Sunday, July 11, 2010

Assignment Instructions for Real Estate Analysis: Environments and Activities

As indicated above, there are two general types of assignments: original student created objective questions and blog posts.  All assignments can be submitted to the blog: http://diazhansz.blogspot.com.  Students can request direct posting access to this blog by contacting environments.activities@gmail.com.  In the requesting email, please specify that you would like posting rights to diazhansz.blogspot.com and please specify the email address that you will use. Upon request, you will be sent an invitation to join this blog by email invitation from blogspot.com.  Please check your Junk Mail folder if you do not see your email invitation.  Please note that all posts must be original work.  Also, any pictures, graphs, tables, and other exhibits must also be original work or public domain.  Please do not post copyright protected material.  Below is more specific information about each assignment.

Student created objective questions (3 multiple choice and 5 true/false questions per chapter)  Thinking about and creating objective style questions helps to promote active reading and comprehension.  For each chapter, students are required to create three original multiple choice style questions and five true/false questions.  The questions should be original and not copies of the test bank questions and other student posted questions on diazhansz.blogspot.com.   The format of the multiple questions should be as follows:

1. Question stem here.
a. First answer alternative
b. Second answer alternative
c. Third answer alternative
d. Fourth answer alternative

The true/false question format is simple just a question stem.

IMPORTANT:  Please indicate the answers to all multiple choice and true false questions by highlighting or bolding the correct multiple choice answer (“a,” “b,” “c,” or “d”) and indicated either (“T”) or (“F”) after each true/false question.

The website diazhansz.blogspot.com will be periodically reviews and student created questions may be included in the text or test bank.

Blog post assignments (3)  The blog post assignments are opportunities for you to research and investigate a real estate related profession, concept, or activity in greater detail.  All blog post assignments will be posted to diazhansz.blogspot.com (see above for information on accessing individual posting rights).  The blog posts will be periodically reviewed.  Outstanding blog posts on selected topics may be considered for publication in future editions of the textbook Real Estate Analysis: Environments and Activities, with the author’s and publisher’s permissions.  Blog post authors and their schools will be cited in the textbook.

There are three blog post assignments: (1) Informational Interview, (2) markets and environments, and (3) activities.  Below is additional information for each blog post assignment.

Blog Post Assignment 1: Informational Interview  The first blog post assignment is an opportunity for you to conduct an informational interview with someone in the real estate industry.  Chapter 2 has two outstanding examples of informational interviews and the textbook website information for chapter 2 has instructions on how to generally conduct an informational interview.  Read the website information and conductor your own informational interview with someone in the real estate industry.  The informational interview should relate to Part 1 of the textbook.  For example, you could focus your informational interview on the education and skills required to succeed in a certain segment of the real estate industry.  Also, don’t forget that Part 1 also focuses on real estate decision making behavior and location.  You could focus your informational interview on how your contact in the real estate business makes important decision or how location considerations influences real estate decision making.

Blog Post Assignment 2: Markets and Environments  Part 2 of your textbook is only two chapters but cover a lot of ground: real estate markets and environments.  Therefore, Blog Post Assignment 2 is an opportunity for you to investigate a real estate market or environment in greater detail.  The potential topics for this assignment are staggering.  You could investigate a local real estate market, for example the multifamily market near your college or university or the national secondary mortgage market.  Conversely, you could investigate a governmental or  legal issue.  

Blog Post Assignment 3: Activities  Part 3 of your textbook is concerned with seven major real estate activity centers: entrepreneurial, investing, lending, governing, professional, consuming, and successor entrepreneurial.  Your opportunity in Blog Post Assignment 3 is to pick an activity center that is of interest to you conduct further research.  As explained in the information on Blog Post Assignment 2, we recommend approximately two pages with a five paragraph format.

General Blog Post Instructions  In general, you should treat the blog posts like a research paper.  It is just a research paper that is posted on a blog for the public.  Write you blog post assignment originally using word processing program such as Word or Word Perfect.  After you have written, rewritten, spell and grammar checked your paper, you are then ready to post your paper on the blog.  It is particularly important to check your grammar and spelling.  Because your blog post is public, anyone, including a potential employer, may find and read your post.  You should make sure that post is well written.  Please include a title and your name and school name on each blog post.  Also, include references and citations.

The suggested length for each blog post assignment is approximately two pages (think quality and not necessarily quantity).  Also, we recommend a five paragraph format with the first paragraph the introductory paragraph, the next three paragraphs the body, and the fifth paragraph the conclusion.

There is more than one option to post your blog, however, most students simply cut and past their writing to the blog.  Photo, graphs, and other exhibit files must be uploaded to the blog post.

Finally, a reminder on plagiarism and copyright concerns.  Your blog post must be original research and writing.  Again, the blog you are posting to is totally public.  Anyone may find and read your work.  
  • Your research should be properly cited and referenced.  
  • All photos must be owned by you or in the public domain.
  • All other exhibits must be original or properly referenced.  

If you plagiarise someone's work, don’t be surprised if the original author contacts you.