Final Marking Guidelines

The introduction should describe the topic, mention its significance, and outline how the topic will be addressed, using secondary data from printed and web sources. Students were asked to state the thesis of the essay in the introduction. An excellent introduction will also mention the significance of immigration.

The Body

Ideally, the body of the essay will be presented in the order mentioned in the assignment. I recommended subheadings to distinguish among sections of the essay. The thesis should be supported by a fair evaluation of the information. Students may discuss information that contradicts the thesis as well as information that supports it. Students may express any one of three opinions: immigration is heightening the differences among the three metropolitan areas, immigration is not differentiating the three metropolitan areas, and the evidence is mixed.

Comparison of Immigrants in the Three Metropolitan Areas - When evaluating this section consider whether the comparison is complete. Information from Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4 should be discussed. The comparison should be organized into a series of arguments supported with specific details and examples. For example, a statement that Toronto is different from the other metropolitan areas because of the large number of immigrants who have settled there should be followed by a discussion of the information in Table 1. The discussion should note that Toronto has the highest proportion of immigrants in its total population, 41.9 percent compared with 34.9 percent in Vancouver and 17.8 percent in Montreal. The total numbers of immigrants should also be compared. A comment about the number and percentage of the total population who are recent immigrants noting that Vancouver has an equal percentage of recent immigrants but a much smaller number and both the absolute and relative sizes of recent immigrants are smaller in Montreal would strengthen the argument.

The information about total immigrants by birthplace and recent immigrants by birthplace should be discussed in a similar fashion. The assignment asks students to identify the main similarities among the three metropolitan areas and then discuss the differences. There are few similarities other than the large numbers of immigrants from Asian countries in each metropolitan area. Differences are much easier to identify. The information in Table 2 indicates that immigrants in Montreal are from different birthplaces than many of those in Toronto and Vancouver. There are fewer immigrants from the United Kingdom and Asian birthplaces in Montreal than in Toronto or Vancouver. Compare the percentage of immigrants from Hong Kong, India, China and the Philippines. The proportions of immigrants from Italy, Poland, and Portugal are higher in Montreal than in Vancouver and for Italians, than for Toronto. Students may also indicate that the percentage of all immigrants accounted for by the ten birthplaces is much smaller in Montreal than in Toronto and Vancouver. Comparing Vancouver with Toronto, students may also note the importance of immigrants from the United Kingdom and Asia in Vancouver. The percentages of immigrants born in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, India, China, and the Philippines, are higher in Vancouver than in Toronto. Students who also note that the absolute numbers from these birthplaces are still smaller in Vancouver than in Toronto should be complimented.

A similar analysis of Table 3 should identify the main similarities and differences in the birthplaces of recent immigrants, those who arrived between 1991 and 1996. Note that the majority of recent immigrants who have settled in Vancouver are from Hong Kong, China, India, Philippines, and Taiwan, that together account for about 67 percent of all recent immigrants. The birthplaces of recent immigrants are much more diverse in Toronto and Montreal. Comparison of the absolute numbers of immigrants will also reveal the importance of Asian sources for immigrants settling in Vancouver.

The last part of the section should compare the periods of arrival of immigrants in the three metropolitan areas. The increase in the number of immigrants settling recently in Vancouver stands out and the gentle decline in the numbers of recent immigrants settling in Montreal is evident.

Factors Affecting Immigrant Settlement - This section tries to account for the similarities and differences in immigrant settlement among the three metropolitan areas. Again, an argument should be developed relating to the thesis of the essay. For example, if the thesis states that immigration has heightened differences, differences in the conditions affecting immigrant settlement in Toronto should be identified.

Take account of the sources of information about the factors affecting immigrant settlement. Are all of the references in the assignment cited? Are there any additional references or sources of information? An excellent essay will acknowledge that the discussion of impacts is incomplete and explain why.

The same general criteria apply in this section. Consider whether a comprehensive set of factors is examined. Recent economic history, geographical location, differences in immigration policies in Quebec and in the rest of Canada, and immigration history itself have all contributed to the differences in the birthplaces of immigrants among the three metropolitan areas. None of the essays will provide an exhaustive discussion, but does the essay demonstrate awareness that the discussion of factors may be incomplete. Are the factors discussed in a logical fashion consistent with the thesis.

Toronto Landscape - Evaluation of the impact of immigrants on Toronto’s landscape will be based on the fieldwork summarized in Table 5 and in the sketch map. Evaluate the quality of the discussion. Are the main trends in the field observations summarized and then explained by reference to the information in Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4 and in the readings. The size of an immigrant group, its economic wealth, and its length of residence all influence whether it has changed the landscape. The experience of settlement, particularly the experience of discrimination affect how immigrant groups mark the landscape.

Since students have considered only a small part of the metropolitan area, their observations may not fit easily with the data in Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4. An excellent essay will use the reading by Murdie and Teixeira to try to account for discrepancies. The discussion should be organized as an argument relevant to the thesis of the essay.

Conclusion

The conclusion should reiterate the thesis, offering brief comments about how the information supports it. Recognition of the limitations of the analysis along with some comments about the implications of the findings are useful.

Table 5 and Map

Evaluate the care with which Table 5 has been compiled. Note that students were asked to submit a sketch map indicating the boundaries of the area that they had considered.

Style

Style includes the logic of the argument, the overall quality of the writing, and the quality of the examples used to illustrate ideas. References, punctuation, and paragraphs should all be evaluated. Watch for plagiarism, both purposeful and inadvertent. Inadvertent plagiarism should be drawn to the attention of students who have not cited material that they have quoted or paraphrased. Please explain how to do citations and refer the student to the Arts Centre for Academic Writing. Bring any cases of purposeful plagiarism to my attention.

Bibliography

A variety of sources should have been consulted. Ideally, students will go beyond the references listed in the assignment. Printed and Internet material should be included. Citations should be complete. Students were told to consider readings in addition to those listed in the assignment.

Mark Allocation

The assignment will be marked out of 26 as follows:

Grades

For your information, I have worked out the letter grade equivalents of the marks as follows: