Essay Task:
In writing the essay, you must locate your own readings in addition to the set readings for the course. These readings must be taken from serious academic work on the topic (journal articles, chapters from edited book collections, books).
You must not use Wikipedia or similar online resources. You should have at least five references that you use systematically in your essay and at least two of these should be in addition to set readings for the course.
Topic:
- All cultures express politeness through linguistic forms, however the ways that language shows politeness varies across languages and cultures. Discuss with examples of differences in the linguistic expression of politeness.
Assessment criteria:
Content
You demonstrate understanding of theoretical issues in language and culture covered in the course;
You show that you can use relevant material to support your essay from appropriate sources.
You show that you have read purposefully beyond the materials provided in the course and have used
this information to develop the essay.
You show that you can use evidence from the lectures, course readings and wider reading to support
and develop an argument.
You develop a well-argued conclusion on the basis of the evidence that you choose.
Form
The essay has a clear structure which is used appropriately to develop the essay (an introduction that
presents the main arguments, a body that presents and illustrates the main points and shows how they
relate to the thesis, and a brief conclusion which is tied to the introduction and the argument you
develop)
You use appropriate referencing – see handout on the course website)
You have paid attention to language conventions such as grammar, spelling and punctuation. (e.g. clear
expression, standard [Australian] English spelling and grammar, appropriate referencing style, following
the guidelines about font-size, spacing and margins).
