Order Description
1. Professional Reading/Research Assignment. (50%)
This assignment, aimed at developing critical thinking and professional writing skills, is an 4000 words academic essay examining and exploring a theme in the area of sociocultural aspects of second language learning and teaching. You can choose one topic or issue that interested you most during class discussion or in course readings. Further explore it through your research using library and online resources. You may find a series of articles from professional journals or book chapters that may support, extend, or challenge the positions that you held previously. Your essay needs to be written in a way in which your readers can understand your points without reading all the quoted articles. Therefore brief reviews/descriptions of certain concepts and arguments might be needed. However, what your critical examination of these ideas and positions and the in-depth exploration of their theoretical or practical implications should carry more weight in your writing. You are encouraged to employ ideas, disciplines, and works that make up this course in your analysis and discussions. Connecting to your personal experience may add strength to your writing. The full references should be included in APA style.

Research paper evaluation rubrics
A central criterion in the assessment of your research paper is the extent to which your work indicates an ability to draw on a great deal of theory and research to arrive at a position that is coherent and consistent. Your ability to make connections between theories and educational practice is also a very important criterion for the assessment. Critical and creative thinking is definitely encouraged and valued.
• The significance of the selected topic in theory and/or practice (8 points)
• Your general understanding of the concepts related to the issues (8 points)
• The depth of your exploration and discussion on the issues (10 points)
• The extend of your research on the topic and your ability in using the sources to support your writing (10 points)
• The soundness of your judgment and uniqueness of your critical and independent thinking. (10 points)
• The clear and logical organization of your essay (4 points)