Full guidelines attached.
Needed in 3 days at most.
ENG 101
Essay 2: Position/Recommendation
Purpose of Assignment
Look around you – at your living quarters, your campus, your town, and the world at large. What specific
issue concerns you as a student? as a man or woman? as a citizen? as an environmentalist, an artist, and so
on? Why does the problem exist? How might it be solved? What are the negative consequences if the
problem is not resolved? Could a specific policy, issue, situation, or problem be changed and/or created in
order to solve the problem?
A recommendation essay points to a specific problem, a set of circumstances that creates a problem, or a
set of consequences that flows from that problem. It then proposes and argues for a process, policy, or
procedure for solving the problem, using logical reasoning to try to get an audience to accept the
recommendation. Whether you’re arguing that a certain action should (or should not) be taken or that a
situation or policy be changed, you need to do the following:
• Identify and define the problem and the negative effects it has on a specific community,
individuals, and/or segment of the population. Refer to a wide variety of research in identifying
and defining the problem.
• Imagine the audience who is also (or should be) invested in this issue – and establish common
ground with that audience, using rhetorical appeals.
• Determine your claim, which will become the basis of your thesis statement.
• Determine your purpose.
• Create an informed and researched solution. Identify the negative and positive consequences of
the solution.
• Order your recommendation either chronologically or emphatically, using transitional words.
• Consider the implications of your informed recommendation in your conclusion in terms of its
possibility and purposefulness.
In terms of what the problem/issue is, it has to be related to food and/or culture! For those who are still
struggling to find a topic, consider the following questions on food justice as starting points:
• What food did your family buy? What does this reveal about one’s socio-economic class,
geography (e.g., urban vs. rural setting), nationality, religion, identity, etc.
• What foods are available or not available? Why does this matter?
• Why do people buy so much?
• Who has access and who does not?
• What is your family eating every day?
• How does it change over the time of the epidemic?
Again, these questions are starting points, not specific research questions. Some of you might find these
questions to be relevant in our current social-isolation situation.
Due Dates (for all sections)
See the Adjusted Syllabus and Schedule in Moodle
Basic Requirements and Grading
1. 100 points
2. A prospectus detailing your goals for the essay.
3. There must be at least FIVE THREE sources in your essay
a. 2 academic/scholarly sources
b. 1-2 popular sources
c. 3 annotated bibliographies
4. It must follow MLA or APA formatting guidelines. This includes a separate Works Cited (for MLA)
or References (for APA) and a Bibliography (both MLA and APA). Regardless of the style you
choose, be consistent.
5. 10-20 10-15 pages of content. This does not include the Cover Page, Works Cited, References, or
Bibliography pages. Note: Keep in mind that page counts is a rough guideline, not a mandate.
Regardless of how short or long the paper is, the quality of the analysis and the critical thinking is
what matters the most in this essay.
Prospectus Guidelines
Typed, 2-3 page letter with the following:
Present Discussion
Describe the topic/subject matter you are going to enter. What is the current discussion about?
Who is currently speaking about this topic/issue? What kinds of things are being said? List 2-3
sources and describe.
Past Discussion
Describe the background (or history) of the subject matter. What has been said and/or written on
the subject matter? What points, issues have been made, and in what context? List 2-3 sources
and describe.
Future—Your contribution
What do you want to add to the conversation? What points, issues do you want to address? Why?
Explain.
Plans for Contribution
What do you want to say about the subject matter? What do you want to argue/persuade? Who is
the audience? What is your purpose? What effect will your piece have on your intended
audience? What further research will you need to do in order to be fully informed on the topic?