english

PURPOSE: The purpose of this essay is to reflect on what you have learned this semester and use this knowledge to take a position and support it with evidence form the sources. Choose ONE of the following options:

Option 1: Given all the information you have gathered this semester, what do you think is the role of consumers, government, and food industry in the complex food system? Are consumers solely responsible for their own health and nutritional choices? To what extent does the government and/or the food industry have a responsibility to put people’s health and safety ahead of profits? Where does personal responsibility stop and government/corporate responsibility begin? Make sure you explain the reasoning for your position and provide specific examples and evidence.

Option 2: Given all the information you have gathered this semester, how do you envision the future of food? What needs to happen for the future of our food system to be sustainable, safe, and equitable for all? Please explain at length by referring to the readings and materials or in-class activities and discussions that stand out for you. You can use sources from your group project for this option. Provide specific examples and evidence to support your position.

FORMATTING—IMPORTANT

· Write 4-5 pages, double-spaced and in Times New Roman font size 12. The margins must be 1” on all sides. DO NOT insert spaces between paragraphs; just tab once for the first sentence of each paragraph. INCLUDE the following on the left side upper corner (each entry one line): Your Name, Course Number and Section, Prof. Martinez Earley, Essay # and draft #, date. On the upper right side, INCLUDE a HEADER with your last name and page number.

· Include all your drafts with your final draft. Post all your drafts and final draft on Schoology. Participate in drafting and revising in a timely manner. Hand in drafts and final revision on time. Meet with instructor once for feedback.

· Follow MLA academic standards for documenting and citing your sources. For example, when you begin talking about a source, introduce the full name and the title of the reading. Thereafter, just include page number in parenthesis, or last name and page number if you do not include the author’s name in the signal phrase: (Harris 49) or (49). You’ll find information on in-text citations and works cited citations in Schoology under each reading assignment.

· Include a Works Cited page at the end of your essay listing your sources in alphabetical order by author’s last name. You can copy and paste the citations from Schoology under each reading assignment. Here is an example:

Berry, Wendell. “The Pleasures of Eating.” Food Matters. Ed. Holly Bauer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014. 64-70. Print.

· Proofread read your essay BEFORE you hand it in. Your essay will not be perfect, but I expect you to correct what you can in terms of grammar, punctuation, formatting errors, and avoidable typos. I do not want sloppy essays.

CONTENT—MOST IMPORTANT

· Take a clear and specific position and state your main point about one of the topics at the beginning of your essay. Give your essay a title that reflects your main idea or message (NOT a general title or essay #2).

· Support your position and main point throughout the essay. Organize your essay and argument following a logical order. Paragraphs need to have the purpose of supporting the main point for the essay. Develop each paragraph with a controlling idea, details, explanations, examples, and supporting evidence. Follow the MEAL plan structure (handout on Schoology).

· Make specific reference to at least THREE sources that support your argument (at least 2 text sources). You may use sources from your group research if I pre-approve the sources first. NO OTHER OUTSIDE SOURCES ARE ALLOWED AND WILL NOT COUNT AS ANY OF THE REQUIRED FOUR SOURCES.

· Integrate the sources following academic guidelines. Summarize the different arguments from the sources. Connect the sources to your argument. Compare and/or contrast the sources to your point. Do not limit your discussion to a summary of the sources. Synthesize. Include at least 4 direct quotes in your essay. You’ll need to set the context for the source, introduce the source, quote, and then comment on the significance of the source by comparing it to another source or your own argument, agreeing with the author, disagreeing, or adding to the author’s point. Do not limit yourself to merely repeating what the source says. (Refer to the handouts on using sources in Schoology).

· Make substantial conceptual changes (rather than just lexical changes) during the revision process. Lexical changes are surface level changes such as word choice, or simple sentence structure changes. Conceptual changes have the WHOLE essay in mind and focus on concepts or ideas. Some examples of conceptual changes are: adding details, adding evidence, using different evidence, adding examples, using different examples, expanding on an idea, introducing a new idea, deleting parts, changing focus, rethinking a point, rearranging paragraphs, or restructuring paragraphs.

· Include a COVER LETTER for the FINAL DRAFT of your essay: Write one full page explaining your revision process. What kinds of changes did you make, and why did you make those changes? What exactly is different or similar? How did you approach the revision process? What revision techniques did you use? What did you learn from this exercise about your writing process? How did you choose/not choose to use the feedback you received? You can add additional information about your writing process if you want. Complete your letter by giving yourself a grade and explaining how you earned it.

GRADE:

(Green) Meets Expectations (Yellow) Approaching Expectations. Developing (Red) Does not meet expectations

· A paper (90-100): fulfills all criteria and shows consistent great effort, attention to details, high quality of work, and complexity.

· B paper (80-89): fulfills almost all or most criteria, shows good effort, and is effective in meeting the expectations of the assignment. Some areas of performance may need more development.

· C paper (70-79) fulfills some criteria and reflects satisfactory effort and an acceptable performance of the assignment, but a number of areas of performance are still developing.

· D paper (60-69) fulfills few criteria and reflects significant weaknesses in the many target skills, and does not meet expectations in some areas. Reflects minimal effort and little understanding of the requirements.

· F paper (below 60) does not fulfill most of the criteria and does not meet expectations in most areas. Reflects little or no effort and a lack of understanding of the requirements.