Final Paper Prompt
This will be a thesis-driven writing assignment. The purpose of this assignment is not to summarize; instead, you will strive to explain, examine, support, reflect, and/or challenge, an important social issue. Think of yourself as a sociologist—you want to say something interesting about the world that we live in and the people that we live with.
Your paper must be 1,300 – 1,500 total words in length. It must be typed, double-spaced, and written in APA format (12-size font, Times New Roman, 1-inch margins all around). Direct quotes from your selected essay will support your claims, provide context to your point of view, and add credibility to your argument. Your paper should strive to help readers better understand and appreciate your topic. We will review aspects of this draft in class, but the majority of your paper will be written at home. For your final draft, all students must submit a paper copy in class and an electronic copy via email. This paper is due on Tuesday, March 26 by 9:00 am through Blackboard.
Please choose a paper prompt from the list below:
- Both Andrew Sullivan’s “Why Gay Marriage is Good for America” and Richard Rodriguez’s “Family Values” attempt to alter stereotypes commonly held about contemporary families. What type of family does each author address? How do the authors differ in their rhetorical strategies and their use of supporting points to support their arguments? Who is the implied author for each of the essays? How did you reach your conclusion?
- Annie’s Dillard’s “An American Childhood” and E.B. White’s “Once More to the Lake” explore the experience of childhood from a different perspective. Do they share a common voice or mood? What is distinctive about each essay? Which essay do you prefer and why? Consider the style and emotional impact of the writing.
- Discuss the views that Mukherjee (“American Dreamer”) and Baldwin (“Stranger in the Village”) have in common regarding the refusal of American culture to accept the “otherness” of those it perceives as not behaving like or looking like the conventional “American.” Expand your discussion to present your own views about the similarities and differences in the ways “white” America views immigrants and “black” Americans.”
- Compare and contrast the difficulties Baldwin had in attempting to “fit in” to an alien European culture with the experiences of Mukherjee describes of a nonwhite American trying to assimilate into a dominant culture.
- Using the essays of Ehrenreich (“Nickle and Dimed”) and Reich (“Why the Richer Get Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer”) compare the effects of work on human relationships.
- Compare the writings of Swift, Ehrenreich, and Reich in terms of the options of those on the lowest rungs of economic system in Western society.
- Compare and contrast the treatment of death in the essays by Lepore (“It’s Spreading”) and Selzer (“The Masked Marvel’s Last Toehold”). In what ways are they similar and/or different, and why do these distinctions matter? What makes this worth discussing?
- Write specifically about our relationship to other living creatures on our planet. Is it one of exploitation, cooperation, or tyranny? How does this relationship influence how we treat each other? Use the works of Lopez (“Children in the Woods”) and Bass (“Why I Hunt”) to support your response.
- Argue for or against the view that the publicized sexual activity of politicians and other celebrities make the decision whether to keep sex education out of the schools entirely moot. Be sure to use Quindlen’s “Sex Ed” for support.
- Using D’Souza’s “Staying Human,” argue for or against the need of strict ethics among scientists in regard to their concern over the well-being of the general populace.
- Using “The Allegory of the Cave” and “I Listen to My Parents and I Wonder What They Believe,” explore the connection between Plato the philosopher and Coles the psychiatrist. How do their essays complement each other? How does Coles’s attitude toward existence reflect Plato’s philosophy of the cave?
- What distinguishes a “true” religious belief from a superstition? What are their various functions? Is one more valid than the other? Explain your answer with reference to Satrapi’s “The Veil” and Armstrong’s “What’s God Got to Do With It?”