3 part, Spring Term Paper

The spring term paper has three parts. Each with a separate due date.

5 minute presentation, Due Monday May 12. Powerpoint to Tim, 11:00 am, NO EXCEPTIONS
First Draft, Due Wednesday, May 21.
Final Paper, Due Wednesday, May 28.

The theme of the term paper is "Equal Opportunity in the Workplace". You need to choose your paper topic by Monday, May 12, as the first part of the assignment is due then. You will use stakeholder methods as one of the techniques for analyzing the case, however you should not limit yourself to that method. Your paper should address the theory as well as tjhe facts of case itself. Your paper should also contain your analysis of the ethics behind your case. The goals of the term paper is for each student to demonstrate their mastery of the following skills.

Use of the template and strategies for writing learned in the book They Say, I Say.
Use of the theory and skill learned from the Weiss book (Stakeholder analysis, ethical principles).
Use and analysis of census data.
UNST goal: Ethics and Social Responsibility
UNST goal: The Diversity of Human Experience
UNST goal: Communication skills (oral and writing)

I order for you to get some ideas of what such a paper might look like, on Wednesday, May 7, we will look at 4 examples of first drafts of such papers.

Example one. Why Do Men Dominate the Dentistry Field?
Example one. Analysis of Workforce for Mechanical Engineering in 2000
Example one. Gender and Secondary School Teachers.
Example one. Life’s Not Fair or Equal: Learning to Deal with That

Five Minute Presentation

You will prepare and deliver a 5 minute presentation on Monday, May 12.

The 5 minute presentation is designed to give each student the opportunity to prepare and deliver a short oral presentation. The purpose of the presentaion is two fold: (1) to give each student the opportunity to practice the speaking skills, (2) to help motivate the each student to identifiy and organize the topics around which they will write their term paper.

Identify a topic for your paper.

Either
- Find a court case that adresses equality in the work place for your topic, or a related topic from the reading list or elsewhere. Or,
- Find some census data that describes some glaring inequality in the work place.
- An "A" paper, will do both.
Do a stakeholder analysis for your topic.
Prepare a 5 minute oral presentation of 4-5 powerpoint slides.
Powerpoint must be in my mailbox by 11:00 am, Monday, May 12, or you will get a zero for the assignment.

Grading Rubric. When grading the presentation I will look for the following information in your presentation.

Facts of your case
Stakeholder Analysis
Census data plotted graphically
Ethical reasoning principles

I will also look for the following attributes of the presentation.

It fits withing the given time (5 minutes).
Use graphs, pictures, visuals
Give evidence (support your claims)
Go beyond the material in the reading lists
Tells a story

Some guidlines for Presentation preparation.

A presentation is a tool that helps you explain to others what you have done. Most of the information is in your comments. The poster gives you something to refer to, and reminds you of important points.
Keep visuals simple and uncluttered
When using words, restrict text to 4-8 lines per page.
Use color and font changes to carry a message (e.g. related concepts or experimental results in the same colors), not arbitrarily.
Use LARGE fonts.
Use graphics rather than words where possible.
Put keywords on slides to help you remember what to say.

First Draft

You are to hand in a first draft in class on Wednesday, May 21. Although it is not required for you to hand in the following, you might want to create the intermediate documents.

Annotated Bibliography, with citations, synopsis, and apt quotes.
Thesis paragraph.
Paper outline.

Writing Center: I strongly recommend making at least one appointment with the writing center NOW. It is best to meet with them when you have a clearly defined topic and at least some preliminary writing. If you wait until the end of spring term you will not get an appointment. It would be appropriate to have three or more appointments if writing is a challenge for you. Even someone who already writes well can benefit from an expert opinion.

Library: Don’t be shy about asking for help in the library. Our library contact for Design and Society is Sharon Elteto. She will be the most familiar with what we are doing. But any of the librarians are happy to help with questions, so if Sharon is not available just ask at the desk. Also see the Research Survival Guide. .

Final Draft

Construct and turn in a complete 6-7 page research-paper on the theme "Equal Opportunity in the Workplace". Due in class, Wednesday, May 28, 2008.

Your paper should a have an introductory paragraph that clearly states your thesis within this theme. The rest of the paper should elaborate your thesis statement, it should include citations, quotes, and paragraphs that support your thesis, it should also anticipate arguments against your thesis. Your paper should contain graphic representation of the data you have collected. It must include a bibliography. It should be written in MLA style.

I will use a grading rubric similar to the following

5 points. A title and author
5 points. Appropriate length (6-7 pages)
5 points. A good thesis paragraph. not too broad, a little controversial, clear and unambiguous
10 points Uses "They Say, I Say" skills to describe the facts of the case
5 points. Graphical representation of census data
10 points. Uses Theory of Ethical reasoning in your argument
15 points. Sections and paragraphs that clearly support the thesis.
10 points. Sections and paragraphs that anticipate arguments against the thesis.
10 points. Good use of quotes
5 points. A bibliography in MLA style.
10 points. Correct spelling, punctuation, grammar.
10 points. Original and interesting to read

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