Project 3 culminates in a research-based CAUSE or EFFECT essay exploring a dimension of wellness that we haven’t focused on this semester.
NOTE: To focus on causes means to focus on REASONS why something occurred. To focus on effects means to focus on the RESULTS of what occurred. You will choose to focus on CAUSES or EFFECTS. You won’t focus on both.
FIRST, choose ONE "other" dimension of wellness:
a. intellectual wellness
b. financial wellness
c. environmental wellness
d. spiritual wellness
e. social wellness
f. occupational wellness
SECOND, gather some research and identify a problem related to the chosen dimension of wellness.
1.intellectual: extra-curricular activities/funding, education for “gifted” students, education for exceptional children, technology use in classrooms, liberal arts education, paying for college, and so many others.
2.financial: unemployment, college costs, poor credit, lack of retirement, debt, healthcare costs, welfare, and so many others.
3.environmental: home safety, campus safety, land development, waste management, hoarding, inner city living, and so many others.
4.spiritual: lack of self-care/too much self-care, spiritual warfare, pluralism, mental health, purpose/self-worth struggles, mentoring programs, self-awareness, and so many others.
5.social: social media, family dysfunction, divorce, bullying, team sports, codependency, social anxiety, diversity, community service, and so many others.
6.occupational: work/life balance, federal or state-funded career services, job training, 40+hour work week, wages, vocational education, and so many others.
THIRD, identify THREE causes OR effects of the problem.
THESIS:
Basically, the ultimate question your THESIS should answer is “What are THREE causes OR effects of the chosen problem found within the selected dimension of wellness?”
Your THESIS may look like this:
Problem is a problem found in dimension of wellness; the effects of problem on dimension of wellness include Effect #1, Effect #2, and Effect #3.
OR THIS:
Cause #1, Cause #2, and Cause #3 are probable causes of problem, which is a problem found in dimension of wellness.
(NOTE: If you use one of the thesis templates, you will undoubtedly need to tweak it so the selected features fit seamlessly into the blanks and the thesis maintains parallel structure). Your research-based CAUSE OR EFFECT essay must include the basic elements of an essay and follow the structure below:
STRUCTURE:
Use the outline that follows to help you structure your essay:
1. CATCHY TITLE (“The Causes of _____” or “The Effects of _____” is NOT an effective title for this essay. Remember, the title should provide a hint of what the essay will discuss).
1. INTRODUCTION
Hook
Definition and description of the selected dimension of wellness.
THESIS (See thesis-specific requirements above).
2. 1ST BODY PARAGRAPH (This paragraph should provide background information on the selected problem).
Main topic sentence (Identify the problem that will be discussed). Incorporate facts, statistics, expert opinions, etc. to provide background information on the problem. A good portion of the background information should be summarized or paraphrased from at least one of your resources. (Remember that a summary or paraphrase still requires an appropriately formatted in-text citation). You must include a direct quotation, and you must make sure you appropriately integrate the quotation:
Closing sentence that reiterates the main topic sentence.
3. 3RD, 4TH, 5TH BODY PARAGRAPHS. (These paragraphs should discuss ONE cause or effect).
EACH of these body paragraphs should include:
1. signal phrase or lead-in/introductory sentence.
2. "Quotation" (Remember, if you're citing dialogue, you must use double quotation marks
around the entire quotation and single quotation marks around the dialogue).
3. in-text citation (author's last name and/or pg. # where quotation can be found if given)
4. interpretation and explanation of the quotation (How does it illustrate the main topic
sentence of the paragraph and help prove your thesis?).
Closing sentence: (should reiterate the main topic sentence).
5. CONCLUSION (You do not necessarily have to follow this order, but include the following):
You must include information from at least 5 outside resources in your final essay:
1. At least THREE sources must be scholarly articles, essays, etc. retrieved from a library database.
2. TWO sources can be retrieved from CREDIBLE resources found through a basic web browser search EXCEPT you CANNOT use Wikipedia or any of its affiliates. (Note: I encourage the use of Google Scholar).
