Assignment:
Introduction, Thesis Statement, and Annotated Bibliography
Prepare: Prior to beginning work on this assignment, review the Introductions & Conclusions and Annotated Bibliography web pages, and Evaluating Sources and Annotated Bibliography tutorials.
Reflect: Reflect back on the discussion in which you shared with the class the global societal issue that you would like to further address. Explore critical insights that were shared by your peers and/or your instructor on the topic chosen and begin your search for scholarly sources with those insights in mind.
Write: For this assignment, review the Annotated Bibliography Formatting Guidelines Preview the document and address the following prompts:
1. Introductory paragraph to topic (refer to the Final Paper guidelines for your topic selection).
- Write an introductory paragraph with at least 150 words that clearly explains the topic, the importance of further research, and ethical implications.
2. Thesis statement.
- Write a direct and concise thesis statement, which will become the solution to the problem that you will argue or prove Final Paper. (A thesis statement should be a concise, declarative statement. The thesis statement must appear at the end of the introductory paragraph.)
3. Annotated bibliography.
- Develop an annotated bibliography to indicate the quality of the sources you have read.
- Summarize in your own words how the source contributes to the solution of the global societal issue for each annotation.
- Address fully the purpose, content, evidence, and relation to other sources you found on this topic (your annotation should be one to two paragraphs long-150 words or more.
- Include no less than five scholarly sources in the annotated bibliography that will be used to support the major points of the Final Paper.
- Demonstrate critical thinking skills by accurately interpreting evidence used to support various positions of the topic.
The Introduction, Thesis Statement, and Annotated Bibliography
Must be 1,000 to 1,250 words in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center's APA Style resource.
Prepare: Prior to beginning work on this assignment, please review this Sample Final Paper GEN499 Preview the document for additional guidance on the expectations of this assignment.
The topic of your essay needs to be a global societal problem from the following list:
- Climate change
- Pollution
- Religious conflict and violence
- Rise of artificial intelligence
- Lack of education
- Unemployment and lack of economic opportunity
- Government accountability and corruption
- Food and water security
- International drug trafficking
- Poverty and income inequality
Reflect: Based on the topic that you have chosen, you will need to use critical thinking skills to thoroughly understand how this topic can be a global societal problem and determine some logical solutions to the problem.
Write: This Final Paper, an argumentative essay, will present research relating the critical thinker to the modern, globalized world. In this assignment, you need to address the items below in separate sections with new headings for each.