The purpose of this essay is to provide the social work student with an opportunity to explore one of the American Social Values (ASVs) in an essay. You are to define and analyze one of the ASVs, and explain the hypocrisy of it from a Social Work perspective. Prior to writing this essay, you should have read each chapter assigned. Research any information about the chosen ASV that will help you increase your understanding of how it manifests in American society. Plan your essay to include Three (3) distinct parts. 1) Use the Introduction to setup your paper, 2) the Body to support your arguments, and 3) the Conclusion to summarize the arguments.
►Use the Introduction to frame the argument for your essay.
1) Begin by creating a thesis, or main argument you will support throughout the essay. For
example, “Discussing the hypocrisy of the American Ideal is a difficult concept to approach because it requires a sociological analysis of how people behave toward particular people who are considered ‘beautiful and valuable’.”
2) Keep the thesis direct and straightforward, so that your readers will have a clear understanding of what is your paper all about.
3) Place an interesting quote from our Textbook at the beginning of the introduction, to grab the readers’ attention and draw them into the essay.
4) Put the thesis at the end of the introduction to setup the rest of your paper.
►Write the Body paragraphs to support the argument in your thesis.
1) Include direct quotes from the Textbook, and explain how these quotes relate to your
argument.
2) Include reasons why this discussion is relevant to Social Work.
►Finish your paper with the Conclusion section.
1) Tell the reader how the details in the Body paragraphs support your main arguments.
2) Consider restating your thesis in a different way to remind the reader of your argument.
3) Most importantly, include the reasons why the reader should agree with you. Avoid using
cliché phrases such as ‘in summary,’ or ‘to conclude,’
4) Show the relevance of this information as a social worker.
Grading
►The instructor will grade students on grammar, mechanics and usage, use of APA style, detailed concrete content, readable and understandable.
►The instructor will assess for how well the student explained the ASV and evidence of its hypocrisy in American society.
►A student should have at least Five (5) scholarly sources in the references or bibliography. ►Use the following Databases: Academic Search Complete, ERIC, JSTOR, CQ Researcher,
Social Work Abstracts, Opposing Viewpoints, etc.
►Students must submit all essays to SMARTHINKING prior to submitting the final copy to the
instructor.