1 1RYERSON UNIVERSITY Department of Geography & Environmental Studies 1GEO 106 GEOGRAPHIES OF EVERYDAY LIFE FALL 2018 PLEASE READ EVERYTHING IN THIS COURSE OUTLINE AND IN THE POWERPOINT SLIDES. I WILL NOT RESPOND TO ANY EMAIL WHERE THE ANSWER IS IN THIS MATERIAL. BE SURE YOUR EMAILS HAVE EXACTLY THE FOLLOWING SUBJECT LINE: GEOGRAPHY 106 STUDENT QUERY Instructors: Dr. Philip Coppack Office: JOR 609 Phone: (416) 979-5000 ex.6174 (I don’t respond well to phone calls but…) E-mail: [email protected](e-mails - within reason - I will answer.) Website: www.geography.ryerson.ca/coppack/geo106 [NOT A D2L SITE] Office hours: By chance or appointment. Format: Lecture, 2 hours : Friday 10-00-noon, ENGLG11. Self-Study 1 hour : Thursday, 11:00-noon, ARCH 108 (one day in class only - see schedule below). This is a Lower Level Liberal studies course. It is not available to students in the Geographic Analysis program. Students admitted in Fall 2010 to programs in Criminal Justice, Politics and Governance, Psychology, Sociology or Undeclared-Arts may not take this course for Lower Level Liberal Studies credit. Students are required to use their Ryerson email address for communication with the instructor. It is the responsibility of students to check their Ryerson email and the course website regularly. NOTE THIS COURSE DOES NOT USE D2L EXCEPT FOR EMAIL PURPOSES. THE WEBSITE ADDRESS FOR THE COURSE MATERIALS IS: www.geography.ryerson.ca/coppack/geo106 1
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1RYERSON UNIVERSITYDepartment of Geography & Environmental Studies
1GEO 106 GEOGRAPHIES OF EVERYDAY LIFE FALL 2018
PLEASE READ EVERYTHING IN THIS COURSE OUTLINE AND IN THE POWERPOINT SLIDES.I WILL NOT RESPOND TO ANY EMAIL WHERE THE ANSWER IS IN THIS MATERIAL.
BE SURE YOUR EMAILS HAVE EXACTLY THE FOLLOWING SUBJECT LINE:GEOGRAPHY 106 STUDENT QUERY
Instructors: Dr. Philip CoppackOffice: JOR 609Phone: (416) 979-5000 ex.6174 (I don’t respond well to phone calls but…)E-mail: [email protected] (e-mails - within reason - I will answer.)Website: www.geography.ryerson.ca/coppack/geo106 [NOT A D2L SITE]Office hours: By chance or appointment.Format: Lecture, 2 hours: Friday 10-00-noon, ENGLG11. Self-Study 1 hour: Thursday, 11:00-noon,
ARCH 108 (one day in class only - see schedule below).
This is a Lower Level Liberal studies course. It is not available to students in the Geographic Analysis program. Students admitted in Fall 2010 to programs in Criminal Justice, Politics and
Governance, Psychology, Sociology or Undeclared-Arts may not take this course for Lower Level Liberal Studies credit.
Students are required to use their Ryerson email address for communication with the instructor. It is the responsibility of students to check their Ryerson email and the course website regularly.
NOTETHIS COURSE DOES NOT USE D2L EXCEPT FOR EMAIL PURPOSES.
THE WEBSITE ADDRESS FOR THE COURSE MATERIALS IS:www.geography.ryerson.ca/coppack/geo106
The Faculty Course Survey will be conducted online November 9th to the 19th.
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:This course examines environmental and spatial aspects of human life, primarily at the scale of the individual, the neighbourhood and the community. Specific topics to be considered include spatial structure and dynamics, perception and cognition of environments, sense of place, mental maps, territoriality, community dynamics, and urban structure. Three hours of lectures weekly.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:This course explores the ways in which people and space interact to create environments of varying complexity and subtlety. These environments, in turn, comprise the structure of the neighbourhoods, communities and urban areas in which we live. The course is arranged to emphasize the different scales at which a person's life is organized and at which geographical investigation can be carried out. Its basic premise is that what we see around us and how we act towards what we see is filtered by perception
and cognition and that these in turn vary – sometimes greatly – between people at various stages of the life cycle, ethnicity, gender and other variables. It seeks to give students an understanding of how geographic principles impact their day-to-day lives.
TEXT BOOK: There is no textbook for this course – the PowerPoint and lectures will be more than enough. But if you really need a book then try to find Carlson E. and Coppack P.M. (2010) Geographies of Everyday Life. Toronto: McGraw Hill in the used book store. This textbook was developed from the course notes for this course. It therefore follows the course very closely. But so do the PowerPoints. If you are good with lecture presentation using detailed and numerous PowerPoints, then you won’t need the book even if you can find it.
EVALUATION:Alas, the rules say I have to do this. Personally I would prefer not to as no doubt would you. So I have made it as least onerous as I can. If you (1) show up to lectures and listen, (2) go through the PowerPoint before and after, and (3) read all the material provided on writing the essay, then you should do fine.
Format Value Due DateMidterm test (50 multiple choice questions) 20% (see schedule below)Essay (approximately 1,200 - 1,500 words) 40% (see schedule below)Final exam (50 multiple choice plus a short essay) 40% (Ryerson exam schedule)
COURSE OUTLINE AND SELF-STUDY SCHEDULE:Course outline: Following is a week-by-week course outline. Note that the date column refers to the “week of…” not the “day of…” the lecture. The lecture, self-study, essay due date, and mid-term date refer to your section during that week.
Self-Study: The self-study exercises are to be done on the single hour day for your section. They are designed to get you to explore concepts dealt with in the lectures, in a practical way through (mostly) campus based activities that should take no more than the allotted class hour. Whether you choose to do them in that particular hour is up to you, but you should do them because they will feature in the final exam.
Note that the mid-term test will be run on the single hour self-study day as scheduled below.
DO NOT MISS IT AS THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP TESTS.
COURSE LECTURE SCHEDULEWeek of… Lecture # and Topic
Sept 3ESSAY TOPICS
MADE AVAILABLE (SEE BELOW)
1. Introduction to the Course - course mechanics: how the course works- course overview: what you can expect to learnLECTURE TAKES PLACE IN THE FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES STARTING THURS SEPT 6TH.
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Sept 10 2. Spatial Concepts and Spatial Dynamics- geographic concepts; distance, direction, location, place, scale- space, time, and space-time- proxemics
Sept 17 3. Environment, Perception, Cognition- defining environments- perception, cognition, and cognitive filtering- decision making- the ordering of experience: C-fields and P-planes
Sept 24 4. Mental Maps and Mental Images- definitions and nature- how spatial geometry is perceived and processed- Lynch's model: nodes, landmarks, districts, paths, edges- development sequence of mental maps- designative and appraisive perceptions
Oct 1 5. Place and Placelessness- sense of place and placelessness- topophilia and topophobia, safety of place- soundscapes and smellscapes- amenity environments, vernacular landscapes, and marketing place
Oct 8 R E A D I N G W E E KOct 15 6. Territory and Territoriality
- personalization and defence- home and neighbourhood- lines in the sand: fences and borders- examples of territoriality
Oct 22MID TERM TEST,
LECTURES 1-6, DURING THE SELF
STUDY 1 HOUR CLASS TIME ON
THURS THIS WEEK
7. Time, Space, and Time-Space- the organisation of time- nature of time and space- time-space totality, prisms, paths, convergence, divergence- constraints - cognitive, capability, coupling, control
Oct 29 8. Spatial Interaction- definitions and roles- activity space and journey to work- residential search behaviour - distance decay and gravity models in retailing (marketing geography)- diffusion
Nov 5 9. Urbanization- defining urban- urban growth and urbanization- urbanization processes: economic, demographic and social- urbanization processes: synchronisation model
Nov 12ESSAY DUE
10. Form, Structure and Design in the City- bid rent theory- the role of transportation technology in city form
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F is Forever Friday:November 16th
- models of internal structure: concentric ring, sector, multiple nuclei- adaptive and integrative environments
- neighbourhood design: Garden Cities and the Radburn planFinal date to withdraw from an undergraduate program for the Fall 2018 term in
good Academic Standing (no refund of Fall 2018 fees).Nov 19 12. Social Structure
- urban ecology - social area analysis, factorial ecology- spatial patterns of social dimensions- the Rees community model
Nov 26 12. Quality of Life in the City- what is quality of life?- indicators and patterns- the gap theory model
Dec 3 CLASSES ENDOnline course evaluations run November 9th to 19th.
GEOGRAPHY 106 – SELF STUDY SCHEDULE FOR FALL 2018This schedule outlines what you will be doing on your own or in class during the one hour slots
each week this semester.WEEK
#WEEK
OFTOPIC OF THE WEEK AND WHAT YOU ARE TO DO ARE YOU
IN CLASS?1 Sept 3 TOPIC: Introduction to the Course
DO: Introduction lectureYES
2 Sept 10 TOPIC: Spatial Concepts and Spatial DynamicsDO: Self-study Exercise #1 (see list below)
NO
3 Sept 17 TOPIC: Environment and PerceptionDO: Self-study Exercise #2 (see list below)
NO
4 Sept 24 TOPIC: Mental Maps and Mental ImagesDO: Self-study exercise #3 (see list below)
NO
5 Oct 1 TOPIC: Sense of PlaceDO: Self-study exercise #4 (see list below)
NO
6 Oct 8-12 R E A D I N G W E E K NOOct 15 TOPIC: Territory and Territoriality
DO: Self-study exercise #5 (see list below)NO
7 Oct 22 DO MID TERM TEST YES8 Oct 29 TOPIC: Spatial Interaction
DO: Self-study exercise #6 - watch six short YouTube videos:1: U.S. Air Traffic flows http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9r3H4iHFZk&feature=relmfu2: U.K. Air Traffic ‘Highways’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEZcBeE33wc3. The U.K. National Electricity Gridhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTM2Ck6XWHg&feature=related4. English Channel Shipping:
9 Nov 5 TOPIC: UrbanisationDO: Self-study exercise #7 – play with global urbanisation throughout history on http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/world/06/urbanisation/html/urbanisation.stm
NO
10 Nov 12 TOPIC: Form, Structure and Design of the CityDO: Self-study exercise #8 (see list below)
NO
11 Nov 19 TOPIC: Social Structure of the CityDO: Self-study exercise #9 - watch William Whyte’s movie The Social Life of Small Urban Places on Vimeo:http://vimeo.com/6821934
NO
12 Nov 26 TOPIC: Quality of Life in the CityDO: Self-study exercise #10 (see list below)
NO
List of Self Study ExercisesSelf-Study Exercise #1: Personal Space(s)For one week starting today, passively and as unobtrusively as possible, observe (take notes on) 3 different environments, such as the TTC (subway or bus) during and outside rush hour, a night club/pub night on a weekend, bank or grocery store line-ups on a busy weekend. Make note of what you see with respect to the personal space of people and their attributes: females versus males, different ethnicities, income levels, ages, familiarity levels (friends, acquaintances, etc). Overall how do people treat their personal spaces in different environments? How about different types of people (e.g. genders, ethnicities, income levels)?Self-Study Exercise #2: PerceptionSpend the hour with a classmate or friend (preferably of the opposite sex) sitting together for 15 minutes each at two venues (e.g. a local coffee shop, the Eaton’s Centre, the Quad, Lake Devo, etc). Don’t speak to each other or compare notes (yet) but just observe what’s going on. Note small or large events that are happening (e.g. people talking, cars/bikes/skateboards going by) and write down what you think is going on (most people on their way to class or home or lunch, shopping/browsing, argument, girlfriend/boyfriend lovey-dovey chat, prof chatting with student, etc). How is the built environment helping or hindering or perhaps causing the event? When you’re done the 15 minutes, spend the next 10 minutes comparing notes about what went on. Did you notice the same events? If not why not do you think? If you did, did you describe them the same?Self-Study Exercise #3: Mental Map of CampusTake the hour and in 10 minutes of it, draw a map from memory of the campus, however you define it. Spend the rest of the time walking around your version of the campus filling in the ‘gaps in the maps’ with as much information as you can about what you missed. At the end assess how much you did miss, and what elements would be very difficult to map at all (e.g.
fleeting activities, noise, smells). Did you think to include anything but buildings, paths, etc?Self-Study Exercise #4: Sense of Place:Visit four coffee shops, two a big chain (e.g. Starbuck’s, Tim Horton’s) and two (more or less) independents (e.g. Jimmy’s, Black Canary, Zavida’s). Compare and contrast what you see as sense of place characteristics (or lack thereof). Do all Starbuck’s look alike and feel the same? Which is most comfortable to be in? Why?Self-Study Exercise #5: Territory and Territoriality:Spend the hour walking around the various spaces on campus - the library, other study spaces, the RAC, cafeterias, student lounges, etc. Take note of all the ways in which your fellow students mark their territory: to study, to relax, to have lunch. Are they territorial when relaxing with friends? Eating? Studying? How territorial are they (e.g. do they move their stuff (concede their territorial claim) more willingly when relaxing than when studying)?Self-Study Exercise #6: Time, Space and Time-space:Sit down for an hour in the evening and think about your day. Record every major event you did and the approximate time and duration of it (e.g. getting up, showering, leaving for school, classes, eating, going home, relaxing (maybe), going to bed. Make up a time-space chart of your movements and locations. How much time did you spend in one place? How much traveling? What proportion of the time spent was discretionary versus obligatory?Self-Study Exercise #8: Form and Structure of the City - Bid Rent Theory:
Spend the hour ‘flying’ around Toronto on Google Earth. ‘Land’ on a few major and minor intersections in street view and take a look. Be sure to check the 3D building box on the side bar menu of databases. Then ‘tilt’ the landscape using the navigation ‘wheel’ at the top of the right hand side of the image. What observations can you make about the economic landscape from the type of land uses you see at each intersection? What patterns of land use and roads to
you see? Is there any type of hierarchy of land use at play?Self-Study Exercise #10: Find a computer and go explore Toronto’s quality of life:Use the hour to surf the following health and wellbeing sites for Toronto:http://map.toronto.ca/wellbeing/http://www.torontohealthprofiles.ca/urbanheartattoronto.phphttp://creativeclassstruggle.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/handout.pdf
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES:By the end of this course, you should be able to:
(1) define and give an example of each of the following concepts:distance, direction, scale, location, proxemics, environment;spatial perception, relative frames of reference, spatial behaviour;mental maps, image-ability;place, behavioural setting, placelessness;territoriality, personalization, defence, at-homeness;residential filtering: downward, upward;time-space paths and prisms, activity system, daily life space, arrow of time;spatial interaction, transferability, complementary, intervening opportunity, gravity model;neighbourhood unit, geoprofiling;bid rent, urban land rent model;urban ecology;quality of life;
(2) compare any of the following sets of concepts giving examples:personal environment, contextual environment, phenomenal environment;node, landmark, path, edge, district;designative and appraisive images;topophilia, topophobia;attributes of place: real, perceived and contrived;landscapes of security and stress, stimulus and ennui, status and stigma;microterritory, mesoterritory and macroterritory;time-space constraints (cognitive, capability, coupling, control); marketing geography models: Thiessen polygon, Breakpoint, Huff;adaptive and integrative environments;sociopetality, sociofugality;natural surveillance, natural access control, territorial reinforcement;urban growth, urbanization;urban core, daily urban space, urban shadow, urban field;eras of urban morphology: pedestrian, streetcar, automobile;urban land use models: concentric ring, sector and multiple nuclei;centrifugal forces, centripetal forces;social economic status, family status, ethnic status;QOL: traditional vs creative class approaches;
(3) understand the hidden geographic dimensions of your own life and the lives of others and be able to discuss those experiences in terms of the course concepts by thinking about how you and others act in space and by giving examples of your own spatial behaviours.
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COURSE POLICIES
Classroom Expectations:In consideration for all others in the room, everyone is asked to turn off cell phones and other personal electronic devices during class time. Computer laptops can be used for note-taking only, but these too will be prohibited if their use is disruptive. It is expected that everyone adheres to Ryerson's Non-Academic Code of Conduct (http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/policies/pol61.pdf) in order to create a respectful classroom environment.
Course Materials and the Use of the Course Website:Weekly lecture outlines, specific textbook readings and additional sources are posted on the course website at the start of the semester to help you prepare for this course. Complete PowerPoint slides of the lecture material will be posted. You are bound by Canadian copyright laws, and use of the shows is restricted to yourself for the duration of this course. Please respect the copyright laws. Students are encouraged to check the course website regularly for announcements.
Email Correspondence:As per Ryerson's policy, students must use their Ryerson email for any correspondence. All efforts will be made to reply promptly, normally within 24 hours Monday to Friday. If more than a simple response is required, students are encouraged to make an appointment via email. NO EMAILS RESPONSE WILL BE ISSUED IF THE QUESTION IS ALREADY ANSWERED IN THE POSTED COURSE MATERIALS.
ESSAY ASSIGNMENT:GEOGRAPHICAL INVESTIGATION OF AN ASPECT OF EVERYDAY LIFE
DUE DATE: IN YOUR SECTION’S LECTURE DURING THE WEEK INDICATED ON THE COURSE OUTLINE.
ObjectiveGeographic principles are incorporated into our everyday lives. This assignment gives you the opportunity to choose one area of the course and explore it in more detail, based on your own experiences and/or the experiences of others.
TopicsThere are three possible essay topics listed below. Each topic follows the same format for the submission, and involves academic data based research, but the type of work in each varies. Choose a topic from the list that interests you and read the PowerPoint shows pertaining to them.
1. Mental Maps of Downtown Toronto drawn by students in GEO106.In this topic, you will examine 10 mental maps of downtown Toronto drawn by past students in GEO 106, and evaluate them based on Lynch's criteria. (See Mental Maps PowerPoint). The maps can be found in sets of 10 on the website. Choose ONE of the sets and use it. Be sure to indicate clearly on your essay cover template which set you used. If you do not include the set number, the essay cannot be graded. The pages in the set show the mental map. Analyze the maps and create a composite mental map (see PowerPoint slides 32-47, and 76+77 especially). Note that if a feature is not labeled on a map, it should not be included in your analysis. Tally up the nodes, landmarks, districts, paths, and edges map by map and determine percentages (see slide 47). Analyze whether the maps are node-orientation or path-orientation (slides 76 and 77, give percentages). Analyze the mental maps. Make sure to include the tally of the nodes, landmarks, districts, paths and edges as table in your submission.
2. Neighbourhoods of Toronto For this topic, you will be comparing two different neighbourhoods of Toronto using the neighbourhood profiles developed by the City of Toronto’s WellBeing Toronto and Urban HEART sites, as well as the Toronto Real Estate Board website, and your own observations. You may also use any other websites as long as they are reliable and referenced. The objective is to choose one of the neighborhood typologies from the Territory and Neighborhoods PowerPoint (Blowers, or Warren & Warren), and fit your chosen neighborhoods into it using the typology’s criteria. This means that you will have to select appropriate variables and find the data for them according to the chosen typology. For example, you will need to find a variable to indicate level of interaction for either typology (think parking lots and subway/bus routes. Once you have done that, compare the differences and similarities of the two neighbourhoods based on their type. Provide maps, tables of any data, or anything else you feel is pertinent.
3. Time-Space AnalysisFor yourself and another person w ho d i ff e r s fr o m y ou in terms of lifecycle, life-level and lifestyle (for example, a parent) keep a daily diary for one week, of where you are and what you are doing for one hour increments throughout the day (you may find it useful to create a table of hours by day of week for this – see the attached example). From this you will draw two graphs (one for each of you) containing the seven life paths (one for each day), and compare the both of you. Compare your own temporal and spatial patterns and assess your activities with respect to the differences between you and the second person in terms of the types of activities, which are discretionary and obligatory, what
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your respective time-space prisms look like, and the constraints on both of you, following the PowerPoint on time-space. Associated with this topic, you will find example information below on the hourly activities of a person (PERSON A) for one week, the profile of that person, and a space-time graph with one of the days filled in. (see pp. 150 - 162). Make sure to include the charts and diaries for yourself and PERSON A in your submission. These can be included as an Appendix.
Submission: Deadline: The paper is due in hard copy in your section’s lecture time dated as per the course
schedule above. Format: This assignment should be word processed in good English prose, use research paper
format headings (see below), and be single sided, 12 point Calibri or Times New Roman, 1.5-line spacing, with office normal default margins. It will be graded on the quality of the writing as well as the quality of the analysis. Number the pages, bottom centre.
Title Page: You must use the attached title page template. Basis of Evaluation Page: You must attach the Basis of Evaluation sheet below.
Research paper headings: Introduction: Establish the topic and your research objective(s). There is no need to formulate
research hypotheses for this paper. Background: Discuss the concepts you will be using and any academic studies other people have
done on your topic should there be any. You can use the web but be wary of the biases of non-academic sources and make any bias clear in your write-up.
Data and Methods: Explain what data you used and what you did with the data to achieve your objectives.
Results and Discussion: Summarize the results of your analysis using words, tables, graphs, photos and/or maps and discuss your findings based on the concepts and expectations from the literature.
Conclusion: End with a brief, final summary. References: All sources that you used for ideas, concepts, data, tables, diagrams, etc. including
your own field observations should be referenced within your paper at the appropriate place using footnotes and included in a separate page of references at the end of your essay. Use any accepted academic reference style – I am not fussy.
Length: 1200 - 1500 words, not including illustrations, references, appendices.
Late Penalty for the Essay:The essay should be handed in directly to the instructor in hard copy at the beginning of your lecture class during the week specified in the course schedule. There is a late penalty of 2% per calendar day which will be enforced once the lecture begins. Late assignments are to be submitted to the drop-box on the 6th floor of Jorgenson Hall to be date stamped. Because of time constraints, requests for deadline extensions will be considered only under exceptional circumstances and students need to inform the instructor by email, and a new due date agreed upon, prior to the assigned due. If an extension is being requested on medical grounds, students must complete the Ryerson Medical Form which can be accessed at http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/forms/medical.pdf. THIS MEDICAL FORM MUST BE SUBMITTED TO YOUR PROGRAM DEPARTMENT AND NOT TO YOUR INSTRUCTOR (see below). Students must also follow Ryerson's Academic Consideration and Appeals Policy http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/policies/pol134.pdf.
REGARDLESS OF ANYTHING SAID ABOVE, NO ESSAY WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE GRADED PAPERS ARE RETURNED IN YOUR CLASS.
USE THE FOLLOWING WRITING GUIDELINES.The value of grades in university was discussed in the first lecture and is in the first PowerPoint. REVIEW THIS SLIDE. The essay will be evaluated based on the following criteria and grades assigned according to The ABCs of University Grading PowerPoint slide.
PERTINENT TO THE COURSE AND ASSIGNMENT CRITERIA:The topic must meet the basic criteria listed above at the start of the project section.
UNDERSTANDING OF THE ISSUEClear connections are made between the topic and the related concepts from your text and lectures.
SUPPORT FOR ARGUMENTSExamples and sources are used effectively to buttress all arguments. Quoted material and ideas of others are well integrated into the discussion. All ideas flow logically and the arguments are reasonable and sound. University-level analysis and tone are used.
LOGICAL STRUCTURE There is a solid introduction and conclusion. The paragraphs utilize topic sentences and paragraph transitions are smooth.
UNIVERSITY-LEVEL LANGUAGE SKILLSSentence structure, grammar, spelling and punctuation are correctly used. First person is NOT used.
PROPER REFERENCINGAll ideas and information are referenced within the essay. Quotation marks are used when directly quoting from sources; however, direct quotations should be used only if they are necessary to make your point. Do not chain quotes together to create an essay. All sources used in the paper are to be referenced in the bibliography. Citations within the essay and the bibliography are to be cited as footnotes in a proper and consistent format, either APA or MLA format. If you are referencing or quoting from web sources in the body of your essay, they must be as a footnote and direct enough that I can find them by clicking a link. Be aware that many search engine results are one time only and a hyperlink will not take you there a second time. It is acceptable to cut and paste tables of data from your website source, such as the World Bank etc but be sure to cite the exact link where you found the table/graph. You can also download many legitimate data websites to Excel and manipulate or present the data that way and these should be sourced as well.
PLEASE NOTE: A university-level research essay goes beyond the five-paragraph essay format. The five-paragraph essay format is NOT appropriate for this assignment. Neither is point form or the excess use of other devices to avoid writing. Tables are not considered part of the written essay regardless that they might contain narrative summaries.
OTHER WRITING IRRITATIONS TO AVOID
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The reason for the following demands is due to the fact that I will likely have nearly 400 essays in this course. Consistency in format and presentation makes the job of marking easier and avoids mistakes and lost papers or parts thereof.
DO NOT use those appalling plastic slipcovers with the stiff spines for your essays. Use a simple, cheap, effective staple in the left hand corner. If the paper is supposed to contain your field work and/or surveys, staple it all together. None of the topics requires so bulky a package as to make this impossible.
TYPED papers only are acceptable. Do not submit a hand written paper or it will be returned to you for typing, with the subsequent late penalties applying. USE SPELL CHECK AND GRAMMAR CHECK!
MARGINS are to be “Office Normal”: 2.54 cm all around, and the TYPEFACE should be in black 12 point CG Times or Calibri only. Do not get innovative with this. A whole essay in Italics or script or Magneto is extraordinarily tiresome to read.
PAPER should be white bond only. Don't hand in those awful sky scenes or wrinkled paper designs the bookstore is selling. Again they are tiresome in the extreme to read and completely unnecessary: they don't improve your writing style, believe it or not.
LINE SPACING should be 1.5 only. PAGE NUMBERS should be on every page of text, bottom centre.
HEADINGS/SUB-HEADINGS should not be used beyond the research format outlined above.
FIGURE/TABLE references should be stated as (Figure 1, Table 1 etc.) and put into the sentence where you first refer to the item. Do not write "see Figure so and so"..
FIGURE/TABLE references should be stated as (Figure 1, Table 1 etc.) and put into the sentence where you first refer to the item. Do not write "see Figure so and so".
SURNAMES AND CHRISTIAN NAMES should appear as they do in your official registration records and hence on my grade recording sheets. ALWAYS put your student ID number on your work. These should be put into the appropriate slots on the Title Page Template provided.
AMOUNT, LEVEL, QUANTITY, and NUMBER: get them correct. People are not an amount, they are a number, milk is an amount - gallons of milk are a number. As a loose rule, if the object(s) to which you are referring come in discrete units they are a number or a quantity; otherwise they are an amount or level.
JARGON: Avoid it like the plague. I don't care what the arguments are for it, it creates confusion and obfuscation and unnecessary complications for all who are not privy to it.
WHEREAS should not be used to start a sentence … unless you intend to finish it. This is a sentence. Whereas this is not. But joining the two with a comma would have worked (though the sentence wouldn't make any sense!).
NEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVER use the word "prove". It is not possible to prove anything, only to disprove it. If you don't believe this, then read Carl Popper and Thomas Kuhn on the matter.
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ITS, IT'S & ITS': This is one of the most common and annoying grammatical errors in student essays. It's = it is; its = the possessive of the pronoun "it" - The dog wagged its tail; its' = nothing at all in English.
ALOT & CAN NOT: These are two more of the most annoying and common grammatical errors, and they really annoy me. Alot is not a word, it is two very poor words "a lot"; use many, several, much. Can not is not two words it is one word "cannot", the negative of "can". INDEPTH is another of these "let's make two words into one" aggravations - it is two words: "in depth".
SEXIST, RACIST, or HOMOPHOBIC language is not condoned in society as a whole, at Ryerson, or in my classes.
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ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FOR ESSAYS
Below are:
A marking rubric. A grade recording template that you must include with your assignment that will be
returned with your marked paper. This is to illustrate the weights I assign to the various components of your paper.
A front page template that you must include with your assignment. Two example templates pertaining to the time-space essay topic.
The grading material gives you an idea of how papers get marked and what constitutes the various grades that you receive in this course, and more generally in university. What you think a paper is worth and what you get for it are usually not highly correlated. Putting a great deal of work into your paper is no guarantee you’ll get an excellent grade; however, doing little or no work is usually the path to a poor grade. When we mark papers we do not go out of our way to give you what you might consider to be a poor grade. Remember – you wrote the paper and earned the grade and what gets evaluated is what you actually wrote and not what I am supposed to read. Two things you should note about grades. First , it is virtually impossible in an essay type assignment to allocate numeric grades. So even though you may see numbers, it is the letter equivalent of the range that approximates what the paper was worth. Second, trying to negotiate for a couple of extra grade points will have no effect on your overall grade for the course. These are assigned as letter grades only. And rarely, when an essay is marked, are we out by more than a sign.
Title Page Template:You must use the template below as your title page. DO NOT CHANGE IT. Be sure to use the SURNAME and FIRST NAME that appear on your official Ryerson record and thus my class list. DO NOT FORGET YOUR ID NUMBER.
Grade Reporting Template:You must attach the garde reporting template below as the back page of your assignment. DO NOT ALTER IT in any way. Be sure to type in the SURNAME, FIRST NAME that appear on your official Ryerson record and thus my class list. DO NOT FORGET YOUR ID NUMBER.
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MARKING GUIDELINESTo be considered excellent a paper must have received an excellent rating in all three categories. NOTE
that in university a “satisfactory” paper will get a ‘C’ NOT a ‘B’. And if you expect an ‘A’ grade, write an ‘A’ paper.
MATERIAL ORGANISATION STYLEEXCELLENT (‘A’ range – you have excelled)
Clear and penetrating ideas.Mature grasp of the subject.Accurate and plentiful documentation.Focused on problem to be solved and linked to larger context.Research/data exhaustive, rich, connected and pertinent.
Clear focus with original thesis.Clear and purposeful development.Rich in detail and rigorous in reasoning.Smooth transitions, clearly connecting elements of the paper.
Diction clear and concise.Concern for reader and delight in the language.Appropriate tone and pointed emphasis.Mastery of the mechanics of the language.
GOOD (‘B’ range – you have exceeded expectations)Clear and interesting ideas.Good grasp of subject, with some omissions.Accurate documentation.Focused on problem to be solved. Research/data detailed, connected and pertinent.
Clear and specific focus.Clear and adequate development.Sufficient but limited details.Sound reasoning.Adequate transitions connecting elements of the paper.
Diction appropriate and accurate.Varied and appropriate sentences.Tone generally appropriate and emphasis apparent rather than pointed.Good grasp of language mechanics.
SATISFACTORY (‘C’ range – you have met expectations)Clear ideas.Grasp of subject but assimilation of ideas incomplete.Accurate documentation but limited in number and variety of sources.Wanders occasionally from focus of problem.Research/data present but light and simple, little connection to topic and not really pertinent.
Thesis clear but simple and/or insufficient.Barely sufficient details and occasionally faulty reasoning.Some awkward transitions or gaps in the structure of the paper.
Diction limited or word flowery.Similar sentence lengths.Tone and/or emphasis not always appropriate.Adequate grasp of language mechanics.
POOR (‘D’ range – you have not met expectations)Confused thoughts.Little or no documentation and of inferior quality or suspect sources.Unfocussed and not addressing the research problem. Little or no research/data present, little connection to topic and not pertinent.
No focus.Insufficient detail to make the case.Faulty reasoning.No apparent structure and awkward transitions.
Awkward and faulty use of language.Poor grasp of language mechanics.Inappropriate tone.
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GRADE REPORTING TEMPLATE (Basis of Evaluation).YOU MUST ATTACH THIS FORM TO YOUR ESSAY
Some or all of the items within each element may apply to your paper.
Name (last, first): ___________________________________________________ ID #: _________________________________
IDEA/RESEARCH QUESTIONIncludes originality and creativity of research idea, or execution of pre-set topic; staying on topic and
answering the question set; pertinence and connection to course content; links to course concepts; accurate use of concepts; feasibility of idea; quality and quantity, detail and pertinence of literature review.
GRADE
weight 20%
DATA COLLECTED/WORK DONEIncludes quality and quantity of data, whether it is primary or secondary, amount of field work done (if
required), creativity shown in acquiring, processing and analyzing data, difficulty of acquisition, precision of use, accuracy of data, rigour and objectivity shown, pertinence to problem statement/research question.
GRADE
weight 30%EXECUTION
Includes flowing the detailed directions provided, thoroughness of work plan, connection to problem statement, goals, objectives, testable expectations, methodology and data collection; using requested
research essay structure; amount, pertinence and understanding of software/statistics used; maintaining focus and answering the question posed; precision in the use of data collected in answering the question,
level and sophistication of data analysis, provision of data summaries and graphics.
GRADE
weight 30%
GRAMMAR/LANGUAGE MECHANICSIncludes English grammar and style skills in using the language; use of good university level research essay form; clarity of communication; brevity, organization; requested referencing style; grammar: punctuation,
spelling, gender neutral, non-racist language; no plagiarism or recycling.
GRADE
weight 15%PRESENTATION
Includes organization of paper, keeping to requested length, provision of clear and properly sized figures, tables and their number, quality, sourcing, pertinence of maps, figures and tables; using specified margins, line spacing, single sided, stapled and page number styles; using conventional typefaces and paper stock; staples not slip covered; use of the cover template provided with your “official” name and ID #; my name
clearly on the cover; title clearly on the cover.
GRADE
weight 5%
Grammar Shorthand Used:INC: Incomplete sentence. RUN: Run-on sentence.GR: grammar sloppy or incorrect. PUN: Punctuation poor.ST: Style awkward, excessive, too “chatty”, personal.SP: Spelling error. NW: no such/wrong/poor use of word/overuse of superlatives.SSP: Single sentence paragraphs – don’t use them.P: Should be new paragraph.UC or ?: Unclear statement of idea, makes no sense, confusing.PLL: Paraphrase of someone else’s idea.REF: Unacceptable form of referencing.WW: wasted words – sentence states the obvious/nothing at all/adds nothing.COL: Don’t use colloquialisms.MS: Margins/spacing unacceptable.TP: Typeface and/or paper stock, font, spacing, margins unconventional and irritating.ITS: its, it’s, its’ problem.#: Don’t start sentences with numbers – write them out.
FINAL GRADE
Out of 100%
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TYPE ALL ENTRIES BELOW AND DO NOT ALTER THIS TEMPLATE!IT SHOULD BE USED AS THE FIRST PAGE OF YOUR ASSIGNMENT.
USE THE LAST NAME AND FIRST NAME ON YOUR RYERSON STUDENT RECORD.LAST NAME:FIRST NAME:STUDENT NUMBER:COURSE: SECTION NUMBER:INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Philip Coppack, JOR 609
ESSAY TOPIC (circle):Neighborhoods
Time-spaceMental Maps
(SET #):
NEIGHBORHOOD (if chosen):
ESSAY TITLE:
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Use aStaple Only!
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EXAMPLE OF A TIME SPACE ANALYSIS DATA SHEET
PERSON A (SOMEONE OTHER THAN YOURSELF)
Age (circle): <15, 15-65, >65Gender: FemaleLocation of Family Residence (place, not address): Oakville, ONLocation of Work (place, not address): Downtown Toronto Mode of Transportation to Work: GO Transit; car parked at GO station
Locations and Distances: Between Home (Oakville) and Work (Downtown): ca. 40 kilometres Between Home and Children's Friends and Back ca: 10 km Between Home and Grocery Store: 2km Between Home and Shopping with Daughter (Square One): ca. 20km Between Home and Parents' House (Etobicoke): ca. 30 km Between Home and Gym: 2km Between Work and Restaurant: 0.5 km Between Work and Errands: 2km
Below is an example of a data table. You may use this as a template for your own data. You will need two – one for yourself and one for your comparator person.
Also below is an example of a time-space path diagram. YOU WILL NEED SEVEN GRAPHS – ONE FOR EACH DAY. PUT BOTH PEOPLE ON ONE GRAPH FOR EACH DAY SINCE YOU WISH TO COMPARE THE DAILY TIME SPACE PATHS FOR EACH PERSON. THUS EACH GRAPH WILL BE FOR ONE DAY AND HAVE BOTH PERSONS ON IT.
Academic integrity is essential to a university learning environment. Please read Ryerson'sCode of Academic Conduct h tt p : / / w w w . r y erson . c a/senat e / p oli c i es/po l 6 0 . pd f The academic integrity website is also an excellent resource to familiarize students with what constitutes academic misconduct and how to avoid it. It has definitions, examples of misconceptions, scenarios, tutorials, etc. as well as a link to the policy:htt p: // www.r yerson. ca/academicinteg r it y/ index. htm l
Below are excerpts from the website which define academic misconduct and plagiarism:"Academic misconduct is defined as:
Plagiarism. Cheating. Misrepresentation of personal identity or performance. Submission of false information. Damaging or Tampering with the Scholarly Environment. Contributing to Academic Misconduct. Unauthorized Copying or Use of Copyrighted Materials. Violations of Departmental Policies on Professional Behaviour".
h tt p : / / ww w .r y erson . ca/a c a d emic i nt e g r i t y / s t u d e n t s / g u i d e /
"What does plagiarism mean?
According to the Ryerson University C o d e of A c a d em i c C o n d u c t , plagiarism means claiming the words, ideas, artistry, drawings, images or data of another person as if they were your own.
You are probably aware that purchasing an essay or having someone else write it for you constitutes plagiarism, but there are other forms of plagiarism that may not be so obvious. In University, you will often be required to use outside sources like websites, books, articles, and textbooks, but in your written work, you must separate your ideas from those of others and properly cite your sources. Whether you are writing a research essay, a self-reflection paper, a lab report, or a computer program, you must always do your own work.
There are many different types of plagiarism, including: Copying and pasting material from a website. Making minor changes to an author's words or style and then presenting the material as your
own. Taking text from published authors, your friend's paper, or work you've already submitted. Using a direct quotation but leaving out the quotation marks. Paraphrasing too closely to the original. Failing to cite sources or citing them incorrectly such that the work cannot be found. Working with another student on a project but failing to put both names on the final product. Having someone else re-write or heavily edit your paper".
Just remember, if you are found guilty of academic misconduct in a course: the minimum penalty you will receive is a mark of zero on the test, exam, paper, project or
assignment in question the “Disciplinary Notice (DN)” will be placed on your academic record and official transcript
where it will remain until you graduate. The professor might also decide to fail you in the course.
If you already have a DN on your record you will be placed on “Disciplinary Suspension (DS)”.
The University also has the right to place you on Disciplinary Withdrawal or to expel you from the University.
For more information about plagiarism, please refer to the Office of Academic Integrity website, and remember: if in doubt, ask.
Missed Term Test and Final Examination:If a student misses a term test or the final examination, make-up tests and/or exams may be arranged according to Ryerson’s Course Management Policy: http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/policies/pol145.pdf. Deferral of a term test or the final examination is only permitted for a medical emergency; see Ryerson's Academic Consideration and Appeals Policy http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/policies/pol134.pdf .
The instructor must be notified by e-mail prior to the test/exam date, or as soon as possible after the date. In the case of illness, a Ryerson Medical Certificate, or a letter on letterhead from a physician with the student declaration portion of the Ryerson Medical Certificate attached, is required to be submitted to the office of the student’s own program and can be downloaded from the Ryerson website at http://www.ryerson.ca/currentstudents/forms/ . In all cases, documentation is required within three (3) working days of the missed work. Employment commitments will not constitute grounds for academic consideration.
