Order 1038382: According to Tan, what are the central characteristics of effective communication? Do you feel that Tan’s text reflects her ideas about communication and ‘good’ writing? Why/why not?

Choose ONE question from the supplied list of topics (see below) and write a 1,200 word essay in response to that question. Your essay might discuss, analyse, argue, expose or apply a problem or idea in the text, or it might take a combination of these approaches. The type of essay that you write will partly depend on the question you choose, so choose wisely. Your essay will focus primarily on ONE text from the course. You should come up with a title for your essay. Use a minimum of TWO academic sources from beyond the course to support your discussion or case. (You may refer to more than two but be careful not to overload your essay with too many sources.) You may briefly refer to other set course texts in passing but you cannot write on such texts at length. This is a formal piece of work which needs to comply with the conventions of academic orthography (including correct spelling, capitalisation, punctuation, paragraphing, quotations and citation). Your essay must use Chicago, MLA or APA referencing. You have a 10% leeway on the word count with this assignment. (Your essay can be up to 10% under or 10% over.) The word count excludes the information supplied in footnotes and/or in the bibliography or list of works cited and should be noted at the end of the essay. You may include carefully chosen images or diagrams if these assist you in developing your essay’s case. Formatting: Your essay needs to be typed in a plain, 12-point font (Times New Roman, Garamond, Bell MT, Arial or Calibri) with 1.5 or double spacing. Pages should be numbered and the word count should be noted at the end of the essay.

Evaluation criteria:

The following criteria will be used in grading your submission:

· Is the essay written in a formal register?

· Does it make correct and consistent use of orthographic conventions such as spelling, punctuation and capitalisation?

· Is it correctly formatted?

· Does it meet the overall word count (plus or minus 10%)?

· Does it respond directly to the essay question?

· Does it demonstrate thoughtful understanding of this question?

· Are the ideas clearly-expressed and well-organised and well-developed?

· Is there a visible thesis which is linked to a line of discussion or argument running through your essay?

· Does the essay cite the required number of sources in appropriate ways?

Learning objectives:

This essay task is designed to develop and test your ability:

· To write a well-structured essay in lucid English prose

· To identify and engage with academic sources from beyond the course reading list

· To reference all cited work and present coursework according to the specifications of an assignment

It supports the following course outcomes:

· to grasp the purpose of a text, its audience and the case it makes

· to read and respond to academic and non-academic texts that deal with a range of topics

· to understand the effects produced by different types of grammatical and stylistic expression within your own writing and the writing of others

· to construct, shape and deliver writing that is appropriate to a set task

· to mobilise a technical vocabulary associated with writing

· to cite and reference in a manner appropriate to the genre of writing