The Trend Paper

ENG 121: Essay 3—Speculating About Causes
Write an essay exploring the causes behind a current trend in American society. The essay should contain an opening paragraph which introduces this trend to the readers and offers a thesis forecasting the direction of your essay. The body of the paper should develop two or three main causes, or categories of causes, which examine both "surface" (obvious/practical/necessary) causes for the trend and "underlying" (less obvious/sociological/psychological) causes. When exploring causes, you must take into account a reason for the increase in whatever issue you’re looking into. For example, sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s) among teens may be caused by teens having unprotected sex. However, this does not explain why more teens have STD’s now than 10 years ago. A look at changing attitudes about casual sex or a decline in parental supervision, though, might help explain why more teens are engaging in unsafe sex
Each of the main causes you give should be developed in a paragraph using evidence in the form of examples, facts & figures, anecdotes, etc. While it will be important to discuss a variety of possible causes, it will also be important to finally focus on a particular cause which you would like to explore in some depth. You may choose this primary focus because you think it is the most important cause or simply because it is of particular interest to you.
Your analysis of this trend must be supported by limited research. You must include a minimum of two researched sources in your paper that should come from the Auraria library databases. We will go to the library as a class and learn about research, so use those techniques to develop your paper. Researched sources may include books, magazines, newspapers, personal interviews, and reference materials (i.e., encyclopedias, statistical abstracts, etc.). Online sources are only acceptable if they come from a credible source (ie it must end in .gov, etc). Other online sources WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. All sources must be documented. Format for in-text citations and Works Cited page will be based upon MLA style, as discussed in Ch. 22 of The St. Martin's Guide to Writing and the MLA section of A Writer’s Reference.
The final draft must be accompanied by an outline
Your essay will be evaluated upon the following criteria:
• Appropriate introduction which sufficiently establishes the topic and ends with a clear, strong thesis
• A clearly established trend, either in the introduction or in a body paragraph, depending on the topic
• Body section exploring a variety of possible causes
• Body section exploring one particular cause in some depth
• Proper and effective use of researched information
• A complex discussion of the topic appropriate for an academic paper
• Correctly formatted Works Cited page
• Effective use of transitions between paragraphs
• Careful editing for mechanical errors
• Appropriate conclusion

Requirements: 3-5 pages, typed, MLA format including Works Cited page. Keep all brainstorming materials, drafts, peer comments, outline and other materials, including print outs of your research.

Example Outline Format:
I. Intro
A. Background establishing (naming/describing) the trend
B. Thesis: “X is a trend because of A, B & C” or
“We are seeing more and more of X because of...”

II. First Possible Cause (summarize in topic sentence)
(e.g., “One reason for the increase in X is...”)
A. Supporting details/evidence/examples
III. Second Possible Cause (summarize in topic sentence)
A. Supporting details/evidence/examples
IV. Third Possible Cause/Primary Cause (summarize in topic sentence)
A. Supporting details/evidence/examples
V. Brief Conclusion

Trend Topic Ideas (these are just ideas to get you thinking, not fully developed topics):
• Spots: Increased in doping in sports; Increased technology; Increased pay
• Well being: Increased speed in everything we do. Multitasking, instant gratification,
• Food: Global and local. We live in a global world, but more and more people are calling for local food; Fast food culture; Famous food personalities;
• Global politics: China’s emergence as a superpower; Shipping jobs overseas; terrorism
• Money: Failing economies (overpaid CEOs, Fed. Bailouts, housing foreclosures, failing banks, food stamps); the growth of the income gap; struggling to stay in the middle class
• Green living: (and the Green movement in general), alternative fuels, lifestyles, etc.
• Education: Rising tuition; alternative high schools, charter schools, community colleges
• Fashion: Fast fashion; “low-riding”???; hip vs. classic
• Rights: Gay marriage, more gays on television sit-coms;
• Youth: technology; STDs and drug use; financial independence; stress
• Family and Relationships: Divorce; working parents
• Technology: Octomom and in-vitro, Ipods and cell phones, social networking
• “Reality” television; Failing newspapers, more blogs.
• Music: Hick hop, Mp3 and the dying major record labels, MySpace,
Use the Pew Research Center to find ideas: www.pewtrusts.org

The Narrative Essay Assignment

Narrative Essay Assignment

Final Draft 100 pts.
Rough Draft 10 pts.
Workshop 10 pts

Due Dates.
Rough Draft: Feb. 10
Final Draft: Feb. 17

Assignment Description:

Writing a narrative appeals to one of humankind’s oldest instincts—to tell a story. Across time and cultures, stories have served to tell us who we are, where we come from and how all this came to be. Our most sacred texts are stories, and we connect with narratives more than any other form (few children cry, “mommy, mommy read me another newspaper article).

You assignment is to write a narrative essay that relates an event, but at the same time describes the significance of this event (above what happened and why) to help the reader understand what was important about this instance in your life. Write about yourself to explain how your meaningful experience led to some important realization or conclusion about your life or about the world, in general (Aim for more complicated conclusions than the obvious, “therefore don’t drink and drive” or “you shouldn’t talk to strangers,” etc unless you can get your reader to rethink that). Think about why the experience was significant: Did it challenge your feelings/beliefs about something? Did some aspect of your life change as a result? Did you discover something about yourself or others? Tell us a story. Note to James Frey fans: non-fiction only please (it can be subjective, but rooted in the truth).

Present the results in a two- to five-page (double-spaced) essay. Use description to show your audience what happened, so that they feel as though they have experienced it with you (consider sensory information: sight, sound, taste, feel, etc.). A note: you are going to be sharing this essay with your workshop group, so please do not choose a topic that you don't want others to see (or one which they would be uncomfortable reading, but also don’t be afraid to take some risks in writing).

Workshop drafts and final versions of essays should be word processed in a 12-point standard font (Times New Roman, Garamond, Arial, etc.); follow the manuscript format described in A Writer’s Reference. Please proofread carefully. If you use a source, you must include citations and a works cited list; please use MLA parenthetical documentation format for citing sources (see A Writer’s Reference).

Schedule:
Jan. 27-29—Analyze texts/ Brainstorm-Invention Tech.
Feb. 3-5—The elements of story / Planning and Writing your story
Feb. 10-12—Workshop of Narrative Essay Draft
Feb. 17 Narrative Essay-Final Draft Due. / Intro to Profiles

Requirements:
2-5 pages
typed
double-spaced