Mapping My Social Identity
This week’s writing assignment is a springboard for the Personal Perspectives paper (due in Week 3), so while substantive feedback will be provided based on your timely submission, only completion points will be awarded at this time. The Mapping my Social Identity assignment should be used to guide your Personal Perspectives paper, which will be graded on the rubric provided with the assignment directives. You should refer to the Personal Perspectives paper requirements located in Week 3 and begin drafting it as soon as you receive feedback from this week’s writing assignment.
Requirements: Your document can be submitted in .doc or .docx format (this file type can be produced by Word, Pages, Open Office, or Google Docs), or via a Google doc link. Use APA formatting.
Choose one of the five questions listed below and write a complete and thorough response with a clear beginning, middle and an end. Use what you have read or seen in the Ted Talk videos to help you answer the question. You only have to choose one question, so pick the one that means the most to you. You will likely be able to use this assignment as a springboard to the complete essay which is due next week. Please write the question at the top of your page.
Which factors or conditions (physical characteristics/ability, class, race, gender, nationality, etc.) have had the most impact on your identity and values?
How much does your personal identity (how you see yourself) and your social identity (how you present yourself to others or how others see you) overlap or differ?
How have your identity and values changed or remained the same over the years?
Which values or beliefs most define you and why?
How has a specific experience shaped or impacted your identity and your values?
Some notes on writing:
Quality, collegiate writing assignments should begin broadly, develop a thesis or controlling idea which is expanded upon, evidenced and elaborated upon in the body and then concluded broadly in a way in which readers clearly understand how what they’ve read matters, includes them in a global context, and why they should care or consider what you’ve conveyed.
You should consider using this graphic organizer(https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pYB-_0CRok3Q-UNJEX2g8AaHwObAjmJGd0ECV6a_oME/edit) to support your writing, no matter what the assignment is or the course.
You should begin to answer your chosen question with a broad hook. A hook might be a rhetorical question, related quote, or a statement of universal truth about the human experience.
You should provide any relevant contextual or background information on the general topic that you are writing about.
The introductory part of a response or essay should end with a thesis statement or controlling idea. In this case, in very general terms, the thesis or controlling statement would be a concise answer to the chosen question, which you will develop further in the body of your writing. A good rule of thumb is to have broken down your answer into three logical and progressive parts.
As you develop the body of the response/essay, you should use the I.C.E. method to provide specific answers with appropriate proof and explanations/elaborations.
I – Introduce the answer
C – Cite the text or video material from which you draw the answer
E – Elaborate and/or explain how the citation proves the answer
Just as the written response/essay begins broadly, it should also end in the same fashion. That is, restate your thesis or controlling statement in a new, interesting way. Then, build upon your writing and the referenced materials such that you leave your readers feeling connected to your answer and lucid as to what they should do with the information gleaned therein. No one should conclude reading your writing and ask themselves, ‘So what?’, ‘Who cares?’, ‘Why does this matter?’
If at any time you are struggling with a writing assignment, you should contact the instructor right away for assistance. Becoming a good writer is a marathon, not a sprint, and as such those skills are learned, developed, practiced and honed over time. You should endeavor to engage writing as a process where you will submit, receive feedback, and revise your writing throughout this course.
Due: Sunday at 11:59 PM
This written assignment will be graded holistically, based on this rubric (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1f3ZOl36qYWF1nnJDRty9qjZSgBWC387VS7PcIb_hO7Y/edit) as well as the criteria and prompts described above.
