language and power; freedom and security; and health and wealth

Summary-Response

Overview

Over the past couple weeks, you have read about and discussed three social issues: language and power; freedom and security; and health and wealth. For this assignment, you will summarize and respond to the readings related to one of the social issues covered in weeks 2-4.

Content

Select one of the social issues covered in 2-4. The possible issues are: language and power, freedom and security, and health and wealth. Consider which issue interests you the most or about which you have a clear, strong perspective; ideally you will continue to work with this issue throughout the remainder of the course assignments.

Now choose two of the readings selections related to that social issue. For each of those two readings,

• write a 1-2 paragraph summary of the reading selection.
• write a 1-2 paragraph response to the reading selection.

Organization

• First present the 1-2 paragraph summary and the 1-2 paragraph response for your first reading selection. Then, present the 1-2 paragraph summary and the 1-2 paragraph response for your second reading selection.
• Be sure that your paragraphs follow the guidelines for paragraph structure.
• Review the sub-module on Summarizing and Responding to Readings for a sample summary-response paper.

Grammar and Mechanics

• Your paper should be written with consideration for the conventions of academic writing, with attention to the following:
  • punctuation: for example, use of commas, colons, and apostrophes.
  • word-level considerations: for example, capitalization, spelling, verb tense, and usage.
  • sentence-level considerations: for example, 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 two 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).
• Since your sources are from assigned course readings, you do not need to include formal citations. However, you should demonstrate basic attribution. This means you should reference the article titles and authors in your summary-response. For example:

In the reading selection, “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work,” Jean Anyon discusses how American schools are set up to fully educate students from upper-class backgrounds and to give a limited education to students from lower-class backgrounds.

Format and Length

• You should submit your summary-response for both readings in a single document/file.
• Your paper should include a header consisting of your name and the assignment name and a title that reflects your specific essay focus. (See example below.)
• Your paper should be typed, double-spaced and in 11 or 12-point font.
• Your summary and response for each of the reading selections should be a minimum of two paragraphs (about 400-500 words) in length. This means that your total document will be 4-8 paragraphs (about 800-1000 words) in length.
• Review the sub-module on Summarizing and Responding to Readings for a sample summary-response paper.