The original assignment was as follows:
Essay: You will work towards an essay (minimum 900, maximum 1200 words) in which you apply a minimum of two and a maximum of three concepts explored in the readings to a topical case study of your own choosing. Be sure to follow conventional essay structure as you have practiced with in year 1 (Academic Discourse), with an introduction setting up the theme and research question, a body that explores the links between your case and concepts, and a conclusion providing a summary of your overall argument. The essay must provide an in-depth definition and discussion of your chosen concepts—engagement with the literature is non-negotiable.
I failed my first essay submission and now need to rewrite it. This was the feedback:
Unfortunately, this is not quite a sufficient essay. The case study is clearly appropriate to the course. However, there are too many concepts and not a central argument. We have four concepts: sustainability, sustainable development, environmental justice, and ecological justice. Although “sustainable development” is in the title, it is not defined and discussed through reference to the literature. Environmental and ecological justice are also only defined through reference to lectures. If you chose to redo this assignment, please reduce the number of concepts and explain more clearly how they relate to the case. For example, the Tesla factory certainly could be seen as an example of the issues facing sustainable development. Why? Because the development of electric cars promises that we can “decouple” car production from environmental impacts. However, your case shows that, in fact, the local environmental impacts continue to be severe, etc. You can then link such a discussion to one other concept. For example, your discussion of the meaning of sustainability in Germany, through reference to Brightman and Lewis. While the writing is mostly good, please provide citations for empirical claims (i.e., “Tesla promised…” or “the region…already struggles with…”).
Down below the original essay and readings. Please pay attention to the feedback and rewrite my essay. Citing is very important. It can be around 900-1200 words and try to make it sound not too far off from my original essay. I don’t think all the readings below are relevant but I can’t remember. The Brightman and Lewis one is the most important. I did have german internet sources, just use others for the case study or translate the ones i mention at the bottom.