Goal: To provide
a critical reflection on The MacArthur Foundation (2006) “Facts & Fictions about
an Aging America,” and to examine the evidence used to support the authors’
arguments.
Instructions:
Type a 2-3 page essay reflecting on: 1) the purpose of this report, and 2) the
evidence used to support and clarify the author’s propositions or main argument.
You do not need to summarize the whole report, but for each topic you choose,
you must support your own interpretation with evidence and examples (quotes and
data) from the article. In your writing, I am also looking for complete
sentences, proper sentence structure, spelling, grammar, and punctuation. There
are deductions (1-point each) for not providing complete answers to questions
below, and for lack of proper formatting with APA-style, 7th ed
preferred.
The authors begin with
this powerful statement:
“The dramatic increase in life
expectancy in the United States and all other developed nations in the 20th
century is one of the greatest cultural and scientific advances in our history.
Yet, we are woefully unprepared to address the challenges—such as potential
conflicts aggravated by generational differences—and take advantage of the
opportunities—unleashing the
productivity inherent in a healthy elderly population, for example—that stand
before us.” [MacArthur Foundation, 2009, p.1].
Questions:
1) The Purpose (2
points): In your own words (or in
theirs, if you choose to quote them directly), what is the overall point (or
message) of this article? In other words, why do they feel it is necessary to
clarify these “myths” with “facts”? (2 points)
2) Choose Two Myths (3 points): You can choose any
two of the myths that you want to write about. But, to start, how would you
explain, in your own words, the title and description of each one? If you read
these out loud to a friend and they did not understand what they mean, how would
you paraphrase and explain it to them, to make it clearer?
3) Evidence for Both (5 points): For each “myth” you
chose, what do you think is the most important, strongest evidence used by the
authors to support their explanation of the “facts”? You should be able to
include (cite), and discuss, at least
two examples of “evidence” for each.
Note on Style: APA-7 is required for in-text citations, direct quotes,
and references. There is only one article as a resource, but I still expect to
see a full reference for it. If you have any questions, or need help, please
let me know via the Special Forum for Q&A.