Required Readings

Census figures that present evidence on these topics:
- Births to unmarried women by country
- Marriage and divorce rates by country
- Single Parent Households by country (1980 - 2008)

Women in the Workforce rates (Marriage) by Country

Susan M. Bianchi and Lynne Casper: "American Families" (2000)

Walter Williams: "The State Against Blacks"

Compose a brief essay of at least 400 words but no more than 600 words (not including your references list) on the following topic, referring to and critiquing relevant ideas from at least three of the Week 6 readings (above) as you develop your thoughts: What interests, if any, do you believe the state-that is, the government (on all levels)-should have in promoting marriage? Why

Write in essay form (that is, in paragraphs, not in bullet points). Be as specific and precise as you can be.

1. Write in Arial font, size 14

2. Always name the author whose ideas you are discussing (use the author's full name the first time you refer to him/her; after that, identify authors by their last names).

3. Provide in-text citations for all ideas, opinions, and facts derived from the course readings, whether you simply refer to them, paraphrase them (put them entirely into your own words), or quote them. Place the in-text citation at the end of your sentence but before the period that ends your sentence. The in-text citation should give the author's last name (unless you've used it already in your sentence), the year of publication (if known), and the appropriate page number(s) from the reading (if page numbers are used in the online text of the essay). Do not use the title of the reading unless it does not have an author).

Here's an example of a citation for the Thomas Paine reading for Week 1: (Paine, 1776).

Here's an example of a citation for the John Locke reading for Week 2: (Locke, 1689, pp. 46-47).

4. Provide a References list at the end of your essay that includes bibliographic references for every reading cited in your essay.

Note: Your references list does not count toward your minimum word count.