Writing Assignment #3: Research-Supported Cause-Effect Essay
Writing assignment #3 will be an essay supported by research in which you analyze either causes or effects of a phenomenon.
You are encouraged to use your field of study to help in generating a topic for this essay. Some sample topics are listed below:
If you are majoring in one of the Sciences programs in our SCIP unit, you might be majoring in one of the following: environmental management, biotechnology, laboratory management, social science, gerontology, psychology, or political science
You might write this essay on one of the following:
o The causes of an environmental problem
o The effects of an environmental problem
o The causes of impaired standing balance in elderly individuals
o The causes of dyspnea in elderly individuals
o The effects of a particular drug on segments of the population
o The effects of exposure to a chemical or microbial agent
o The causes of income inequality in a certain segment of the population or a
particular geographic area
o The effects of open offices on group productivity in the workplace
o The causes of stress in a particular segment of the population or a particular job
o The effects of social exclusion on the choices consumers make
If you are majoring in one of disciplines in our Computer Information Systems and Technology (CITE) unit, you might be majoring in one of the following: computer networks and security, computer science, cybersecurity, digital media and web technology, or information systems management
You might write this essay on one of the following:
- computer networks and security
o the causes of confusion in using Google maps or in using a GPS
o the effects of malicious code on networks
o the effects of data breaches on insurance costs or sales
o the causes of cyber attacks on financial institutions
- digital media and web design
o the impact of digital media on a health care
o the effects of new media on movements in politics
o the impact of interpersonal relationships from digital media
o the impact of video games on students' learning in a particular subject
- information systems management
o the effects of information technology capability on the ability of organizations to
change
o the causes of a particular information systems management problem in a particular industry
If you are majoring in one of disciplines in our Communication, Arts, and Humanities (COMM) unit, you might be majoring in one of the following: communication studies and professional writing, East Asian studies, English, graphic communication, history, humanities, or a foreign language such as Arabic, Chinese, German, Japanese or Spanish.
You might write this essay on one of the following:
- the impact of social media on advertising
- the impact of digital media on student writing
- the causes of the Iraq war
- the effects of the emergence of instructional technology on the teaching of history or humanities
- the causes of a language change (e.g., a pronunciation shift, a grammatical development, etc.)
If you are majoring in one of disciplines in our Business and Professional Programs unit, you might be majoring in one of the following: accounting, business administration, finance, global business and public policy, human resource management, management studies, marketing, criminal justice, emergency management, fire service administration, homeland security, investigative forensics, of legal studies
You might write this essay on one of the following:
- the effects of the International Financial Reporting Standards on accounting quality
- the causes of the emergence of ethics courses in accounting in the past 10-20 years
- the effects of the Internet or day trading on stock prices
- the causes of instability in financial markets in a particular industry
- the effects of human resource management practices on employee turnover
- the causes of job dissatisfaction among employees in a particular industry
- the effects of cause-related marketing plans
- the effects of tourism marketing on tourism patterns
- the effects of sports marketing on the entertainment industry
- the "CSI effect" (i.e., the effect of crime television shows on verdicts made in court cases or on other aspects of the criminal justice system)
- the effects of a particular development in infrastructure on emergency management response
- the causes of a particular school safety issue
- the effects of a particular DNA test on forensic casework
As you may have noted, many of the topics above cross disciplines. For example, a paper the effects of digital media on writing abilities would involve the fields of both digital media and communication. A paper on the causes of job dissatisfaction might involve the fields of both
psychology and human resource management.
The topics listed above are provided in order to help you generate ideas. You are not required to select one of the topics above.
Organization
The essay should have the following elements:
- an engaging introductory paragraph. You might even want to cite sources in the opening paragraph to make your opening engaging to the reader.
- an effective and clear thesis statement
- a statement of definitions and background on the topic on which you are writing.
o You will want to define any terms necessary for the reader.
o You may want to provide a historical background on your topic.
- unified, supported, and coherent body paragraphs that defend the thesis
- sources cited throughout the body paragraphs that support the arguments in the paper
- an effective conclusion
- a "references" page that lists the sources cited. The references should be listed in APA format.
In addition, the paper should be formatted according to APA style (e.g., you should include a running head with page numbers, have appropriate margins, etc.) in accordance with the video tutorial you observed in class, How to format your paper according to APA style.
The sources and citation format for this essay
You are required to use at least six sources for this essay.
At least four sources must be acquired through the databases subscribed to by UMUC's Information and Library Services. In addition, at least three sources are to come from scholarly journals.
Keep in mind that if the sources are scholarly, the argument you make in the paper will be more persuasive. For this reason, feel free to use all scholarly sources if you can.
In addition, please feel free to cite more than six sources. You may find that seven or eight sources (or more) are necessary to establish your argument and defend your thesis. Please do not feel limited to using only six sources. Use more if you would like to or need to.
Please cite your sources and list them at the end of your paper using APA format. In addition, as noted above, the paper should be formatted according to APA style in accordance with the video tutorial you observed in class, How to format your paper according to APA style.
Persuasive or Expository
This essay can be a persuasive essay, in which you try to persuade the reader of a particular position. Or it can be an expository essay that synthesizes material, an essay in which you give information to the reader and synthesize the different viewpoints on an issue. The following
examples help illustrate these two approaches.
For example, if you were to write on the effects of video games on students' learning abilities, the following would be options: You could write a persuasive essay in which you take the position that video games should be integrated into school science curricula to teach middle school students. You would cite articles that demonstrate research studies and other pieces of evidence to support the claim that video games can enhance instruction in science classes and will help middle school students learn science more effectively.
If you write a persuasive essay, please follow one of the following three options for organization:
- Classical (deductive) approach
- Inductive approach
- Refutation approach
More information on these three styles is given in the following video tutorial: http://info.umuc.edu/academicwrtg/WRTG101_101S/wa3_lecture_f.html You could write an expository essay that synthesizes information on this topic, one that summarizes and analyzes the impacts of video games on learning.