The Technology Context – B101

B101 coursework assignment 2

Academic year 2009/10

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Coursework Title:	Evaluation of news articles about sustainable development
Coursework Due Date:	January 22, 2010
Lecturer:	C Nguyen

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COURSEWORK DESCRIPTION

Write evaluations of 4 articles about a sustainable development issue covered in this unit. All 4 articles must be about the same sustainable development issue. Use the following checklist to evaluate each article:

1. Accuracy
   • Are information sources clearly indicated?
   • Can you verify the information from your own knowledge?
   • Can you verify the information using other sources?
   • Is the information up to date?
   • Are there grammatical or spelling errors?
2. Authority
   • What are the author's credentials or qualifications?
   • Why is the author qualified to write on this topic?
   • Is there a way to contact the author about the article?
3. Objectivity
   • Is the article intended for the general public or an expert audience?
   • What is the primary purpose of the article?
   • Is the information mostly fact, opinion, marketing or propaganda?
   • What is the author's point of view?
   • Does the article use emotional language?
4. Credibility
   • Why should anyone believe information in the article?
   • Is there evidence to support claims and opinions in the article?
   • Do quotes appear with their source?
   • If the author is with an organization, does the organization have a commercial relationship with the news provider?

The articles must be taken from one or more of the following news sources:

• IEEE Spectrum magazine
• MIT Technology Review magazine
• Pew Internet Data Sets
• VOX analysis and commentary
• Economist magazine
• Wall Street Journal

The coursework content is limited to a maximum of 2,000 words in length (excluding references).

Articles and other external sources must be cited and referenced using the Harvard APA format.

This coursework contributes 60% to the B101 unit mark.

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COURSEWORK SUBMISSION

Students are required to submit their coursework online using the Mosaic website. Supporting images, e.g. charts and photos, may be included in the coursework. Students are not permitted to write their coursework using Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat document files. The coursework content (text and images) must be written and displayed directly within the Mosaic coursework submission page for each student.

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ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

(1) Coursework content (70 marks)

Marks	Criteria
50–70	The coursework contained original, effective and persuasive evaluations of the sustainable development issues in the news articles.
49	The coursework contained effective and persuasive evaluations of the sustainable development issues in the news articles.
42–48	The coursework contained thorough evaluations of the sustainable development issues in the news articles.
35–41	The coursework contained basic evaluations of the sustainable development issues in the news articles.
28–34	At a threshold level, the coursework identified the main sustainable development issues.
0–27	The coursework contained an insufficient amount of relevant content and analysis.

(2) Writing mechanics (30 marks)

Marks	Criteria
22–30	The coursework effectively used a personal writing style and followed all grammar and spelling rules.
21	The coursework used effective writing techniques and followed all grammar and spelling rules.
18–20	The coursework followed all grammar and spelling rules.
15–17	The coursework followed most grammar and spelling rules.
12–14	At a threshold level, the coursework followed some grammar and spelling rules.
0–11	The coursework has an unacceptable number of errors with grammar and spelling.