Project Topic – Evaluating Success in South African Higher Education
The topic on which all the DIAL5111 projects focus is for you to critically evaluate the following statement:

• Currently, higher education is too difficult to pass in South Africa. The pass mark should be lowered to 30% for all higher education modules.

In recent years, many challenging questions have arisen around the purpose and importance of higher education: Is higher education a human right? Is it an individual, societal, or even governmental responsibility? In what ways, and for what purposes, do students in higher education need to be assessed? What determines success in higher education, and is this success the same for all students – why? In South Africa, in particular – with our history of racial, gender- based and socio-economic disadvantages – such questions can be increasingly difficult to answer or justify with any certainty.

With the above in mind, you need to decide what position you will adopt on this topic – and on the provided statement itself. Do you agree with the statement? Why? Do you disagree? Why? Do you agree and/or disagree with certain parts of the statement? Which parts, and why?

Please note: There is no “correct” position or “right answer” to this – it is a complex topic with many different sides. That is why we are asking you to apply your mind critically to your projects. Do not just accept the statement as it is; ask questions, research and investigate, and make up your own mind after having reviewed all the information you can find on the topic. Some examples of positions that you may want to adopt or combine, include (but are certainly not limited to):

i. Yes, higher education is currently too difficult to pass in South Africa because of a, b, and c, and so the pass mark should be lowered to 30% in all modules because of x, y, and z.
ii. No, higher education is currently not too difficult to pass in South Africa because of a, b, and
c, and so nothing needs to change because of x, y, and z.
iii. Yes, higher education is currently too difficult to pass in South Africa, but in some contexts or qualifications only. Therefore, the pass mark in some modules should remain at 50% because of a, b, and c, but should change to 30% in other modules because of x, y, and z.

iv. Yes, higher education is currently too difficult to pass in South Africa, but lowering the pass rate to 30% is too extreme because of a, b, and c . Rather, it should be lowered to 40% instead because of x, y, and z.
v. No, other factors – such as a, b, c, x, y, and z – should determine what students need to achieve to pass modules, rather than percentage grades.

NB – You will not be assessed on what position you adopt, but rather on how you present and support this position across your three projects. In other words, you need to make sure the reasons for your position (the a, b, c, and x, y, z in the above statements) are clearly explained and well-supported through the inclusion of credible and relevant examples and ideas that are accurately referenced

Project 2 Instructions _
For this project, you need to continue working with the five relevant and credible resources you found and used for Project 1.

If you decide, based on feedback from your lecturer/tutor, that some or all of the five resources you selected for Project 1 are not suitable to use as support for your position within an academic essay on the project topic, then you need to search for and find better, alternative resources – i.e., go back and work through the Project 1 instructions until you have found at least five relevant and credible resources you can use to support and/or counter your position on the project topic. And then proceed with answering the Project 2 questions using your newly selected resources.

NB – Make sure you use accurate and appropriate IIE Harvard in-text referencing for all Project 2 questions. Include a corresponding IIE Harvard reference list at the end of your full Project 2 response.

Your lecturer/tutor will use the marking rubrics provided in Appendix A at the end of this project to mark your project responses. Work through all the marking rubrics to ensure you have
completed each question sufficiently.

Question 1 – Applying an Appropriate Reading Strategy (Marks: 55)

Q.1.1 Using your prescribed LU2 Critical Thinking in Reading Learn artefact as a guideline, develop 10 questions that you can use to engage actively with your five selected resources for the project topic.

Your 10 questions need to:

• Be relevant to the project topic, and appropriate for each resource.
• Assist you in identifying the purpose, structure, argument(s), counterargument(s), and supporting evidence of each resource.
• Comprise the following question types:
o three fundamental questions;
o three part-whole connection questions;
o two hypothesis questions;
o two critical questions.

For ease of marking, please label each of your 10 questions with its question type (i.e., fundamental question, hypothesis question, etc.). (20)

Q.1.2 Answer the questions you developed for Q.1.1 for each of your five selected resources.

Summarise your answers to these questions under the following headings:

• Resource arguments (i.e., what are the main ideas of each resource?)
• Supporting evidence (i.e., what examples, counterarguments and rebuttals and/or research does each resource use to support their main ideas?)
• Usefulness for my position (i.e., how useful would each resource be as supporting evidence for your own position/argument on the project topic, and why?)

Your Q.1.2 summary should be 600 – 900 words. Please note your lecturer/tutor will not mark beyond the maximum word limit.

Question 2 – Creating an Essay Outline (Marks: 45)
Create an essay outline in which you plan the essay you will write to establish your position/argument on the project topic (the actual essay will be written for your summative project).

Your essay outline must include:

o A relevant title for your essay that clearly aligns to your topic position.
o Introduction outline:
 a few key points of relevant background information that would function as a hook for the reader in the introduction.
 a relevant and clear thesis statement that clearly relates your position on the topic, and which will form the basis of your essay argument.
o Body paragraph outline for a three body-paragraph essay, where each paragraph includes:
 One topic sentence related to your position;
 At least three supporting sentences – that provide relevant evidence and/or examples and/or counterarguments and rebuttals drawn from/inspired by your selected resources, which you will use to support your position/argument.
 One concluding sentence.
o A summary of your main claims/argument that will form the basis of your essay conclusion.

Answers to Above Questions on Digital and Academic Literacies

Answer 1: An analysis of the current education system in South Africa indicates that it is highly difficult for students to pass higher education. Proposal to reduce the pass mark to 30% is not somewhat considered to be the solution for this issue. I believe that lowering the pass mark would lead to direct questions with respect to academic standards in terms of academic integrity and rigor of the education system. The quality of Higher Education would be lost and they might not be able to produce highly qualified professionals that can bring dynamic change in the industry.

Get completed answers on the above questions on academic literacy as offered by the assignment help South Africa experts of Student Life Saviour.