EA300B: Children’s Literature (II) TMA: Semester 2, 2016 - 2017

EA300B: Children’s Literature (II)
TMA: Semester 2, 2016 - 2017

TMA: 20 points
Cut-off date: week 11
April 29, 2017
Length: 1800 words


Discuss the way mothers are depicted in two picturebooks of your choice.*


Student Notes:

You are expected to compare and discuss the representation of motherhood in two different pictures books. If you choose two picturebooks which are not taught in the course, you should seek the approval of your tutor first. You can compare the ways mothers are constructed in these books, their relationship with their sons / daughters and the role they play in their growing up and maturation. Love and care are two values associated with motherhood; you can explore such associations based on clear support from the books you are discussing.

In the course of your essay, you are expected to engage with the critical materials provided for the module, explaining where you are adopting critics’ views, and where you are refining them or challenging them. You are likely to find it helpful to contrast critical viewpoints, and to experiment with how far they can be combined

When it comes to planning your essay, you may find it helpful to set up an outline structure of points you wish to make, and then choose selected scenes, episodes, or pictures from the picturebooks to write about in detail to flesh out your points. In this type of essay, it is essential to make detailed reference to works you are discussing, as well as to the critical literature.

* If you choose to work on picturebooks not included in the course, make sure your tutor approves the two picturebooks before you start working on your assignment

A thesis statement and a proper logical presentation of ideas are essential.

To do this TMA, you will need to do the following steps:

1. Plan your essay ahead of time by writing a plan highlighting the main points you intend to cover.
2. Write a thesis statement stating your argument to be included in the first page of your essay.
3. Select some excerpts / scenes / pictures that relate to your argument. State what they say and add your own comments and interpretation.
4. Make sure your essay makes reference to some quotations from the picturebooks.
5. Your analytical comments should follow every time you quote from the text under discussion or the critical material you refer to.
6. Reference to critical material related to this topic is necessary. (You should refer to at least 3 critical works).
7. All your references should follow the Harvard citation system
8. You should refer and quote from the course’s audiovisual material whenever possible. The audiovisual material should be well integrated in your essay.
9. At this stage, you are expected to know how to paraphrase and synthesize the material you read, using your own words as much as possible. You still have to quote and use quotation marks in the right annotation methods you learned from your tutors.
10. Make sure you ask your tutors in class and during their office hours for further clarifications.

Using the e-library on campus:
Students are requested to visit the e-library on campus and use it to do their TMAs properly. They are also requested to show their tutor that they used the e-library in doing the TMA by referring to some articles they have read. Students who fail to use and refer to material from the e-library will subsequently lose some marks.

The following are guidelines on plagiarism:
If you submit an assignment that contains work other than yours without acknowledging your sources, you are committing plagiarism. This might occur when:

• Using a sentence or phrase that you have come across without referencing your source.
• Copying word-for-word directly from a text
• Paraphrasing the words from the text very closely without acknowledging your source.
• Using text downloaded from the Internet
• Borrowing statistics or assembled facts from another person or source
• Copying or downloading figures, photographs, pictures or diagrams without acknowledging your sources
• Copying from the notes or essays of a fellow student

You can avoid plagiarism simply by always putting your quotes and paraphrases in a reference. Feel free to use material from elsewhere as long as a proper reference is given. Follow Harvard style referencing for your bibliography and in-text citations.


(Slightly adapted from OU document on quoting versus plagiarism)

It is important to remember that plagiarism is strictly barred and would be subject to punitive action by the Arab Open University.

Marking Descriptor

GRADE CONTENT LANGUAGE & ORGANIZATION
A


(18-20) Excellent answers showing confident and wide-ranging knowledge of core material, good understanding of any relevant theory, and a capacity to address the question in a structural, direct and effective way, thoughtfully and with insight. Originality of thought or ideas from outside the course are an added asset. Examples are to the point. - Has an introduction defining plan of essay.
- Body divided into several paragraphs
- Conclusion which directly relates arguments to topic.
- Evidence that essay has been edited.
- Error-free grammar & register.
- Wide range of specialized terminology.
- Consistent in-text citation and form of referencing
B to B+


(16-17) Very good answers showing secure knowledge of course materials. Adopting an analytical approach and providing relevant discussion covering most of the key issues. Distinguished from A answers by being less insightful or by showing less comprehensive knowledge of the course. - First four criteria above maintained
- Demonstrates extensive grammar control.
- Terminology specialized but less varied.
- Minor Inconsistency in in-text citation and referencing
C to C+


(14-15) Competent answers reflecting adequate knowledge of the more directly relevant course material and concepts, with reasonable structure and adequate coherence related to the question set. - Introduction and/or conclusion short but still satisfactory.
- Evidence of editing.
- Less grammar control than above.
- Good range of specialized terminology.
- Inconsistent in in-text citation and referencing
D



(10-13)


Answers which omit some concepts /evidence and/or lack coherence /structure, and/or make minor errors while still demonstrating basic understanding. Or bare pass answers which show awareness of some relevant material and attempt to relate it to the question. - Introduction and/or conclusion short but acceptable.
- no evidence of editing.
- Few grammatical errors that impede communication.
- Above average range of specialized terminology.
- Slightly confused introduction and/or conclusion, but body still fair.
- No evidence of editing.
- Some error types that impede communication.
- Fair range of specialized terminology.
- Inaccurate in-text citation and referencing
F

Below
10 Answers which attempt to draw upon relevant material but do not reflect sufficient knowledge of the course and/or neglect the focus required by the question, and/or are incomplete in some important aspects whilst being acceptable in others. - No introduction and /or no conclusion.
- Body badly organized or irrelevant.
- Poor grammar control (extremely limited range of grammar & register).
- Limited or not specialized range of terminology.
- No in-text citations and no referencing