This activity is a two-part assignment that will unfold over a two-week period. The first step, which is due at the end of Module 3, is to choose a topic and create an outline for the second part of the assignment, which is an essay that is due by the end of Module 4. The process of creating a topic proposal and outline before your essay will be a required step for all of the essays in this course.

Part 1: Topic and Outline

We have been exploring in this module how race, ethnicity and culture can influence an individual's socio-economic status. Now it is your chance to dig into this complex issue in greater detail. In this essay you will explore the intersection of education and socio-economic status for different minorities in the U.S. You will be using the Excelsior Library (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., to conduct your research. Your essay topic should be carefully researched and develop conclusions from reliable data. This assignment is the same type as you completed in Module 1. Use your experiences and instructor feedback from that assignment to develop your work on this one.

For your Topic Proposal and Outline:

1. Please select ONE of these groups:
• African Americans
• Native Americans
• Latino citizens
• Chinese
• Japanese
• Vietnamese
• Eastern Europeans (the former Soviet bloc countries)
• East Africans and other refugees from war, poverty, etc.
• Undocumented immigrant/workers
• Other group, (please discuss with your instructor)

Outline Requirements:

1. Clearly identify the group you selected

2. Construct a clear, precise research question around the topic of education and improved socio-economic status

3. Provide an outline that includes a clear idea of where you will be going in your essay and:

1. Introduction
2. Historic data
3. Today's data
4. Change over time
5. Be sure you examine the multiple aspects of education, the various levels, etc. You may also want to include military service as an alternative to only school.
6. Compare the group's progress to others; how do they compare, and what is going on behind the scenes to impact these statistics?
7. YOUR analysis and examination of possible solutions you have found, as well as your own ideas, and conclusion.

Part 2: Essay

For the second part of the assignment, you will write an essay based on your topic choice. In this essay you will explore the intersection of education and socio-economic status for different minorities in the U.S.

Have you found any solutions in your research for the issue? If so, include them in your discussion/conclusion, along with your own ideas about how education can and cannot help people improve their socio-economic status. You will be using the Excelsior Library (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., to conduct your research.

Please include the following in your essay:

1. Construct a title, proposal and research question around your selected group and the following statement: "Education is the key to success in America. With an education you can become anything you wish to be."

2. Start with the U.S. Census data and go as far back as you can to research your group. You will want to track change over time in: number of people identified as part of this group, income range and education reported. Compare and contrast to "majority whites". (some groups have been followed for years, or decades, but others have not, so you may need to do some digging).

3. How has education helped your group to improve over time, or has it? (research beyond the Census stats needed here)

4. Are the promises made about education actually being fulfilled? Why or why not? (real sociology-type question)

5. What other factors may be at play here?

6. Discuss the facts you have located and the interplay of these to build to a logical and informed conclusion.

Additional Requirements and Resources:

1. A minimum of four resources from academic publications found in the Excelsior Library

2. 750 - 1250 words of writing. This does not include the title page or reference page. Please organize your paper based upon the approved outline and your faculty feedback.

3. Grammatically correct sentences. If you need assistance, free tutoring is available through Smarthinking. You can link to it under "Learning Resources" in your Table of Contents. It is the link, "Free Tutoring." To receive assistance on how to write essays, you can refer to the Excelsior OWL (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

4. Use APA citation guidelines. If you need assistance, please refer to either of the following online writing labs:
1. Purdue OWL
2. Excelsior OWL