Comparative Cultures and Communication Blog

Overview:
For this prewriting assignment, students produce a draft of your final blog. While you do not need to complete a prewriting document as you did in your first two assignments, you should still identify the steps you took for those assignments and make sure that you have completed the steps necessary to produce a high-quality blog.
Steps:
Select Countries
Conduct research – in this assignment you are expected to determine what are credible sources (follow the link for a guide to help you with this.)
Develop a thesis statement. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Write an outline (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.Links to an external site. This outline will be similar in format to the previous assignment, review the steps below to identify the different scope of elements required.
Determine how their argument (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.is situated within the body of existing knowledge and research
Use credible sources (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. to support their argument. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Organize their thoughts and research into a clear structure
Develop your blog – for this assignment, you will submit a draft of your blog, you will not use the format of the earlier prewritting assignments.
Include questions – as with the earlier prewritting assignments you will provide two questions you would like you peer reviewers to address for you.
Step 1: Select Countries: You will select two countries, whose cultures you will examine using the following guidance:
Your Home Country – the first country you research and write about will be the country in which you have lived the longest, and therefore are most familiar with in terms of culture.
The second country you research and write about will be one that is geographically distant from your home country and is not considered in the same mega-culture.
For example, if the United States meets the criteria to be your first country, you may not select Canada or Mexico, due to their geographic proximity, and you may not select European countries, Australia or New Zealand as all these countries have cultures classified as “western?” which is a shared mega-culture. Other mega-cultures include “Easter?” (Asian), The Islamic World, The Middle East, different African mega-cultures, etc.
NOTE: Your primary selections for this comparison must be countries. You cannot use micro-cultures (Ex: sub-cultures within countries, even your own), including those discussed in your course packet.
How this fits into your submission:
As the countries you select are a major focus of your work they should be included in the title and thesis statements.
Step 2: Conduct Research
Review the scope of what must be addressed in this assignment in the assignment overview. Determine what types of evidence you will need your research to provide for your blog. Be sure that you are moving beyond stereotypes and assumptions into currently accurate and credible information. You must also provide information in your blog that goes beyond course material already reviewed.
Research:
You are required to use a minimum of 5 sources for this blog, which will ultimately be listed at the bottom of your blog under the heading “Reference?” (just like last time). Be sure your sources are all professionally credible sources.
The specific sources approved for earlier assignments are not sources that are useful for this assignment. However, it is essential that the sources you use are similar in credibility and authority to the sources indicated in the Approved Sources list from the last assignment. Sources that are not similar in credibility and authority will not be counted toward your required number of sources. For example, where you might have used the CIA World Fact Book, you may want to use US State Department Resources, US Embassy websites in countries you are reviewing and Embassy Websites (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.from the countries you are reviewing. ( (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.The quality of Embassy websites vary, some may be more useful than others.). When looking for journal articles, think about what fields study international cultures and what field need to understand them as major elements of their professions.
Source Examples: Sources for this blog are likely to be from professional associations or organizations, reputable news outlets, and governmental agencies, although scholarly sources may still be referenced. Types of sources that can be used include:
United States State Department (or other country’s equivalent)
Embassies website for embassies in each other’s countries
Published Travel Guides or Websites of reputable Travel Guides, Travel TV shows, or Travel Magazines (for example: look at Frommer’s Language in Bulgar