- Late submission penalty: 7-calendar-day policy (incl. sat and sun, public holidays)
- You are required to consult relevant readings when you attempt the question. A marginal pass will be guaranteed if you use lecture notes and a few reference materials derivatively. You are expected to conduct further desktop research and show good evidence of independent reading
- Your paper should have at least 5 scholarly materials consisting of books, book chapters, and journal articles IN ADDITION to website materials, government reports, periodicals, newspaper articles etc.
- For effective consultation, please present an annotated essay outline (with a clear thesis statement in the introduction, a complete topic sentence for each paragraph)
- A useful website to get public access to e-journal articles: https://sci-hub.se/
- Important note for the structure and organization of the essay: an essay should start with an introduction that briefly indicates the importance of the issue(s) discussed and the proceeding of the essay, and ended with a conclusion, with several sections in between. You are also required to provide IN-TEXT CITATIONS AND A LIST OF REFERENCES CONSULTED.
- Academic English is about referencing and formality, including APA/ Harvard format, nominalization, formal words, third person narration etc. If there were errors in these areas, probably you couldn’t get a high grade even though your spoken English is fluent.
- The number of “points” or “key points” you get in the essay does not guarantee a high grade if you cannot even structure a solid argument in the essay. An argument consists of a claim, a reason and substantiated with hard evidence. Quality in writing matters!
Essay topics: CHOOSE ANY ONE
(Note: HONG KONG IS NOT A COUNTRY, HONG KONG IS A CITY)
- Name one city or district (in Hong Kong or elsewhere) and discuss how it can or cannot be explained by the Central Place Theory.
- Are technological innovations capable of extending the carrying capacity of our planet, and solving environmental pollution and resource scarcity problems? Give empirical evidence to support your viewpoint.
- With reference to up to three prominent examples, what problems do migrants bring to a country? You can discuss this question from the perspective of either a sending country OR a receiving country.
- “Population growth drives development.” Do you agree with this statement? Explain with two countries of your choice.
- Define ‘unipolarity’, ‘bipolarity’ and ‘multipolarity’. What are the implications of the rise of China in the current multipolar world order?