This assignment is an opportunity to explore, in-depth, a topic that expands your knowledge and competence in the broad field Leisure Studies. You are free to choose your own topic but the topic should be something that has come up in this course’s Lessons or readings. Using knowledge and key concepts from the course, in addition to your own external research, you will write a paper in the format of an expository essay.
The function of the expository essay is to explain, or to acquaint your reader with a body of knowledge. Thus, an expository essay should explain a topic in a logical and straightforward manner. By explaining a topic to the reader, you are demonstrating your own knowledge. The purpose of these types of essays is NOT to argue, form an opinion, or take a position but to “explain” a topic. Please read the following short description of an expository essay as it is very helpful: https://www.time4writing.com/writing-resources/expository-essay/.
Length and Format of Essay
All essays must be between 1250-1500 words. This does not include the Title Page and References Page(s). Papers must be written in Times New Roman 12 pt. font, have one-inch margins and must be double-spaced (2.0) throughout (including between paragraphs), no more or less. All papers must follow the structural guidelines outlined in the American Psychological Association (APA) 7th Edition Style for essays which includes guidelines for things such as cover pages, page numbers), grammar (e.g., no contractions allowed in APA formatted papers), references and more. Some of this information can be found at https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_style_introduction.html. Other sources on APA 7th Edition style formatting, including the guide, can be found at the library at Brock University.
Please include on the title page: (1) the title of the essay (2) your name; (3) your student number; (4) your student email; (5) the date; and (6) the course and university. Please try to pick an essay title that is creative and reflects your topic.
All submitted papers should be in .docx format (the format of most Microsoft Word documents), DO NOT SUBMIT PAPERS IN .pdf FORMAT!
References
Your essays must contain at least six (6) scholarly references that are external to the mandatory articles and chapters that you read for this course. These scholarly references do not include: any course textbook chapters or any articles assigned in this course as mandatory readings. Articles that were assigned as mandatory readings for the course’s lessons and chapters of the course textbook may be used as references but will not count towards the scholarly references required. This assignment encourages you to conduct your own research and find new scholarly sources that inform on your topic of choice.
Scholarly references considered credible sources include: peer-reviewed journal articles, books that are in the University library, books that are available through Brock’s online book repository, textbooks, and reports from recognized associations or councils.
Sources that are not credible or scholarly and are considered poor sources include: web-sites, Wikipedia, blogs, vlogs and other videos, chatrooms, personal communications, answer.com, magazines and newspaper articles. You may use these to some degree but these will not count towards the six (6) credible scholarly sources required.
In-text citations must be used to refer to content and supporting points that have originally come from other sources – all essays must contain these. All in-text citations must be properly formatted following APA 7th Edition Guidelines. Please be knowledgeable on the difference between citing “direct quotes” (i.e., with page numbers) and citing paraphrased statements – both instances require citations.
All sources that have been cited should be listed on a References page (or pages) that goes directly at the back of your essay. All references listed on the References page should be cited somewhere within the body of the essay. Please follow APA 7th Edition Guidelines for formatting a reference page – this is different from, and longer than, formatting in-text citations. Be aware of the differences between listing references that are journal articles, authored books, edited books, etc.
Once again, these APA guidelines can be found at https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/a… while more in-depth sources including the guide can be found at Brock’s library.
Advice/Recommendations
It is recommended for an essay of this length that a single thesis (main idea) be presented in your introductory paragraph (often the last sentence). An essay thesis is typically very specific. Make this statement very clear and coherent. Ensure that the introduction is not only a thesis statement. Remember that in an expository essay the thesis is not meant to put forth an argument, opinion, or a position but to give the essay a direction and provide the reader with an idea of what’s to come.
The body of the essay between the introduction and conclusion should be devoted to providing details in support of the thesis. In an essay of this length students are often able to coherently present three to four main supporting points that contribute to the essay’s central thesis. Use your sources, including at least six (6) academic peer reviewed references external to this course’s mandatory textbook and article readings, to support your points.
Do not overlook the importance of your conclusion. This helps bring your essay full circle and punctuate the main idea that you have been making throughout your essay. Spelling and grammar and APA formatting are also very important and will affect your mark.
The best advice I can give for any essay is to DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST. Read through your academic sources and take notes. Look for substantial points and connections between your sources. A well written essay will be written more naturally around the research already conducted and the notes taken.
This course’s assignments use Turnitin.com, a phrase-matching, anti-plagiarism software. All assignments submitted to Sakai will undergo phrase-matching automatically via Turnitin.com. Please visit the following website if you’d like to learn more about this tool.
https://brocku.ca/pedagogical-innovation/teaching-…
Potential Topics
Through this assignment you are encouraged to delve deeper into any concepts brought up in the course that you feel you would like to learn more about. Think about topics or concepts brought up within lessons or readings that you feel you would like to educate yourself on and write about.
Written here are some ideas of topics discussed in this course. Please feel free to choose your own topics. These are simply listed here to spark creativity.
- Leisure as State of Being
- Leisure and Time
- Leisure as Activity
- Leisure as Psychological Experiences
- Understanding Recreation
- Community Recreation/Leisure
- Community Development
- Outdoor Recreation/Leisure
- Leisure and the Environment
- Therapeutic Recreation/Leisure
- Leisure and Wellbeing
- Inclusive Recreation/Leisure
- Leisure Services Delivery
- Leisure Services Program Planning
- Leisure Services Evaluation
- Understanding Sport
- Understanding Play
- Play and Work
- Therapeutic Play
- Play as Education
- Leisure and Political Issues
- Leisure and Stress Coping
- Constraints to Leisure Participation
- Leisure’s Implications on Society
- Leisure and perceived freedom
- Leisure and Motivation
- Leisure and perceived obligation
- Leisure Lifestyles
- Serious, Casual, Project Based Leisure
- Hobbyists
- Volunteering as Leisure
- Amateurism and Leisure
- Leisure and Gender Issues
- Leisure and Feminism
- Leisure and Race/Ethnicity
- Family Leisure
- Leisure and Socio-economic Class
- Leisure and Disability/ Chronic Illness
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