Note: This is a two part assignment this order is part one.
Papers should be in APA format (7th edition) and double-spaced with APA headings to help organize the paper (no abstract is needed). As such, it is expected that each paper will include a brief introduction and conclusion, headings for required sections, along with a title page and references. Only the substantive content of the papers counts toward the overall page count.
Please make sure you are referencing material from the course lectures, readings, discussions, and class exercises, across several modules. Use of non-course readings is required for both parts of this semester project. It is expected that students will draw on 4-5 outside resources from peer-reviewed reading for each part of this assignment.
Students should review the grading rubric as they complete this assignment, so they are clear on the expectations for this assignment.
Identification of Social Problem. Submit a 5–6-page double spaced paper on a topic that interests you from the topics covered in class (see list below at end of document). Although these topics have been or will be covered in class, it is expected that students will delve more deeply into the research literature on these topics in order to critically address the prompts below.
For Part 1, the papers must include:
- Using research evidence from peer-reviewed literature and credible websites, provide a thorough description of the problem, how it is defined, and what impact it has on individuals, families, and communities in our society.
- Critically describe who is affected by the problem and other relevant demographic information about those affected. Pay particular attention to how social problems are differentially felt by distinct communities or by distinct demographic groups (e.g., race/ethnicity; immigrant/refugee communities; under-resourced communities; gender; developmental age group, etc.)
- Provide a thoughtful discussion about the perceived “winners and losers” in how this social problem is defined and/or manifested.
- Briefly name and identify the federal policy that addresses this social problem. Students do NOT need to describe the policy at length (1 paragraph is sufficient) because that will form the focus of the second part of this semester project. It is likely that the federal policy that aligns with this social problem will be (or has been) discussed in the course; it is fine to use policies discussed in the course, though students are also permitted to explore other germane federal policies that have not received as much (or any) focus in class. Please bear in mind that the federal policy must fit the social problem.