Assignment for International Trade-The Canadian Perspective

Assignment for International Trade-The Canadian Perspective

This assignment is designed to help students achieve the following learning objectives:
• Develop an understanding of the various facets of international trade in Canada
• Assess current trade patterns for Canada and evaluate the impact of international trade on national output, wages andproductivity
• Investigate current newspaper articles and business publications to get an insight into the effects of ever changing economic and political order on international trade, with particular reference to the Canadian economy.
• Analyze the effects of policy intervention and preferential trade agreements on the Canadian economy and the economy of our trading partners
• To be able to read economic and business publications with an appreciation of costs and benefits involved in decision-making.
• To develop student’s ability to critically analyze international trade issues.

For this assignment you will be required to research an assigned topic and present your report on the due date. If you would like to work on a topic not listed on Blackboard – the topic must be approved and registered with the professor in advance.

This project will have two parts:

First Part (10%):
a) Research Proposal
b) Concept map

These documents are due in-class during Week#6 of this course. 13 FEB

Second Part (15%):
Project Report

Project report is due in-class during Week#9 of this course. Make sure to post a copy of your project report via “SAFE ASSIGN” and submit a hard copy before the end of class on due date.

These submissions are due in-class during Week#9 of this course. March 13
First Part (10%):

Research Proposalmust clearly outline your approach to the topic. You could talk about the questions you hope to answer. Make your questions SMART:

S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Achievable
R = Results-focused
T = Time-bound
Talk about your action steps, from data gathering through to analysis. Remember that it is not enough to gather lots of data: you then have to show how you will use this data to reflect back on your original question. Your research proposal should clearly introduce the purpose, scope, and method of your project.
A research proposal is a plan (for your pre-approved topic) that covers:
1. Your research question
2. The methods and data you plan to employ to answer your research question
3. An initial reference list or bibliography of scholarly sources and media pieces you plan to use to conduct your research

MARKING SCHEME FOR RESEARCH PROPOSAL (5%)
Score
Introduction (5 marks)
Statement of the Problem (5 marks)
References (5 marks)
TOTAL POINTS (15 marks)
Description of Rating Scale

Introduction

5: Allows readers to anticipate design
4: Suggests design but lacks all descriptors
3: Identifies problem but does not allow the reader to anticipate the design
2: Is misleading
1: Is not relevant to the intended study or is missing
Statement of the Problem
5: The problem statement is concise and informs the reader of the exact purpose of the study
4: The statement of the problem includes some description and informs the reader of the exact purpose of the study
3: The statement of the problem includes vague description and informs the reader of the purpose of the study
2: The statement of the problem is unclear and does not provide any description
1: The statement of the problem is missing or is unclear and unable to be interpreted

References

5: Reference list is relevant, complete and broad enough to support the Introduction and is in correct MLA format.
4: Reference list is limited and is in correct MLA format
3: Reference list includes non-relevant articles and is not in MLA format
2: Reference list is incomplete and format is incorrect
1: No Reference list is included

Your research proposal should also include a concept map outlining the sub topics of your research topic and how they connect with each other with a common purpose of making the final report interesting, current and informative. You can get creative with this section in terms to the presentation of the ideas. Don’t forget to list the resources you plan to use to get the relevant information. Please see the following example of Concept Map. This example is not perfect. However, it could serve as a good starting point.
Concept Map Rubric 1
Points Allocated • Concepts and Terminology
• Knowledge of the Relationships among concepts
• Ability to Communicate through Concept Maps
3 points • Shows an understanding of the topic’s concepts and principles and uses appropriate terminology and notations
• Identifies all the important concepts and shows an understanding of the relationships among them
• Constructs an appropriate and complete concept map and includes examples; places concepts in an appropriate hierarchy and places linking words on all connections; produces a concept map that is easy to interpret
2 points • Makes some mistakes in terminology or shows a few misunderstandings of concepts
• Identifies important concepts but makes some incorrect connections
• Places almost all concepts in an appropriate hierarchy and assigns linking words to most connections; produces a concept map that is easy to interpret
1 points • Makes many mistakes in terminology and shows a lack of understanding of many concepts
• Makes many incorrect connections
• Places only a few concepts in an appropriate hierarchy or uses only a few linking words; produces a concept map that is difficult to interpret
0 points • Shows no understanding of the topic’s concepts and principles
• Fails to use any appropriate concepts or appropriate connections
• Produces a final product that is not a concept map
1 Bartels’ Scoring Rubric for Concept Maps (Adapted from (Bartels, B. H. (1995). Promoting
Mathematics connections with concept mapping. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 1 (7), 542-549.)

MARKING SCHEME FOR CONCEPT MAP (5%)
Score
• Concepts and Terminology
(5 marks)
• Knowledge of the Relationships among concepts (5 marks)
• Ability to Communicate through Concept Maps (5 marks)
Total (15 marks)

Second Part (15%):
Project report Make sure to post a copy of your project report summary via “SAFE ASSIGN” and present the hard copy in class on the due date.
This document must include:
A Title Page:
• Topic title
• Date, Course Number and Section, Professor, Student Name and student
• Research Statement
Introduction:
• Thesis and a brief description of what you are about to discuss
Body (Supporting Evidence)
• Discussion of the topic with reference to your research
Conclusion
• Summary of your findings
Appendix:
• References
The assignment must be typed, one-inch margins, 12-point type-Calibri (Body) and single spaced. Length: between 1500 to 2000 words-including introduction, body and conclusion.
Late projects will be accepted but only with a penalty of 10% marks per day.

• All students are required to use the following Research Guide for their assignments:
A Guide to Research & Citation MLA Style. 5th ed. [Toronto]: Seneca Libraries. 2014
available at seneca.libguides.com/mla

Evaluation Process:
The evaluation criterion for the report will include marks for research, information, presentation and writing. Essay will be marked as per the following rubric.
Criterion Excellent
A+ to A Good
B+ to B Basic Requirements
C+ to C Incomplete
D+ to F
Completeness and overall presentation
“How” – Images, organization, presentation
(5 marks) Title page, essay and bibliography exceed the requirement and have a professional appearance. Strongly communicated the topic message in a persuasive way and had the “wow factor!” Title page, essay and bibliography contain all of the necessary information. Clear and cohesive structure to the paper. Argument is developed logically. Good connections among ideas and research. Title page, essay and bibliography contain some of the necessary information.Paragraphs lack full cohesion. Transition between points are needed. Some points seem out of place and/or not related to thesis. Title page, essay and bibliography contain little of the necessary info. Paper is unfocused. Paragraphs are not organized logically. Points are unrelated to thesis.
Thesis
(20 marks) Excellent use of research to strengthen argument and drive home point. Thesis is interesting and original. Thesis contributes to the reader’s knowledge. Thesis is clear, explained well and provided insight. Integrated strong research basis and generated interest in the reader. Information gathered from a variety of relevant sources-print and electronic media. Solid effort demonstrated. Direct quotations over used or are unrelated to main point. Quotations are not introduced properly. Information taken primarily from articles. Displayed basic effort in researching. Thesis is vague, too obvious, or not stated clearly. There is little evidence of research and creative thought. Minimal effort demonstrated.
Analysis and Support
(15 marks) Information carefully analyzed. Student collected and drew appropriate and inventive conclusions supported by evidence. Evidence cited is original and insightful. Very strong argument. Essay shows a good effort was made in analyzing the evidence collected. Each point is supported by good examples. Examples related to thesis. Conclusions could be supported by stronger evidence. Level of analysis could have been deeper. Some points are unsupported. Some examples don’t relate to the thesis. Conclusions simply involved restating information. Conclusions were not supported by evidence. No examples given to support argument.
Documentation
(5 marks) Sources are properly cited, both in-text and on works-cited/works-consulted pages. Documentation is error free. Sources are documented with some care. Sources are cited, both in-text and on works-cited/works-consulted pages. Some errors noted. Student needs to use greater care in documenting sources. Documentation was poorly relayed or absent.
Student clearly plagiarized materials. Automatic zero grade for the assignment.
*Automatic zero grade for the plagiarized assignment.
**Marks will be deducted for the language errors.

MARKING SCHEME FOR PROJECT REPORT (15%)
Score
Completeness, organization and overall presentation (10 marks)
Thesis (20 marks)
Analysis and Support (15 marks)
References/ Documentation
(5 marks)
TOTAL POINTS (50 marks)