Week 5 – Final Paper       

Global Societal Problem, Argument and Solution

[WLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5] [CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Prepare: Prior to beginning work on this assignment, please review this Sample Final Paper GEN499 for additional guidance on the expectations of this assignment.

The topic of your essay needs to be a global societal problem from the following list:

• Aging population
• Critical Thinking Skills for the 21st Century
• Gender Inequality
• Global Climate Change
• Global Water Shortage
• Marginalization and Minorities
• Refugee Crises
• Children’s Rights
• Social Media Censorship

Reflect: Based on the topic that you have chosen,  you will need to use critical thinking skills to thoroughly understand  how this topic can be a global societal problem and determine some  logical solutions to the problem.

Write: This Final Paper, an argumentative essay,  will present research relating the critical thinker to the modern,  globalized world. In this assignment, you need to address the items  below in separate sections with new headings for each. In your paper,

• Identify the global societal problem within the introductory paragraph. 
• Describe background information on how that problem developed or came into existence. 
  • Show why this is a societal problem.
  • Provide perspectives from multiple disciplines or populations so  that you fully represent what different parts of society have to say  about this issue.
• Construct an argument supporting your proposed solutions,  considering multiple disciplines or populations so that your solution  shows that multiple parts of society will benefit from this solution. 
  • Provide evidence from multiple scholarly sources as evidence that your proposed solution is viable.
• Interpret statistical data from at least three, peer-reviewed scholarly sources within your argument. 
  • Discuss the validity, reliability, and any biases.
  • Identify the strengths and weaknesses of these sources, pointing out  limitations of current research and attempting to indicate areas for  future research. (You may even use visual representations such as graphs  or charts to explain statistics from sources.)
• Evaluate the ethical outcomes that result from your solution. 
  • Provide at least one positive ethical outcome as well as at least  one negative ethical outcome that could result from your solution.
  • Explain at least two ethical issues related to each of those outcomes. (It is important to consider all of society.)
• Develop a conclusion for the last paragraphs of the essay, starting  with rephrasing your thesis statement and then presenting the major  points of the topic and how they support your argument. (For guidance on  how to write a good conclusion paragraph, please review the Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. from the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..)

The Global Societal Problem, Argument, and Solution

• Must be 1,750 to 2,250 words in length (approximately between seven  and nine pages; not including title and references pages) and formatted  according to APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s APA Style (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. 
• Must include a separate title page with the following: 
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
• Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. resource for additional guidance.
• Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your  introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that  indicates the purpose of your paper. 
• Must use at least eight scholarly sources. 
  • Source Document Requirements: 
    • Multimedia sources (such as videos) may be used, but no more than  two such sources may be used. If multimedia sources are used, they must  be authored and distributed by credible sources, such as universities,  law schools, medical schools, or professors, or found in the Ashford  University Library.
    • Government sources may be used, but no more than two such sources  may be used. Examples include whitehouse.gov, state.gov, usa.gov,  cdc.gov, and so forth. These websites can be used to make a stronger  point about your proposed solution within the argument.
    • Where print documents are used for source materials, those must be  peer-reviewed, scholarly journal articles, and academically published  books. Popular media sources (e.g., newspapers, magazines, television  and radio shows, etc.) must not be used. Materials from advocacy groups  (e.g., Greenpeace, Human Rights Campaign, National Organization for  Women, etc.) must not be used.
    • Sites such as ProCon.org and Wikipedia must not be used.
    • Religious texts must not be used.
  • The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.  table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you  have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this  assignment, contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say  about the appropriateness of a specific source for an assignment. The Integrating Research (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. tutorial will offer further assistance with including supporting information and reasoning.
  • Must document in APA style any information used from sources, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s In-Text Citation Guide (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
  • Must have no more than 15% quoted material in the body of your essay  based on the Turnitin report. References list will be excluded from the  Turnitin originality score.
  • Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.

Good Critical Thinking Tips:

• Your paper should include academic sources that explain multiple sides of the issue.
• Your interpretations of the evidence should be objective and state  the conclusions and theses presented in the evidence clearly and fairly.
• Your paper should place the various forms of evidence in relation to  one another and demonstrate why one form or perspective is stronger  than the other positions that one could take on the issue.
• Your paper should point out the limitations of current evidence and attempt to indicate areas for future research.
• Writing Tools: 

Week 5 – Discussion

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Your  initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until  Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect  both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses.  Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon  above for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

   Reflecting on General Education and Career [WLOs: 2, 3, 4] [CLOs: 2, 3, 4]        

Prepare: Start by reviewing General Education Curriculum found in General Academic Information and Policies (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.  in the Ashford University Catalog, which addresses the core  competencies that the general education courses must cover: Applied  Ethics, Communication, Information Technology, Critical Thinking, and  Quantitative Reasoning. Review Week 5 Resources that are applicable  toward career success.

Reflect: Think about the core  competencies as previously mentioned, and ponder your time taking  general education courses. Reflect on the specific courses not  associated with your college major and determine the level of new  information you have acquired that relates to the core competencies. You  must also think about a potential job you might apply to once you  graduate and determine what skills you developed through general  education courses that make you qualified for a specific job.

Write: For this discussion, you will address the following prompts:

Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length, which  should include a thorough response to each prompt. You are required to  provide in-text citations of applicable required reading materials  and/or any other outside sources you use to support your claims. Provide  full reference entries of all sources cited at the end of your  response. Please use correct APA format when writing in-text citations  (see In-Text Citation Helper (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.) and references (see Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.).

Respond to Peers: Review your classmates’ posts, and  respond to at least two of your peers by Day 7. In your responses,  provided feedback on the different skills your peers have acquired that  would make them successful in their chosen career field. Each  participation post should be a minimum of 75 words.