ASSIGNMENT | Black Americans and Systemic Racism in the United States

THE ASSIGNMENT

Preparation:

— To identify a topic for your Problem Analysis, look around your world.  What do you see that troubles you or outright disturbs you?  Locally, nationally, or globally, what problems capture your attention to the point that you might want to tell others about it or take action yourself?  What aspect(s) of your world would you like to see changed?  Be sure that you choose a problem to analyze.

— As you analyze the problem, consider the following: What is the history of the problem and how widespread is it now?  Why is the problem significant?  Who or what is affected?  What exactly is causing the problem?  (Identify causes that most people might not be aware of.)  What will the consequences be if the problem is not resolved?  What are others saying about the problem?

Writing the paper:

— describe the problem

— argue that the existence and significance of the problem deserves serious scrutiny

— emphasize the underlying causes of the problem and any new causes that you see

— identify current and potential consequences so you can persuade your audience that immediate action

   is required

— consider opposing views regarding the magnitude of the problem, the causes of it, and/or the impact

   that the problem may have, and offer a solid rebuttal of those views

— engage the interest and support of your audience through appropriate content, language, and appeals

— support your claims with solid scholarly research

— establish a clear focus, purpose, and place for each paragraph in your paper

— develop transitions between paragraphs and main points

— this assignment does NOT ask you to propose solutions (that’s your next paper)

— this paper is about persuading your audience to see and understand the seriousness of the problem

THE REQUIREMENTS

— 4 sources, each of which must be cited in the body of your paper.  One source must be a photo, graph,

   or image

— 3-4 pages in MLA format

— Works Cited page and in-text citations in MLA format

— completed topic proposal form (separate handout—completion grade)

— completion of the Research Guides Worksheet (separate handout—completion grade)

SOURCES

— Find sources that define or describe the problem (consider a credible newspaper source, not Fox or CNN but New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal).

— Find sources that will provide the necessary statistics or evidence to support your claims about the

   existence and significance of the problem (database searches; narrative descriptions).

— Find sources that argue causes as well as the current effects and potential consequences (editorials).

— Get all the information you’ll need for your Works Cited page.

Sample paper: See your textbook for a sample Research Paper.

SAMPLE SOLUTION

Black Americans and Systematic Racism in the United States
Numerous disparities between African American and White communities in the U.S. are an outgrowth of a long history of dehumanizing and discriminatory laws and legislative policies, which have triggered and exacerbated inequality in all spheres of life. These legislations and policies are built into the fundamental systems of the American society – systems of education, labor, housing, healthcare, voting, and legal or criminal justice (Kraus et al., 2019). The upheld systemic racism can be defined as the…