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Essay
Assignment #3: Where Are You Going? |
English
104
Instructor
Kathy Crutcher
Overview:
Thus far in this class we have explored where we came from as well as where we are now in order to get a better sense of ourselves and our surroundings. Now we are going to look to the future and explore the question: “Where Are You Going?” This time, rather than focusing on a physical PLACE, we will be thinking metaphorically about our future destinations. Presumably our futures all share one thing in common: work. How well do you understand the challenges within your intended career, or within an industry that has already influenced your life? We will use this essay as an opportunity to investigate, to educate (both ourselves and others), and to initiate progress for the future.
Your job:
Your job is to write an essay exploring the challenges facing an American worker. You’ll want to begin by examining the labor life of a particular individual (or group of individuals) working within a field that either a) relates to you or your family, or b) interests you as a possible career. In other words, you should have some connection to this field, whether in your past, present, or future.
Your inquiry should focus on the challenges that worker faces, whether in terms of unfavorable working conditions or of particular conflicts related to that field. For example, you might write about an information technology specialist whose job is in danger of being outsourced, or about a 5th grade teacher struggling to effectively implement state-mandated curricula and testing. For nearly any industry you could write about how their business practices are being forced to change in order to operate more sustainably or to keep pace with developing technology. The possibilities for this investigation are nearly endless; your goal is to choose a topic that matters to you and that will raise significant issues that matter to a general public.
Like the other essays you have written thus far in this class, your close examination of a specific case will raise questions and highlight concerns that matter in a broader arena. Thus your research should both localize the issue by telling the story of a particular worker and expand the issue by examining the challenges on a national or global scale. This “big picture” research should aim to put your worker’s experience in context by analyzing the larger social, cultural, economic, and political factors that cause their workplace challenges.
By the end of this investigation, you should see this challenge into the future. Hypothesize what will happen within this field, based upon your research. What happens if we stay on this same path? What kinds of changes seem necessary? How can we make those changes? Are there policy makers or other groups pursuing change now? None of these problems are simple; there will be no easy solutions. Instead, it is your job to articulate what YOU think is the best path for progress and to convince your audience of the issue’s significance.
Audience:
Your audience will consist of those who are ignorant or apathetic about your cause, so you must work hard to keep them listening and to convince them to care. You are not preaching to the choir. You should define your audience as specifically as possible and direct your argument to a group that has the ability and need to act.
As always, your audience consists of people outside this classroom. Your message should be important enough to send out into the world, not just to fulfill a course requirement.
Sources and Bibliography:
In order to adequately define, illustrate, and analyze this workplace challenge, you will need to consult at least 8 sources to inform your argument. You must use a combination of both field and traditional academic research. You may also use audio-visual sources such as film, television, or radio programs when appropriate, and you may use credible websites. (Items found via online academic databases are not considered “websites.” They are simply electronic copies of scholarly journal, newspaper, or news magazine articles, depending upon the source. By website I am referring to a page you might find via a typical Google search.) Although wikipedia (or any encyclopedia) is useful for quick background information for personal use, it is not an acceptable academic source for this paper. Nor are unsubstantiated personal websites or blogs, unless you are specifically calling attention to the nature of public discourse on the issue and are not presenting opinion as fact. You will therefore need to utilize a range of the following:
Academic: Field: Other:
* books * interviews * film / television
* scholarly journals * surveys * radio
* newspapers * observation * credible websites
* news magazines * experiential learning * brochures / pamphlets
In terms of field work, you are required to conduct at least one interview of a worker to inform your investigation. You are encouraged to visit the workplace and participate in experiential learning or observation. To give this case study context, you must conduct secondary research, utilizing at least 4 academic sources procured via academic databases / library catalogs. (*I highly recommend scholarly journal articles to deepen your analysis.*) You should also vary your type of source, and therefore must use sources from at least 3 of these (12) categories.
You need to get started researching as soon as possible, and are required to submit an annotated bibliography on Wednesday, November 12th. Your bibliography must contain:
§ At least 8 sources, from 3 different categories, including at least 1 interview and at least 4 academic sources,
§ Proper MLA citations,
§ A brief (2-3 sentence) summary of each source.
Your bibliography will be worth two Writing Journal grades, and will be evaluated based upon the fulfillment of the above criteria and the focus and relevance of the sources to the issue at hand.
Note: You do not need to use all eight of these sources within the actual essay itself. When writing, you should use as many sources as are necessary to make a balanced and thorough argument (which may well be more than eight!) The bottom line is: incorporate sources as needed, not as “required.”
Nitty–gritty: