What is Social Injustice?

Social injustice refers to someone's rights being violated by another. Genocide, child labor, suppression of women or religious groups are just a few examples.

You will pick some injustice that is going on in the world today. You will explain what is happening, why it is an injustice, and give a possible solution (your own or someone else's).

Step One: Pick a topic

The injustice should be going on at this time (no papers on the Holocaust). It should not be something in America. Some possible topics to choose from (but you are not limited to):

  • Invisible Children
  • Sharia Law/Role of women in the Middle East
  • Child Labor Exploitation/Sweat Shops
  • Child Soldiers/ Uganda
  • Birth Control Laws in China
  • India – Caste System
  • Human Trafficking - Asian Countries
  • Human trafficking - European Countries
  • North Korea - Pursuit of military over needs of citizens
  • Quality of Life in Africa
  • Genocide in Dafur
  • Genocide in Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Genocide in Sudan
  • Genocide in Syria
  • Genocide in Somalia
  • Genocide in Myanmar (Burma)
  • Homosexuality laws in Russia
  • Sweatshops in China
  • Religious suppression in various countries
  • Slavery in South Asia
  • Police Brutality in South Africa

Some sites that might be helpful in finding a topic:

Step Two: Do some research

You will need to find information from at least five different sources. You will get a bonus if you have at least three different types of sources.

Our library has some great books on many of these subjects. They also have several books on these subjects available in eBook format. You can access them by clicking here. You username is your lunch number (PowerSchool number) and your password is your last name.

Need help doing the MLA of your source cards? Use your MLA Bliss Sheet.

Deadlines for note cards:

3/12 - (Wednesday) - blank cards (two sets)
3/13 - (Thursday) - 10 note cards
3/14 - (Friday) - 20 note cards
3/17 - (Monday) - 35 note cards
3/18 - (Tuesday) - bring in all note cards for slugging

You will need approximately 10 notecards x the number of pages required for your paper. Then add about 15 to it because many of the first cards will not work well into your paper.

What do you need?

source cards - these cards will have the MLA of your source. You will write a letter at the top of this card (a different letter for each source). This is called a source code. You need to have at least six sources. It is helpful to have these cards look different from your notecards.
notecards - these cards will have one piece of information or one quote. In the top right hand corner, put the same letter that you have on the source card for that source. This way you will know where this note came from later. If your source has a page number (book, magazine, database, etc.) then you must put the page number of that source under the source code.This handout shows you what it looks like.
time - expect it to take around one hour to get ten notecards. This, of course, depends on several variables, but it is a good standard to use.

Step Three: Organize your cards

Take your note cards and separate them from your source cards. We are now going to slug your cards. This means that you are going to divide your cards up by like category. I suggest trying the following categories:

  • Who/Where - W/W
  • What - What
  • Why - Why
  • Solutions - S
  • Other - O

Once you have them in divided piles, put a slug on the upper left hand corner. The slug will be the category. You may wish to abbreviate the slug by using the letters in italics beside the category list above.

Once you have all cards slugged, then take your What and Who/Where categories and put those cards in order of how you plan to present them in the paper. This will probably be your first block of information in your paper. Then do the same with the Why cards. Next, the solutions. That will be the last part of your paper. You probably will not use the Other category, but don't throw those cards away just yet. They may come in handy.

Now what? Well, look at your cards. Do you have enough in each category to write a section of your paper with? If not, you have more research to do. If so, you are ready to move to Step Four.

Step Four: Write your paper

You will need to have an introduction and a conclusion. You will need to explain what the social injustice is, who is victimized, and who is the oppressor. Tell where it happens and why it happens. You will then give a solution or solutions for fixing this problem. The solutions can be your own or ones you found in your research.Make sure you cite your sources properly using MLA in-text.

Choose either Open Office or Google Drive. There are benefits to both.

  1. If you choose Open Office, you will have access to your paper even if you do not have access to the Internet. However, you are limited to only your computer. I suggest that you download Dropbox and store your paper there. Then you can pull it up on any computer (but then you'll have to have the Internet!).
  2. If you choose Google Drive, then you can access it on any computer that has Internet and I can read it while you type it and make comments to help you.

You will also need to create a works cited page that has all your sources listed in MLA format.

Deadlines for rough drafts:

3/21 (Friday) - one page typed (3 handwritten)
3/24 (Tuesday) - two pages typed (6 handwritten)

3/25 (Wednesday) - works cited page typed rough draft

How do I write:

The INTRODUCTION

This paragraph exists for two purposes:

  • to make me want to read your paper (and no, just being an English teacher does NOT make me want to spend my time at home reading high school papers.), and
  • to set up yoru paper and tell your reader what it is going to be about.


    Let's look at these two things. How do you grab my attention? Well, since attaching $100 bills to your paper is unethical, let's try an approach that actually relies on your writing skills. First you need a "hook" to catch my attention. Consider using these techniques:

Open with some unusual detail - (Movies like The Avengers and Man of Steel exist today because a man named Frederick Wertham convinced everyone that comic books cause little kids to act violently.)
Open with a strong statement - (A book about censoring comics books written in the 1950s is the reason that comic book companies were able to sell $475 million worth of comics in North America in 2011.)
Open with a quotation - (Frederick Wertham once said, "In comic books life is worth nothing; there is no dignity of a human being."
Open with an anecdote - (I once threw away a comic book I had bought with allowance money because I was ashamed. My father thought I had wasted my money something worthless. That same comic book is now selling for $456.00.)
Open with a question - ("How does Wonder Woman find her invisible plane?")
Your thesis statement should be somewhere in your introduction. Where? Well, that is up to you. You will probably find it easier (and quite effective) to make it your last sentence. Start broad, get narrower, then hit the reader with your thesis.

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Let the Computer Proofread Your Paper!

You can go to this site and let the computer walk you through how to best revise your paper. Obviously, it does not understand your content, but it does understand your writing style. Go through all the steps and then have it shoot me an e-mail. I'll throw in a bonus grade for that.

The site is: http://www.sascurriculumpathways.com/portal/Launch?id=1242&bhcp=1

 

Proofread It Yourself / Get Someone to Proofread for You

When proofreading, look for the word "very." You can write better than that. Get rid of all of them in your paper and consider using these words instead (clickt he chart to make it bigger):


Paper Specs

You paper needs to be 3 typed pages long. It can end anywhere on the third page. The paper must be typed and the font must be the default font for the program you are using (do NOT enlarge the font - it is obvious to see and I will deduct points).

You will include a title page. You will NOT put the title on the first page of the paper (I know, you want to write the title big and hit enter a few times to make the paper longer).

You will include a works cited page.

 


Handouts

 


Quotes

The introduction and conclusion handout tells you how to use a quote to frame these paragraphs. But where can you get a good quote? You may use one of these sites. Make sure that you know who said the quote (unless it is a proverb).


The Signo 207 Uni Ball

Quite possibly the finest red pen ever made. Well worth the full five points.

 

 

 

The Body

This is the easy part. In fact, I suggest that you start with your body and write your introduction later. You already have your notecards in order. Now you all you need to do is to look at that first notecard and find a way to write that piece of information. Then you can go from there. Don't forget to put in your in-text documentation as you write.

If you listed your topics in your thesis statement, then write your paper in that order.

Transitions - these help your reader to realize that you are moving from one idea to the next. If you've ever been talking to someone who abruptly changes topic without letting you know that they were now talking about something else, then you understand how annoying a lack of transistions can be.

You can use transistion sentences. If I was talking about comic book superheroes and I want to move to the amount of money that comic book movies are making, I could start my next paragraph like this:

"The Incredible Hulk may be super powerful, but that is nothing compared to the power that comic book movies have to make money."

You can also use transistion words to alert your reader. Overusing these can make your writing seem childish and formulaic. However, using some here or there can add strength to your writing.

 

~~

 

 

Some transition words:


Yet,
However,
Still,
Nevertheless,
On the other hand,
In contrast,
Instead of,
Notwithstanding,
To be exact,
To be specific,
More specifically,
More precisely,

 

 

 


Similarly,
Besides,
Furthermore,
Further,
Moreover,
In addition,
As a result,
For this reason,
Therefore,
Hence,
Consequently,
Accordingly

The Conclusion

This is the last paragraph of your paper. You wrap up all your ideas in a neat little package. Please do NOT start your conclusion with these words: LASTLY, IN CONCLUSION, or FINALLY. We can see it is the last paragraph. You do not need to insult your reader by telling them that.

You will want to summarize your main points and reassert (note that I did not say restate) your position. Do not end your paper with a question. You can end with a quotation (especially effective if you tie that quotation in with a quotation from the introduction), a prediction, a recommendation, or a reference to something mentioned in the introduction.

 

Step Five: Revise your paper

See the side column underneath Spider-Man to see how you can get a bonus for revising your paper.

Step Six: Turn in your paper

In a manila envelope you will include:

  • Print out of your paper (title page, three pages of esay, works cited page)
  • Note cards
  • Rubric
  • Red pen (optional)
  • M&Ms (not really, but it is a nice gesture to show appreciation for your favorite teacher)

Due Date: 3/26/14 (Thursday)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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