Question 1
Prepare: In preparation for this discussion forum, make a list of what you learned most
throughout the process of researching your final
... [Show More] essay topic, as well as difficulties you
may have encountered along the way.
Reflect: Think about what you have learned in the development of your research
findings on the global societal issue you chose in the Week 1 discussion forum, your
proposed solution and its ethical outcomes, and share with your classmates why this
specific issues requires further research.
Write: For this discussion, you will address the following prompts:
Identify the global societal issue you have chosen to research for your Final Paper,
an argumentative essay, and explain why further research on this topic is important.
Provide a clear and concise thesis statement that includes a solution to the global
societal issue (see Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.) for
assistance).
Explain how this global societal issue impacts a specific population.
Locate a peer-reviewed scholarly source and provide statistical data that you found
surprising on the topic.
Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length, which should include a thorough
response to each prompt. You are required to provide in-text citations of applicable
required reading materials and/or any other outside sources you use to support your
claims. Provide full reference entries of all sources cited at the end of your response.
Please use correct APA format when writing in-text citations (see In-Text Citation
Helper (Links to an external site.)) and references (see Formatting Your References
List (Links to an external site.)).
Question 2
Prepare: Prior to beginning work on this assignment, view the videos Scholarly and
Popular Sources(1) (Links to an external site.), Why Can’t I Just Google? (Links to an
external site.), and Effective Internet Search: Basic Tools and Advanced
Strategies (Links to an external site.).
Reflect: Good research is a combination of many types of sources. Prior to taking this
course, did you understand the differences between these sources and the importance
of finding one type of resource over another?
Write: For this discussion, you will address the following prompts:
Explain at least five differences between popular and scholarly sources used in
research.
Locate and summarize one peer-reviewed, scholarly source from the Ashford
University Library and one popular source that pertain to your Final Paper topic. In your summary of each article, comment on the following: biases, reliability,
strengths, and limitations.
From the sources you summarized, list and explain at least five visual cues from the
peer-reviewed, scholarly source that were not evident in the popular source.
Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length, which should include a thorough
response to each prompt. You are required to provide in-text citations of applicable
required reading materials and/or any other outside sources you use to support your
claims. Provide full reference entries of all sources cited at the end of your response.
Please use correct APA format when writing in-text citations (see In-Text Citation
Helper (Links to an external site.)) and references (see Formatting Your References
List (Links to an external site.)).
Question 3
My title is climate change to include the cost of climate change in the paper.
Prepare: Prior to beginning work on this assignment, review the Introductions &
Conclusions (Links to an external site.) and Annotated Bibliography (Links to an
external site.) web pages, and Evaluating Sources (Links to an external site.) and
Annotated Bibliography (Links to an external site.) tutorials.
Reflect: Reflect back on the Week 1 discussion in which you shared with the class the
global societal issue that you would like to further address. Explore critical insights that
were shared by your peers and/or your instructor on the topic chosen and begin your
search for scholarly sources with those insights in mind.
Write: For this assignment, review the Annotated Bibliography Formatting Guidelines
and address the following prompts:
Introductory paragraph to topic (refer to the Final Paper guidelines for your topic
selection).
o Write an introductory paragraph with at least 150 words that clearly explains the
topic, the importance of further research, and ethical implications.
Thesis statement.
o Write a direct and concise thesis statement, which will become the solution to the
problem that you will argue or prove in the Week 5 Final Paper. (A thesis
statement should be a concise, declarative statement. The thesis statement must
appear at the end of the introductory paragraph.)
Annotated bibliography.
o Develop an annotated bibliography to indicate the quality of the sources you
have read.
o Summarize in your own words how the source contributes to the solution of the
global societal issue for each annotation.
o Address fully the purpose, content, evidence, and relation to other sources you
found on this topic (your annotation should be one to two paragraphs long—150
words or more.
o Include no less than five scholarly sources in the annotated bibliography that will
be used to support the major points of the Final Paper.
o Demonstrate critical thinking skills by accurately interpreting evidence used to
support various positions of the topic.
The Introduction, Thesis Statement, and Annotated Bibliography
Must be 1,000 to 1,250 words in length (not including title and references pages)
and formatted according to APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s
APA Style (Links to an external site.) resource.
Must include a separate title page with the following:
o Title of paper
o Student’s name
o Course name and number
o Instructor’s name
o Date submitted
For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting
for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.).
Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.)
resource for additional guidance.
Must use at least five scholarly sources.
o The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external
site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have
questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment,
contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the
appropriateness of a specific source for an assignment. The Integrating
Research (Links to an external site.) tutorial will offer further assistance with
including supporting information and reasoning.
Must document in APA style any information used from sources, as outlined in the
Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper. (Links to an external site.)
Must have no more than 15% quoted material in the body of your essay based on
the Turnitin report. References list will be excluded from the Turnitin originality
score.
Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style.
See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the
Ashford Writing Center for specifications.
Question 4
Prepare: Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, in preparation for discussing
the importance of critical thinking skills,
Read the articles
Common Misconceptions of Critical Thinking
Combating Fake News in the Digital Age
6 Critical Thinking Skills You Need to Master Now (Links to an external site.)
Teaching and Learning in a Post-Truth world: It’s Time for Schools to Upgrade and
Reinvest in Media Literacy Lessons
Critical Thinking and the Challenges of Internet (Links to an external site.)
Watch the videos
Fake News: Part 1 (Links to an external site.)
Critical Thinking (Links to an external site.)
Review the resources
Critical Thinking Skills (Links to an external site.)
Valuable Intellectual Traits (Links to an external site.)
Critical Thinking Web (Links to an external site.)
Reflect: Reflect on the characteristics of a critical thinker. Critical thinking gets you
involved in a dialogue with the ideas you read from others in this class. To be a critical
thinker, you need to be able to summarize, analyze, hypothesize, and evaluate new
information that you encounter.
Write: For this discussion, you will address the following prompts. Keep in mind that
the article or video you’ve chosen should not be about critical thinking, but should be
about someone making a statement, claim, or argument related to your Final Paper
topic. One source should demonstrate good critical thinking skills and the other source
should demonstrate the lack or absence of critical thinking skills. Personal examples
should not be used.
Explain at least five elements of critical thinking that you found in the reading
material.
Search the Internet, media, or the Ashford University Library, and find an example
in which good critical thinking skills are being demonstrated by the author or
speaker. Summarize the content and explain why you think it demonstrates good
critical thinking skills.
Search the Internet, media, or the Ashford University Library, and find an example
in which the author or speaker lacks good critical thinking skills. Summarize the
content and explain why you think it demonstrates the absence of good, critical
thinking skills.
Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length, which should include a thorough
response to each prompt. You are required to provide in-text citations of applicable
required reading materials and/or any other outside sources you use to support your
claims. Provide full reference entries of all sources cited at the end of your response.
Please use correct APA format when writing in-text citations (see In-Text Citation
Helper (Links to an external site.)) and references (see Formatting Your References
List (Links to an external site.)).
Question 5
Purpose: The primary goal of this weekly assignment is to enable you to understand
the revision process and revise your paper with the help of a writing specialist.
Prepare:
Step 1: Prepare a shortened version of your Final Paper (at least four pages) by
including the following:
Introduction paragraph and thesis statement you developed for your Week 3
Assignment.
Background information of the global societal issue you have chosen.
Brief argument supporting at least two solutions to the global societal issue.
Conclusion paragraph.
Must document any information used from at least five scholarly sources in APA
style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to
an external site.) Note that you will need at least eight scholarly sources for your
Final Paper in Week 5.
Step 2: After you have completed a rough draft of your paper, submit that draft to the
Ashford Writing Center by using the instructions found in the Paper Review (Links to an
external site.) page. Your paper will be returned within 24 hours, so give yourself
enough time to complete and submit it prior to the due date.
Reflect: Carefully review the revision letter and the margin comments that you see on
your returned paper. Consider each of the suggestions provided to help you to revise
your paper.
Write:
What You Need to Submit to Waypoint:
Upload the PDF document that contains the feedback from the Writing Center
specialist.
Submit the journal assignment answering the following questions in at least 400
words:
o Identify the top three issues your writing specialist focused on in your rough draft
(e.g., paragraph structure, proper use of quotations, thesis statement, etc.).
In what ways were those issues surprising?
o Describe what you learned from some of the feedback your writing specialist
provided as explanations.
Was this feedback helpful?
o Evaluate the usefulness of the paper review tool.
In what ways did this activity improve your academic writing skills?
Will you use the Ashford Writing Center to review your work in the future?
Why or why not?
o Identify Writing Center Video Tutorials (Links to an external site.) that you find
most useful and explain why. Also, identify tutorial(s) you found least useful and
explain why.
The journal part of the assignment does not need to be formatted in APA style;
however, correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation is required.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be
used to evaluate your journal. [Show Less]