Grading Criteria

There are five essay questions and each is worth up to 20 points toward the Final Assignment grade. To earn 20 points for each question, each response is assessed based on:

1. Demonstrating knowledge of relevant source material in response to the question (60%)
2. The clarity, organization, and objectivity of the writing (20%)
3. Writing standards (avoiding spelling and grammatical errors) (20%)

NOTE:The “Spelling and Grammar” function in MS Word (located under the Review tab at the top of the page in MS Word) often strengthens proofreading answers more effectively.

Assignment Instructions

This is a “take-home” essay assignment comprised of five questions. The questions are designed to test knowledge and understanding of Course Objectives 1, & 5. Each answer is worth up to 20 points (total possible grade is 100 points

• The total length of the assignment is two pages, properly formatted according to the instructions.
• Submissions must be in MS Word and attached to the Progress Assignment in Assignments section.
• Proof read answers carefully for spelling and grammatical errors, and take advantage of the Spelling and Grammar-checking function in MS Word (the instructor does).
• Do not include a Reference List of the sources
• The correct use of, citations is mandatory.HINT: If not sure if a citation is needed, refer to the Student Handbook for guidance.
  • Use quotation marks and citations for quoted text from the source materials.
  • Quoted segments within a sentence require quotation marks and a citation. For example:
    • “The “reward” factor could be “relevant to thinking about how disengagement initiatives might be developed” (Canter 2009, 262) but additional research is required.
• Citations should include author&publication date, and page number.  The following are correct citation examples:
  • (Canter 2009, 262)
  • (Canter 2009, 262-263)
  • The two-page submission should be double-spaced and written in the New Times Roman font, size 10. Responses that are notably longer than two pages (not counting the questions if you included them in your submission) could lose points for being too long (as could submissions that are to short).
  • Do not write answers in the first person narrative.
    • Wrong:In my opinion, I think it makes no sense to view terrorism as a process.
    • Correct:“The broader issue of involvement in terrorism as a process [is] comprised of discrete phases: ‘becoming a terrorist, being’ a terrorist (understood as both (a) remaining involved and (b) engaging in terrorist offences) and ‘disengaging’ from terrorism.” (Canter 2009, 259)
    • The two-page submission should be double-spaced and written in the New Times Roman font, size 10. Submissions notably longer than two pages could lose points for being too long (as could submissions that are to short).
    • The exclusive use of Chapter 15: Disengaging from Terrorism, The Faces of Terrorism by David Canterfor the Final Assignment is mandatory.

Developing Your Answers:

An effective approach to developing effective responses to the questions is:

1. Compile notes comprised of relevant, referencedpoints responsive to the question.
2. Next, organize the relevant facts in the order you want to present them in your answer.
3. Next, develop a response answer based on your notes (properly cited) that includes:
   1. A succinct, objective, introductory statement
   2. Support for the introductory statement with relevant points from the source material, properly referenced
   3. A succinct conclusion based on referenced points included in the response
   4. Next, proofread your answer carefully for any spelling and grammatical errors.

Remember: answers should demonstrate your understanding of the essential points/issues in response to the questions according to the required source material properly referenced. The following example demonstrates this approach.

Potential pointsidentified and cited in response to the following question

Consider the followingquestion:Explain the three phases of terrorism and the significance of understanding terrorism as a psychological process.The following points are identified and referenced with citations:

• The analysis of terrorism as a process could “lead to a more meaningful inclusion of analyses of individual terrorists in the development of counterterrorism initiatives.” (Canter 2009, 258)
• “The broader issue of involvement in terrorism as a process [is] comprised of discrete phases: ‘becoming a terrorist, being’ a terrorist (understood as both (a) remaining involved and (b) engaging in terrorist offences) and ‘disengaging’ from terrorism.” (Canter 2009, 259)
• “involvement and engagement in terrorism is best thought of as a process [it] brings fresh perspectives through emphasizing critical distinctions that enable us to understand the reality of involvement in terrorism” (Canter 2009,259)
• This allows us instead to focus on identifiable behaviors and their antecedents, and on expected consequences and outcomes that are associated with terrorism.” (Canter 2009, 259)
• We may also find that ‘description’ represents a more realistic objective than ‘explanation’ given our current conceptual and theoretical limitations.(Canter 2009, 259)
• “identifying issues relating to ‘how’ people become involved may be more valuable than attempting to arrive at answers on ‘why’ people become involved”  (Canter 2009, 260)
• “A critical conceptual point…is that the factors [influencing] an individual during one of the phases may not reveal anything useful or insightful about individuals during the other phases.  (Canter 2009,259-260)
• “’Why do people leave terrorism?’ is as conceptually and pragmatically difficult to answer as ‘Why do people become terrorists?” (Canter 2009, 275)
• “From a policy perspective, it is clear that understanding and encouraging disengagement could have a crucial role to play in countering extremist violence.” (Canter 2009, 263)

Finalizing your response to the question

An effective format for answering the questions is to begin with an introductory statement, support it with the most relevant points (properly referenced), and end with a logical conclusion.

Consider the following:

Introductory Statement:The analysis of terrorism as a process could “lead to a more meaningful inclusion of analyses of individual terrorists in the development of counterterrorism initiatives.” (Canter 2009, 258)

Support: “The broader issue of involvement in terrorism as a process [is] comprised of discrete phases: ‘becoming a terrorist, being’ a terrorist (understood as both (a) remaining involved and (b) engaging in terrorist offences) and ‘disengaging’ from terrorism.” (Canter 2009, 259) This allows us instead to focus on identifiable behaviors and their antecedents, and on expected consequences and outcomes that are associated with terrorism.” (Canter 2009, 259) “Identifying issues relating to ‘how’ people become involved may be more valuable than attempting to arrive at answers on ‘why’ people become involved”  (Canter 2009, 260)

Conclusion:While it remains difficult to explain the reasons why people disengage from terrorism, “From a policy perspective, it is clear that understanding and encouraging disengagement could help counter extremist violence.” (Canter 2009, 263) It follows then that viewing terrorism as a process could strengthen counter-terrorism strategies.

Final Thoughts: After removing the labels (introductory statement, support, and conclusion) and formatting the above content into one paragraph, its length is ten lines (using Times New Roman font, size 10).

• The 4-part process described and illustrated above is an effective approach for completing the Final Assignment (worth 25% of the final course grade).
• The total length of two pages written in Times New Roman, size 10 font is 56 lines (28 lines per page).
• That is enough space for five responses averaging 10-11 lines each.
• The challenge for completing the Final Assignment successfully is to develop an effective response for each of the five questions using the two pages available.
• It is important to organize the content and manage the length of responses, which could take several drafts (but it is worth the time and effort).
• Students may use the content from the illustrated example if it is relevant to the Final Assignment.