Overview

For this final project you will continue with the social issue that you selected (language and power; freedom and security; health and wealth) and you will write an essay where you discuss your perspective. You will use the ideas and information from the summary-response and the quote log to write your case study. You will submit a first draft and a revised draft of this assignment.

Content

• Describe a “real life” instance of your selected social issue in a professional or a personal setting.
• Discuss your perspective on your selected social issue, including the reasons for your viewpoint.
• Discuss how your core values inform or influence your perspective on your selected social issue.
• Demonstrate that you are really thinking about your issue—don’t settle for easy answers, don’t pretend that conflicting evidence doesn’t exist, and don’t feel that you have to take an either-or position.
• Discuss the complexities of your selected social issue. For example, do not just conclude that using academic language is always good, or that government surveillance is always bad, or that wealth automatically leads to health. Think about the intricacies of these issues and how they play out in everyday life.

Organization

• Include an introductory paragraph, where you clearly outline a “real-life” instance of your social issue and you give a thesis statement that indicates your perspective (see Part 2: Writing Your Introduction for an example).
• Include three body paragraphs where you include details, examples, and quotes from at least three of the course readings to help you develop and support your key points (see Part 3: Writing Your Body Paragraphs. for an example).
• Include one body paragraph where you discuss how your core values inform or influence your perspective on your selected social issue (see Part 3: Writing Your Body Paragraphs. for an example).
• End your essay with a concluding paragraph where you restate your thesis, summarize your key points, and leave the reader with the “so what?” ( see Part 4: Writing Your Conclusion for an example).

Grammar and Mechanics

• Your paper should be written according to the standards for academic writing, with attention to the following:

  punctuation: this includes things such as use of commas, colons, and apostrophes.
  word-level accuracy: this includes things such as capitalization, spelling, word-tense, and usage.
  sentence-level accuracy: this includes things such as sentence boundaries, subject-verb agreement, and pronoun-antecedent agreement.

• Take time to proofread after you’ve written your essay. Think about your own writing habits you might want to change  (like using “text-speak” or sentence fragments) and watch out for those. Reading your paper aloud is a good way to catch any mistakes.

Sources and Documentation

• You are required to use three sources for this assignment. Your sources should be selected from the assigned course readings on your selected issue (language and power; freedom and security; health and wealth).
• Your paper should use APA-style documentation for in-text citations. You do not need to complete a reference page.

Format and Length

Your paper should include a header consisting of your name and the assignment name and a title tailored to your topic. (See example below.)

Sample Header and Title for Assignment Submissions

Kim Lee (student’s name)
Case Study Project, first draft (assignment name)

Education Doesn’t Mean Empowerment (title)

Sample Case Study

Project

Be sure to review this Sample Case Study before you begin. The student sample includes notes to help with connections to key aspects of the assignment. 

Due Date and Grade Percentage

The first draft of this project is due by the end of Week 6. The first draft is ungraded, but you will receive valuable feedback from your instructor.

The revised draft is due by the end of Week 8. The revised draft of this project is worth 30% of your final course grade.

Connection to other Course Assignments

• This is the culminating assignment, where you will tie together all of the information and ideas from the course.
• All of the reading, writing, thinking, and discussing that you have done over the past several weeks have led up to this assignment.