Your assignment: Research a contemporary social issue connected in some way to The Other Wes Moore and make a case for something to be done to address that issue in order to improve the lives of other people.
Write a persuasive essay of 750 words or more which integrates passages of The Other Wes Moore and a minimum of three other sources drawn from a specific mixture of required source material types as assigned below.
You may develop a paper that focuses either on a personal plan of action you will pursue or a plan of action you feel others should pursue or that you feel an agency or organization should pursue.
The first step toward accomplishing the goal of this project should be to read Tavis Smiley’s “A Call to Action” attached to the end of Moore’s book then examine the resource guide following Smiley’s message. These sources should provide you with inspiration to develop an idea of your own to address. In the paper you write, you must show not just that you have learned about an issue but that you can make a case for something to be done about it / connected to it, either something that you feel someone (or some group) outside yourself must do or something that you feel you must do personally to address this issue and improve the lives of others by expanding their possibility to achieve.
When you’ve found your topic for this paper, send your idea to me via the proposal submission box you’ll find here in Canvas and briefly explain what you want to do with your project (you’ll need a few sentences to explain what the issue is and what you will argue).
In your proposal, you’ll explain how this idea connects to the book we’ve been reading. In the essay you eventually write, you’ll need to incorporate passages of the book, so you should think about these connections during the planning stages of this project.
Once you have a topic approved, you’ll need to begin finding sources to incorporate into the paper. Please remember that these sources are not the important parts of the discussion—your own ideas are much more important! Treat all sources as supplementary materials and do not use them to do the work you should be doing or to make the case you should be making. Your sources are due early, too. You’ll need to have them to me by no later than 6:00 AM on Monday, April 11.
Your first source, should, of course, be The Other Wes Moore. You’ll need to directly quote something from this book to receive credit on this assignment.
You’ll also need one credible source found online—but all of your source material cannot come directly from the web. Make sure you are researching using the specific mixture of source materials listed on this assignment overview!
In addition to the book and something found online, you’ll need to go to either the Opposing Viewpoints or the Issues and Perspectives Database (available from our library—click on the LIBRARY RESOURCES tab on the left side of the screen and then click DATABASES on the library’s home page) and find some resource there that you can incorporate into your paper.
You’ll also need to find a “peer reviewed journal article” about this issue using EBSCO. You’ll download a PDF of this article and submit it for separate credit.
Please note that for all your sources, all you need is a “loose connection”—the only requirement is that it be connected in some way—you don’t necessarily have to find one that is “saying what you are saying”—you just need to find “something to bring in. Students are generally confused about how sources are used in college papers: they are used as SUPPLEMENTS to YOUR IDEAS.
Please note that these are minimum requirements and if you want to bring in more of any one type of material you may do so as long as these minimums are met. The four sources above must be incorporated into your paper. Please note, also, that your own voice and your own ideas should be the dominant force in this paper. We use sources as SUPPLEMENTS to our own ideas in college writing. This may be very different from how you normally think of doing a “research paper.” Remember the “80 / 20 rule” which says that 80% of the paper should be YOUR IDEAS and only 20% (or less) should be “other people’s ideas.” As always, you may use first person (“I”) in this paper.
Your paper must also contain MLA in-text citations and an MLA Works Cited page. Remember, too, that your rough draft MUST contain a “best guess” Works Cited page (give it your best try and hopefully, your peer partner can set you on the right track where necessary).
This was my purposal
Many people are stuck in poverty from one generation to the next. “The Other Wes Moore” shows how some people break free while others don’t, due to education and support they receive.I want to help break the cycle of poverty by focusing on education and mentorship for young people who need it most. This means giving them the resources they need to succeed.
