Final Essay

Instructions

• This document is also posted on Canvas under Assignments: Final Essay.

• Choose any ONE question to answer among the options provided. Write ONE essay.

• For essay-writing tips, please see:
  • Link on essay-writing tips posted on the course syllabus (also available under Modules: Syllabus.
  • Individual and overall feedback provided on midterm essays (overall feedback ppt and video are posted under Modules: Syllabus and also under Modules: Week 8.
• Read the questions carefully. Answer all parts of the question you choose.
• Your essays should not be merely descriptive, but also As indicated in the questions, I expect further analytical work than I did for the midterms.
• You are also expected to use additional material as provided in the lectures (see prompts for each question).
• Expect the grading to be stricter as this is your second essay for the class.
• Please read the discussion board for the week you are writing your essay on, 1) to cite it as needed for the essay, 2) to read my clarifications to make sure you have not misunderstood the course material.

Length:

• 3 double-spaced pages (note the modification from the original syllabus).
• Please stick to the page limit.

Submission Deadline

• Due on Canvas by Sunday, Dec 13, 11:59 p.m.
• Grace Period: You may submit up until Monday, Dec 14, 5 p.m. with no penalty.

Policy on Submission Deadline

• Late papers will not be accepted.
• If you have a legitimate situation impacting your ability to turn in your paper on time, please contact me well ahead of time, not just before or after the deadline.

• If your papers are turned in beyond the grace period, I cannot guarantee that we can grade them. If at all we can grade them, 2 points will be taken off per day your paper is late.

Asking for Clarifications

• Please post any small questions you might want clarified on the Discussion Board for Weeks 9 or 10, and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
• For more detailed questions:
  • You can email either me or Shannon.
  • I will have by-appointment office hours on Monday of Week 10, 3:30-5 p.m. as announced, so feel free to book a time slot as instructed.

Sources you are expected to use

• Lectures and material used in lectures as indicated with the individual essay questions.
• Assigned course reading for the topic/s as indicated in each question prompt.
  • Note: Videos included in lectures or on the syllabus are not readings and should be used in addition to readings, not in place of them.
• Discussion Board posts for that week (with the exception of Week 6).
  • Please do not summarize the discussion board or reference all the posts. Pick one or two or pick out common themes or points you agree/disagree with or that made you think about some aspect of the topic, and explain how and why.
• Additional material: Please read the prompts provided for each question carefully for instructions on what additional materials you are expected to use.

References and Citation

• Please make sure to name all authors and videos you reference within the text of your essay, with dates of publication.
  • You will lose points under “Use of Course Material” for not doing so.
• Include a Works Cited/Bibliography section at the end of your essay.
  • You will lose points under “Use of Course Material” for not doing so.

• On Canvas under Modules: Syllabus, there is a ppt on how to do APA citations.

Please take a look at it if you do not know how to do in-text citations and bibliographies.

• How to cite class lectures:
  • In the text of your essay, indicate that you are citing the lecture. E.g. “In her lecture on October 19, Professor Ramachandran mentioned….”
  • In the Works Cited at the end, list: Ramachandran, Vibhuti. Global Trafficking Fall 2020, (Date) Lecture.
• How to cite a discussion board post:
  • In the text of your essay, indicate whose post you are referencing. e.g. “In the discussion board for the sex trafficking topic, David mentioned….” Or “Professor Ramachandran clarified…”
  • In the Works Cited at the end, list: Global Trafficking Fall 2020, Week (X) Canvas Discussion Board.

Submission Instructions

• The assignment is set up on Canvas as Final Essay.
  • Upload your essays under this assignment category.
• Formats for uploads: doc, docx, or pdf.
• Please indicate in the title of your paper which Week’s Question you are answering.
• If you encounter any technical difficulties with your submission:
  • Please let us know by or before the deadline.
  • If you are unable to submit via Canvas for technical reasons, email your essays (save the document as your name-midterm essay) to your TA, Shannon. If you do so by or before the grace period, you won’t lose points.

Grading Information

• Your essay is worth 25 points and constitutes half of the 50% of your grade in the class that is assessed through essays, as indicated on the syllabus.

Grading CRITERIA: Each of these criteria is worth 5 points.

1. Answered the Question?
2. Quality of Analysis
3. Quality of Writing
4. Use of Course Material–Reading
5. Use of Course Material–Lecture

• More details are provided after the Questions.
• Any evidence of plagiarism places the entire essay into C or a lower grade, depending on the extent of plagiarism exhibited. For details, please see the statement on Academic Integrity on your course syllabus. We will be using Turnitin while grading your papers.

Is it possible to get feedback on drafts of essays?

• Your TA Shannon has office hours by appointment the week before final essays are due. Any students who want feedback on drafts may contact her. You need to have an actual draft emailed to her at least two days prior to the appointment.
• Please read Shannon’s announcement on our Canvas page under “Announcements.”
• Shannon’s email: shannon2@uci.edu

Essay Questions (Pick any ONE)

Week 6 Question: How are the alternative representations of sex trafficking covered in Week 6 different from the mainstream representations covered in Week 4? How do they represent the issue in a more nuanced and complex way? To illustrate, draw upon the work of BOTH Ben Taub and Sine Plambech as explained in lecture.

• Draw upon the lecture + the assigned reading and video for the week (Ben Taub) + additional material as discussed in lecture (Sine Plambech article + either ONE of her two films).
• As there was no activity on the optional discussion board this week, you will not be expected to reference it. Instead, spend one paragraph summarizing the problems with Kristof’s reporting as covered in Week 4.

Week 7 Question: How does Kevin Bales describe child sex trafficking in Thailand? What are the problems with this approach? How does Heather Montgomery offer us a different perspective? How does comparing child sex trafficking in Thailand with child sex trafficking in the U.S. help us understand the issue itself, as well as why children stay or return to the sex trade, from a global perspective?

• Draw upon both the lectures + the assigned reading for the week (Bales + Montgomery) + film/additional material (either Very Young Girls or the Jeffrey Epstein case) + the discussion board for that week.

Week 8 Question: How does Denise Brennan explain that trafficking into forced labor in the U.S. occurs along a spectrum of migrant exploitation? What does she mean by the concept of “subjectivity of coercion?” How does this concept help us understand the experiences of people trafficked into forced labor and the choices they make to stay or to leave their situations? Discuss one of the examples of domestic workers Brennan uses in the book (Maria, Eva, or Flo) to illustrate all parts of your answer.

• Draw upon both the lectures + the assigned reading for the week (chapters from Brennan’s book) + additional material (Brennan podcast + NYT article on New York Domestic Workers Alliance) + the discussion board for that week.

Week 9 Question: Why do children from impoverished families work to support their families? With reference to the UN Protocol against trafficking, how is child labor a form of trafficking? Compare child labor in India with child labor in EITHER Ghana OR the U.S. to illustrate your answer. As discussed in Ramachandran’s article, what are the limitations of current anti-trafficking rescue operations as a response to child labor?

• Draw upon both the lectures + assigned course material for the week (Ramachandran article + Siddharth film) + additional material (Pick one of the optional materials provided on EITHER the U.S. OR Ghana) + the discussion board for that week.
• Remember to also reference the UN Protocol, as asked in the question. It is available under the Week 1 Module.

Grading Rubric for Essays

GRADE SCALE

A+ 98 –100	B+ 88 – 89	C+ 78 – 79	D+ 68 – 69	F 0 – 59
A 92 – 97	B 82 – 87	C 72 – 77	D 62 – 67
A- 90 – 91	B- 80 – 81	C- 70 – 71	D- 60 – 61

Converted to points out of 25:

A+ 24.5-25

A 23-24.25

A- 22.5-22.75

B+ 22-22.25

B 20.5-21.75

B- 20-20.25

C+ 19.5-19.75

C 18-19.25

C- 17.5-17.75

D+ 17-17.25

D 15.5-16.75

D- 15-15.25

F 0-14.75

Grading Rubric

The rubric below is merely a guide. All possible scenarios that come up during grading cannot be covered or anticipated, some essays may be strong in some areas and weak in others, and grading is always in comparison to the rest of the class.

Grading Rubric

• Each essay will be worth 25 points.
• Each criteria in the rubric is worth 5 points.
• Any evidence of plagiarism places the entire essay into C or a lower grade, depending on the extent of plagiarism exhibited.

	Criteria	A+	A	A-	B+	B	B-
		Meets all of the criteria for an “A” post exceptionally well.	Meets all of these criteria	Overall a good post, with some combination of the following flaws:	Demonstrate a greater extent of the flaws listed under A-posts and/ or other flaws listed specifically under this category.	Demonstrate a greater extent of the flaws listed under B+ posts and/or other flaws listed specifically under this category.	Demonstrate a greater extent of the flaws listed under B posts and/or other flaws listed specifically under this category.
1	Answered the Question?		Effectively answered the question.	Mostly answered the question, with 1-2 missing elements, inadequacies, inconsistences, errors, etc.	Partially answered the question, with more than 2 missing elements, inadequacies, inconsistences, errors, etc.	Missed out on three important components of the instructions. Some components were inadequately addressed.	Missed out on more than three important components of the instructions. Some components were inadequately addressed.
2	Quality of Analysis Original – no evident plagiarism, no reliance upon generic internet sources. Makes strong and effective contrasts and connections. Uses illustrative examples.		Strong analysis	Analysis is headed in the right direction, but is somewhat lacking.	Inadequate and/or partially incorrect analysis.	Weak and/or significantly incorrect analysis	Analysis is minimal at best.
3	Quality of Writing Clearly written and explained.		Clearly written and explained.	Some lack of clarity in writing/ explanation.	Substantial lack of clarity in writing/ explanation.	Considerable lack of clarity in writing/ explanation.	Complete lack of clarity in writing/ explanation, “all over the place.”
4	Use of Course Material – Reading Demonstrates that the student actually did the reading (at least the main author/s from the assigned topic as indicated on the syllabus).		Actually draws upon/ asks questions about the reading, rather than merely the explanation provided during lecture. Use of arguments and/or examples, quotes etc. from the reading is correct, effective, and integrated with the analysis.	Draws upon the reading, but could have made better use of it – lacks sufficient explanation or elaboration. Uses the reading somewhat incorrectly.	Draws minimally from the reading. Draws upon parts of it that are not relevant to what was covered in lecture. Uses the reading very incorrectly.	It is evident that the student cites authors only from the lecture slides, not from the reading.	Student does not refer to the main author/s for the assigned topic as indicated on the syllabus.
5	Use of Course Material – Lecture Demonstrates that the student has paid attention during lecture and understood the main points that were highlighted		Explains issues and debates + uses authors, videos etc. correctly as explained in lecture.	Explains issues and debates + uses authors and videos as explained in lecture, with some inconsistencies and/ or inaccuracies.	Uses ideas and concepts from lecture but uses them incorrectly or to make the opposite argument to what was explained in lecture.	Uses ideas and concepts from course material, but the entire framework is substantially different from the explanations in lecture.	Essay indicates that the student has barely paid attention during lecture or failed to review the lecture slides.

“C+” category essays:

In addition to the flaws of the “B” category essays:

• Did not address most of the required components of the essay.
• General treatment of the topic without any connection to class.
• Demonstrate substantially incorrect or flawed understanding of topic.

“C” category essays:

• Demonstrate any combination of the flaws of “C+” essays, +
• Demonstrate completely incorrect or flawed understanding of topic.
• Addressed at the most 1 component of the essay, which is somewhat clearly written.

“C-“category essays:

In addition to the problems with “C” essays:

• Poorly Written.
• About 1/4th of the essay is copy-pasted from wikipedia or other forms of plagiarism.

“D” category essays:

Any combination of the following problems:

• Made some sort of vague point about the topic but completely lacking in any connection to the class.
• Did not address any of the components of the assignment.
• Half or more of the essay is copy-pasted from wikipedia or exhibits other forms of plagiarism.

“F” category essays:

• No submission.
• Only copy/pasted or only used wikipedia or exhibits other forms of plagiarism.