APPLYING YOUR SKILLS: ADDITIONAL ESSAY ASSIGNMENTS

Write a cause-and-effect essay on one of the following topics, using what you learned about causal analysis in this chapter. Depending on your topic, you may need to conduct research. (For more on locating and documenting sources, see Chapters 23 and 24.)

image macmillanhighered.com/successfulwriting

E-readings > The Reel Sounds of Violence (podcast), On the Media/WNYC

TO EXPRESS YOUR IDEAS

  1. Write an essay explaining the causes of a “bad day” you recently experienced.
  2. Suppose you or a friend or relative won a large cash prize in a national contest. Write an essay about the effects of winning the prize.

TO INFORM YOUR READER

  1. Young children frequently ask “Why?” Choose a why question you have been asked by a child or think of a why question you have always wondered about (Examples: Why is the sky blue? Why are sunsets red? Why do parrots learn to talk?). Write an essay answering your question. Your audience is young children.
  2. Write an essay explaining how you coped with a stressful situation.
  3. Write a memo to your supervisor at work explaining the effects of requiring employees to work overtime.

TO PERSUADE YOUR READER

  1. Write a letter to the dean of academic affairs about a problem at your school. Discuss causes, effects, or both and propose a solution to the problem.
  2. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper explaining the possible effects of a proposed change in your community and urging citizens to take action for or against it.
  3. Write a letter to the sports editor of your city’s newspaper. You are a fan of a professional sports team, and you just learned that the team has been sold to new owners who may move the team to a different city. In your letter, explain the effects on the city and the fans if the team moves away.

CASES USING CAUSE AND EFFECT

  1. Your psychology professor invites you to participate in a panel discussion on the psychology of humor. You are required to research this question: What makes a joke funny? Conduct research on the topic and write a paper summarizing your findings for the panel discussion.
  2. A controversy has arisen concerning the use of campus computer networks. Students use the college computer system to send personal email as well as to complete course-related tasks, and some students have complained that the campus network is being used to post messages on social networking sites that defame the character of other students. In a letter to the student newspaper, either defend the students’ right to use the campus computer network to post such messages or call for a policy that limits such use. Give reasons in support of your position.

Synthesizing Ideas

Discrimination

Both “Right Place, Wrong Face” and “How Labels Like Black and Working Class Shape Your Identity” deal with the effects of discrimination.

Analyzing the Readings

  1. While both authors address discrimination, they use two very different approaches: one focuses on a single incident; the other describes many incidents. They also use two different points of view. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of each approach and point of view. To what type(s) of audience does each appeal?
  2. Write a journal entry exploring whether you feel the incidents of discrimination in these two essays are typical and representative of discrimination in U.S. society.

Essay Idea

Write an essay in which you describe the effects of discrimination on a particular person or group with which you are familiar. Define what discrimination the group faces and propose solutions. (You need not limit yourself to racial discrimination; you might discuss age, sex, weight, or workplace discrimination, for example.)