The Country Report is a preliminary examination of your selected country which will be your focus throughout the semester. This assignment is designed to get you started in your research; you do not need to write everything there is to know about the country, just a few important things you have learned so far while collecting and researching your maps. The information contained in the Country Report can include any of a wide variety of topics such as: history, geography, politics, culture, environment, demographics, current events, etc.
Assignment Objectives
- collect data about a specific African country using scholarly sources
- identify patterns and sort data into themes
- organize new information into Introduction-Body-Conclusion format
- create a country report that summaries unique information about a specific African country
- format references and cite sources in text
Where to Begin
- Step 1: Conduct research first and collect data. (You can use the information you collected for your discussion activities. )
- Step 2: Organize your data into topics: history, economy, politics, environment, etc.
- Step 3: Begin Writing: Write the body first (your selected topics become paragraphs), next write the introduction and the conclusion last.
- Step 4: References: Be sure to include a bibliography that is formatted (does not count toward the word count). You should also reference in-text using parenthesis or footnotes. If you need assistance, review the Annotated Bibliography lesson for information on formatting references and citing in-text.
The Country Report should be organized in the Introduction-Body-Conclusion format described below and consist of approximately 500-1000 words. It is a good idea to type the report in a Word document and then copy it into the text box in the discussion so others can easily read it. Be sure to include a gallery of the maps that you collected in the discussions.
You can download the Country Report Word Document to use as your template or follow the guidelines below.
Introduction:
This paragraph should provide a general overview of what will be presented in your Country Report. As a result, you should write this paragraph after you conduct research and organize your information into sections in the body of your paper. The introduction should include a statement about the country that addresses topics one, two and three. (You may include more than three topics.)
Topic one subheading: (rename subheadings after you decide on each topic)
History is a good topic to present first because it provides a historical overview for the topics to follow. Be sure to include in-text references (footnotes or parenthetical) that links the information in the paragraph to the reference listed in your bibliography. This will be useful later for your final project.
Topic two subheading:
The second topic should be more specific: it may address demographic data (such as population size, languages, religions, ethnic groups, etc.) economic data (economic resources, per capita income, poverty, etc.), environmental/geographic data or other descriptive information about the country. Be sure to select one topic to keep your data organized, and cite your sources in text.
Topic three subheading:
The third topic can go deeper into detail such as current challenges (conflict, pollution, corruption, etc.), notable attributes (well-known people, places, events), or cultural themes and movements (environmental groups, LGBT legislation, etc.)
Conclusion:
The conclusion reiterates the introduction, but in more detail for a now informed reader.
References
Every assignment should include formatted references that are cited in-text. See the Annotated bibliography lesson for more information. (You do not need to annotated the references in your writing assignments.) The Syllabus states that submissions without references will receive an automatic zero grade. Your collection of data and references will be very handy for your final project at the end of the semester. If you need help with referencing, visit the Bibliography lesson.
Acceptable research resources include: