now in Essay #4 you are proposing a solution to information and media illiteracy among American high school students. That solution does not have to be limited to the problem you described in Essay #3; in fact, any proposal would be an easier sell if it addressed the problem of such illiteracy as a whole rather than one specific aspect of it.
Final Essay (Essay #4). This one will be a bit different from the first three essays. It will be
longer, will require sources, and it will not be preceeded by a draft. I will provide feedback, it will
be on an outline only, not on a first draft. This final essay will be built around the argument /
counter-argument / rebuttal structure. Its arguments and rebuttals are to be backed up with multiple
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sources you will have read during the term (See the section on Articles above)
Essay #4, you will be proposing a solution to such a problem. The problem can be the same one you are analyzing in Essay #3, or it can be a different one. That choice is up to you, but the focus will be this: What can be done to address that problem among American high school students?
The scope is also up to you: It may be a problem at the state level, the local level, or even very local, i.e., at a specific school (but not an individual teacher. Why not? Because individual teachers do not set school policy nor do they have authority over what is taught by other teachers). Nor will it be addressed to someone at the national level (because no single entity–not even the U.S. Department of Education–has authority over the educational content across multiple states).
A clarification: Completely “solving” a problem in education is rare, so it is enough to improve the situation in some significant way.
To ensure you have a viable proposal worthy of developing into an outline, get one or more proposals approved by me before moving ahead. It would be a shame to write a good paper on an unrealistic proposal or to write a paper to the wrong audience.
Here I will reiterate that your audience is someone–or some group of individuals–with the authority to approve the proposal. Note: Students do not decide what is taught, so they are not the decision-makers for this essay.
So, your assignment is to send me, via Course Mail, three or more proposals. For each proposal, provide me with these 4 things:
- the specific problem or current situation
- the identity of the specific target audience–by both the person’s name and title–who has the authority to approve your proposal
- your proposal
- the desired outcome
All three proposals can be on the same info/media illiteracy problem/situation, or they can be three different ones. That decision is up to you.
Because I will likely shoot down a good number of proposals, there will likely be some back and forth during the week. So, after you send me a batch of proposals check for my reply within a day. The goal here is to have at least one proposal approved so you are ready to move on the outline assignment.