DQ In this assignment you will summarize beliefs about the origin of the universe and life, including what Christians believe, what you believe, and how people’s beliefs about origins might impact how they live.

DQ In this assignment you will summarize beliefs about the origin of the universe and life, including what Christians believe, what you believe, and how people’s beliefs about origins might impact how they live.

Week 2 Origins Reflection Presentation

Details:

After reflecting on chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis, create a 15-slide PowerPoint presentation covering the following topics, paying particular emphasis on  item 3:

1. Briefly explain the Genesis account of creation (first two chapters). The point is not to retell all aspects of the story in detail but just to make the message of the Bible clear.

2. Explain and support your interpretation of the origin of the universe. Here you may want to address evolution, age of the earth, and whether or not it can be reconciled with the message of the Bible.

3. Express how your understanding of the origin of the universe impacts your worldview, specifically your view of God, of humanity, and responsibility to care for the earth.

The first slide will be the title slide including your name and course information. The last slide(s) will be your list of references. You may use the textbook, the lecture, or other scholarly references. Cite all sources, including the Bible, as you would in an essay. The in-text citations should be placed on the actual slides in the presentation so the audience can see them. Put basic content on the actual slides and elaborate on all your points in the slide notes.

In an effort to keep the file sizes reasonable, use no more than four low-resolution images. As in all aspects of this course, show respect for all other views, with no condescension. Keep your presentation positive and focused on what you believe, not on what you do not believe.

While GCU style format is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and in-text citations and references should be presented using GCU documentation guidelines, which can be found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.

Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.

One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.

I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

DQ In this assignment you will summarize

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.

In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.

Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).

Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).

Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.

I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.

As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.

It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.

Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.

Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?

Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.

Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.

DQ In this assignment you will summarize

If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.

I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.

As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:

Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.

Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.