Local Literacies in Global Contexts/ 21st century literacy practices and communities

This task encourages you to reflect on your own stories in relation to the topics covered in the subject; you can either write about your general transformed perception of literacy as a result of attending the subject or specifically focus on one topic and identify an issue which is most invigorating to you. You can reflect on any literacy issue from the past or present and weave it with the scholarly literature and discussion we had throughout the semester and as it revealed to you through your presentation. You are also encouraged to consider that issue from the global lens and what that might mean in the current 21st century communities and in the post-pandemic world. This is mainly for you to explore how in that particular context of your enquiry, literate practices can be formed and how they are represented, for example through oral language or any other non/linguistic channels. 

 It can be from any context, (either local or global) which has made you concerned about literacy in general. For example it can be from:

-Your schooling experiences, in language subjects (L1 or L2) or other subjects (chemistry, physics, history, etc.),

-Your workplace, your communities

-Family literacy, beyond-school literacy

-Media-literacy and political tensions

-Social challenges, disadvantaged people/indigenous communities

Or any other personal experience for which you want to explicate the literacy aspect of,

You are required to demonstrate:

Your ability to draw on the dialogic discussions throughout the course and presentations of your peers to reflect critically on the content of your own area of enquiry

Your engagement in the critical readings to reflect on the literacy position articulated in your presentation and second assignment, if relevant

Your understanding of the complexity of literacy practices in the local/global context

Your understanding of the complexity of current literacy issues in the global world

Your capacity to use academic English (including the APA citation and referencing system) to structure a coherent text.

Your analysis of your point of concern in literacy practices and your synthesise of those findings with the readings and discussions which you were involved in during the semester.

You will see the summary of these points in the rubric for the essay as:

Content and clarity of argument: An issue related to literacy and/or literacy education is clearly articulated, the local/global context is adequately explained, and the consequences for particular individuals/groups are identified and discussed. Discussion directly and consistently addresses the essay task.
Integration of literature: Relevant supporting literature is smoothly integrated into the discussion and there is direct, critical engagement with the ideas and arguments of cited authors. There is evidence of extensive reading and a very strong grasp of key concepts.
Structure and logic: Discussion is logically structured, with key arguments clearly signposted and strong connections made between main points and between sections. A cohesive, overall argument is strongly evident.
Voice and criticality: Sophisticated, original ideas are presented with a strong capacity to critically analyse and rigorously discuss the named issue and its complexities. The forces shaping the issue are thoughtfully considered and practical suggestions for action may be made.
Referencing and presentation: Sources are correctly cited and referenced according to APA style and the paper is formatted and presented appropriate for a piece of formal, academic writing.

As you prepare to submit your essay, here are some things to please consider:
• Make sure that you have responded directly to the essay task. This may seem
obvious, but it’s very easy to get caught up in your own discussion and to forget to
make clear, strong connections back to the essay task. You are being asked to either
talk about your transformed understanding of literacy as a result of this subject or
identify and analyse a specific literacy issue. Present a clear, succinct argument
about this in your introduction and keep returning to this overall argument
throughout your essay. Also check that you have attended to each of the criteria on
the Assignment 2 page in Canvas.
• If you choose to write about transformed perception of literacy as an overall
topic, make sure that you focus on the main question “how do you see yourself as
locally and globally literate” after you took this subject. You can analyse this
through the lens of different topics we had in the course and through pandemic
lens, but please make sure that it is not written in a fragmented way (i.e.: do not
write about each lecture topic separately), we need integration of ideas in your
argument and a holistic analysis.
• If you choose to write about one topic/literacy issue, make sure your essay and
argument embraces other topics in the course as well, for example if you choose
to write about Academic Literacy, clearly the main attention will be given to what
is the literacy issue in the specific/local academic context you are arguing, but
also you need to show how your understanding of other topics for example
transnational/translingual or policy aspects impact that academic literacy issue. In
other words, the reader must realise that you have been in the whole subject, and
not just in one lecture. Also you can choose to write about other topics such as
emotional literacy, health literacy, information literacy etc as far as you can
analyse them with the lens of subject topics and ideas.
• Local/global are not two separate things: please keep in mind that whatever
topic/literacy issue you chose to write about should resonate that local/global
aspect. These are not two separate things, remember the term glocal, any matter
you identify as a local issue (e.g in secondary school in China) has implications
for global context. So thin holistically even if your full essay is about one small
village r town and its literacy issues.

• There is no limit to reference list: Please note that at Master level, there is no
limit to refence list, however it does not mean that the more, the better! You need
to use references meaningfully and appropriately. You need to ring a relevant
reference ONLY if it really adds to the strength of your work, and it supports your
argument. And make sure you reference correctly. We expect minimum 15
references for your final essay.
• Check that you have clearly ‘signposted’ your logical progression through
your argument via topic sentences, linking sentences (between paragraphs and
sections) and semantic markers. Remember that it is YOUR voice that should
dominate throughout your essay. Consistently reminding the reader why you are
making a particular point in relation to your overall argument will ensure that
your voice is coming through consistently and will add unity and coherence to
your discussion.
• Check that you have engaged appropriately with the literature that you cite.
This means that you should sometimes take time to be explicit about the
connection(s) between the ideas/arguments of the author(s) that you are citing and
your own points/arguments. When you simply add a citation at the end of one of
your own sentences it is often not clear how the cited author supports what you
are saying. It is your job to make this clear to the reader. Please consult Academic
Skills links in Canvas to show you good examples.
• Avoid including too many section headings. In a discursive essay, you should
really be relying on prose to develop a logical structure to your discussion and to
move it forward, rather than relying on headings and sub-headings to do this
work. If you feel strongly that your essay needs headings, make sure that they are
phrased such that they help to make the overall structure of your argument clearer
to your reader.
• Check the size of your paragraphs. A paragraph should rarely, if ever, be
formed by a single sentence. Even a two-sentence paragraph is probably too short.
Explain and elaborate on your points to make full paragraphs, and/or link shorter
paragraphs together. You should also avoid making your paragraphs too long,
with too many different points in them. If any of your paragraphs are approaching
or exceeding a page, you should check to see where you could insert a paragraph
break and separate out your main points into shorter paragraphs.
• Stay close to the word count. While you are allowed +/- 10% as a ‘buffer’ in the
word limit for any assignment, if a student’s essay is under the word limit then markers often pay extra attention to whether or not they have fully elaborated on
all their ideas and arguments, and thoroughly explained and justified all their
points. If they haven’t done this, it means they could have written more to reach
the word limit, so then they will lose marks for that. Similarly, if they are well
over the word limit, markers will be looking to see where they could have been
more succinct. Your essay will be much stronger if you check these things
yourself before you submit.
• Keep your similarity score well below 20%. This is mainly about how you
integrate and include the words and ideas of others. Your own words, your own
ideas, your own voice should clearly dominate throughout your paper. Also,
double (and triple!) check your reference list to make sure that there are
corresponding citations in your essay for every reference you include in your final
list, and that your citations and reference list conform with the APA style guide.
Please consult academic integrity if you have not been already consulted.  

The topic I preferred is “Media Literacy in the Digital Age: How to achieve rational information dissemination and interpretation in the Age of Social Media?”

I attached all the required readings from the courses

Again, MY UNDERSTANDING TO LITERACY is really important in this essay.

Most Important: NO AI WRITEING