Ms. Richard's ENG 4C0
Final Summative
A Controversial Social Issue
Part A - Personal Opinion Essay
Write a personal opinion essay (10% of the final mark) expressing your view on the chosen topic (outline to follow).
- .Final Draft should be 700-800 words, typed, double-spaced, submitted to Turnitin.com through D2L.
- Use specific evidence from a minimum of 2 sources (your novel, short works, and research).
- A Research Article Analysis sheet (see pages 3-4) needs to be filled out for a least 2 research sources related to your social issue, prior to the submission of the essay. I recommend using the library databases to find your secondary sources as they offer access to a wide range of material organized by topic and type of media.
Part B - Oral Summary and PSA Presentation
- Prepare an oral summary and PSA presentation (10% of the final mark)
- .Prepare a 5 to 10-minute oral summary of their social issue using presentation software such as PowerPoint, Prezi, Google Slides.
- Explore how their novel/short works and research explain and develop their social issue.
- Write and develop a PSA (print, radio, or video) that develops a message related to the social issue, fits the format of the text type, and is aimed at a particular audience.
The final products along with process work, teacher-student conferences, and teacher observations will be used to determine the student’s assessment.
Possible Social Issues
Toxic masculinity (e.g. harmful stereotypes, incel culture, MRAs, etc.)
Climate emergency (e.g. global warming, extreme weather events, mass extinctions, etc.)
Effects of globalization on the Canadian economy (e.g. outsourcing local jobs to other countries, cheap foreign products putting local people out of work, etc.)
Abuse (verbal, physical, mental, sexual)
Addiction (alcohol, marijuana, social media, tobacco, electronic devices)
Mental health (depression, anxiety, incarceration, rehabilitation, bipolar disorder, etc)
Structural racism (e.g. the graduation rates of racialized versus white students, incarceration rates, police shootings)
First Nations, Inuit & Metis Reconciliation (i.e. the effect of colonization, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & girls, suicide epidemics)
Refugees (e.g. legal vs. illegal immigration, Syrian War, climate refugees)
Youth activism (e.g. March for Our Lives, Idle No More, Ontario students protesting education cuts)
Choose your own topic in consultation with your teacher. Global Issues In Context is a wonderful online resource you can access through the library website, which you can use to browse for suitable topics.
Research - The Library Catalogue
- Go to www.peelschools.org.
- Click on the pink BYOD link.
- Click on the teal library circular icon.
- The green library catalogue icon will be at the top of the page.
Once you are at the main page, enter the subject/keywords of the topic that you are searching for. Keep in mind that spelling is really important! If you spell the word that you are looking for incorrectly, the system will assume we do not have it. We do have a number of books about wrongfully convicted people so be sure to look at those first when starting your research!
Finding the Databases
- Go to www.peelschools.org.
- Click on the pink BYOD link.
- Click on the teal library circular icon.
- The intermediate/secondary library databases will be listed below.
Boolean Search Operators
The Research - Databases
Once you have found the databases you will need to start searching for your topic. When conducting your search, you will need to narrow down your topic. Since you are looking for biographical information for your research, there are a number of databases that will be very helpful when trying to find the information that you need. The following are a list of potential databases that may be helpful with conducting your research for this culminating assignment.
- Britannica Online School Edition
- Canada in Context
- Canadian Points of View
- Diversity Studies Collection
- Gender Studies Collection
- Global Issues in Context
- Health and Wellness
- Teen Health
- Info Trac Student Edition
All of the databases are great sources of information. Although these have been recommended as places to start, you can try other databases if you are not finding the information you need. They are better than a random search on a website because you can find a lot of information here that has been written by experts in the field. Many of the databases are specific to certain topics! Below are some examples of what the database icons look like. You cannot access the databases from here! But you can access the databases from the Secondary eResources link just below!
Note Taking and the Databases
When To Cite: A Checklist
I now know when to cite my work....but how do I do it?
Depending on the course that you are in, how you cite your work may vary. For example, MLA is generally used for literary research (i.e. English, History, Geography, etc) as well as academic papers in the humanities field. APA is used for scientific papers, laboratory reports, psychology, education and other social sciences. There are significant differences between MLA and APA citations so we are going to explore how to cite our work in MLA format.
MLA 8 - The New Way to Cite in MLA Format
Embedded Citations - MLA Format
Creating a Works Cited Page in MLA 8 Format
MLA 8 was designed to simplify the process, helping writers accurately and intuitively cite sources more easily, requiring that every source type follow the same format. This means that books, websites, periodicals, videos, photographs, and all other types of sources now use this same standard format.
MLA 8 requires researchers to locate the same “core elements” from their sources and place them in a standard order in order to create their citations.
The “Core Elements” of an MLA 8 citation, along with their corresponding punctuation marks, include the following (in this order):
- Authors.
- Title of the source.
- Title of container,
- Other contributors,
- Version,
- Numbers,
- Publisher,
- Publication date,
- Location.
The appropriate punctuation mark will follow each core element, unless it is the final piece. In this case, the punctuation mark would be a period.
Example of an MLA Eighth Edition Works Cited Page:
MLA 8th Edition - Formatting Help
To Google or not to Google....that is the question!
The CRAAP Test
Tech Tools for Presentations
The following link will give you ideas and information about how to present your work in a visually appealing way. There are a lot of newer options out there so don't rely on just Prezi and Power Point! If you have any questions about how to use these tech tools, as the teacher librarian!
What is a PSA?
It is a commercial aired to promote the social issue of a non-profit organization. Consider the following tips:
- Use emotion
- Make it personally relatable
- Identify the organization
- Focus on one core, or key message
- Be persuasive - consider your rhetorical devices!
The goal of a PSA is to get the audience to ACT!