Contemporary Social Issue Paper

The purpose of this paper is to examine a contemporary social problem/issue from a social work perspective.

You will select a newspaper article that addresses a social issue/problem that is relevant to social work. You will write a 6-10 page paper (excluding Title Page and References) that is double spaced, has 1-inch margins, and is typed in 12-point font.

After you have selected a newspaper article that addresses a social issue/problem, you will:

• Conduct a literature search and locate at least 3 scholarly articles that related to your social issue problem. (Do not select articles dated before 2002.) Include selected sources in a "References" page at the end of your paper. Be sure to format sources according to APA (6th ed.).

• Provide a summary of the newspaper article. You are expected to summarize the article in your own words, so DO NOT use direct quotes from the article.

• Discuss how the social issue/problem relates to the focus of our class-human behavior in the social environment - by:

o Describing relevant developmental life cycle issues in the article.
o Selecting a theory/theorist we are studying this semester to serve as the basis for providing a convincing argument for why this perspective on human behavior is valuable in helping social workers better understand the social issue/problem.

• Draw 2-3 implications that your social issue/problem has for the profession of social work (based on your literature search, relevant life cycle issues identified, and your selected theory/theorist).

Organize your paper by including the information requested above in 3 sections:

• Summary of Article (1 - 2 pages)
• Relevance to Human Behavior in the Social Environment (Approximately 4 pages) (be sure to address both life cycle issues and contributions of a theory/theorist)
• Implications for the Profession of Social Work (1 - 2 pages).