the evidence for the point you wish to make. If you do not provide a citation, then it will be obvious to the reader that what you have written represents your opinion (so, no need to say “I think”). If it is not your original opinion then you must provide a citation.You must use gender neutral language. This means that you will not refer to “he” or “him” or “man” unless you are referring to a particular individual. Words and phrases such as “people”, “him/her”, “they”, “he/she” or other expressions may be used instead. It is a good idea to be as specific as you can. For example, rather than just using “people,” specify who you are talking about: if you are talking only about men, then use “men;” if you are talking only about Punjabi speakers, then indicate that. You must use species neutral language. For other-than-human animals, use the correct gendered pronoun (he or she). If you are not sure, then use “he or she”/they/the dog/etc. Do not use “it.”Human Geography is concerned with humans’ relationships with their environment. Therefore, the focus of your analysis will be the human world, but you should also give consideration in your analysis to the other-than-human worlds at the location you are analysing. This could mean living plants, trees, dogs, bacteria, soils, etc., or things made from dead plants or animals (e.g. leather, cotton, food, wool, paper, feathers, wood, etc.), effects on environment, or other aspects of human/other-than-human relations.TIPSBegin with something interesting to engage the reader’s attention; do not begin with “The three locations I’ve chosen…” or “For my critical thinking journal…” or similar. Pay attention to grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and punctuation; proofread carefullyUse active rather than passive voiceWrite as if for a general audience, rather than drawing attention to the fact that this paper is written for a class assignmentWhen you have a nearly final draft, read your paper out loud to yourselfUSE ASSIGNMENT CHECKLIST TO ENSURE YOU HAVE COMPLETED ALL REQUIREMENTS
