ENG 1010 Spring, 2025
Essay #1 Description of the Assignment
Due Dates: Outline (Thesis Statement and Supporting Points) is due 3/5. Essay Draft 1 is due 3/12.
Purpose: You will write an essay on the topic of altruism. Your essay should answer the question: Is pure altruism possible?
Topic: This essay will include both analysis and argument. For the analysis, introduce the concept of altruism, explaining it with a definition and examples. You might want to include the characteristics of an altruistic act, and what qualified it as altruism. For the argument aspect, choose a clear view of altruism with a specific perspective. Your thesis statement should express your perspective. You can acknowledge the other point of view, but only to strengthen your own view.
Required Length: 6 well-developed paragraphs. (Introduction, 4 Supporting Points, and Conclusion) A well-developed paragraph includes a topic sentence, specific supporting details or examples, and a concluding sentence. The topic sentences are your 4 supporting points.
Required Format: MLA Format with correct layout, in-text citations, and Works Cited List.
Required Sources: You must use 4 of the sources given in class (2 altruism articles provided, An Invisible Thread, and The Giving Tree) You also need to add the source where you got your definition. Feel free to use any of your own sources, but you must include 4 sources from the ones in class.
Required Style: Your paper should be written using formal, academic language. No contractions, no 2nd person “you” and no informal slang. For example, avoid using words like “a lot” and “really.” Grammar should be at an advanced level. PROOFREAD for fragments, run-ons, comma splices, and verb endings!!
Use of AI: Any use of AI such as Chat GPT, Grammarly, etc. will result in a zero score. I have very good AI detectors! You may, however, use the Grammar Check and Spell Check on MS Word.
Sources for your Essay 1:
You MUST use both books and two or three articles!
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201203/does-true-altruism-exist
By Neel Burton, M.D. 6/22/24
https://positivepsychology.com/altruism/
by Jeremy Sutton, PhD 9/3/20
https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/is-pure-altruism-possible
by Judith Lichtenberg 10/19/10
By Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski
Copyright 2011 Simon and Shuster
By Shell Silverstein Copyright 2011 Puffin
Course: English 1010 Composition CRN13474
(Co-requisite ESOL0912)
Professor’s Name: Mrs. Paula Lenge
Assignment: Essay #2 Argument-based Essay
Topic: The Role of Government in the Food Industry and Ensuring Citizens’ Health
Example arguments: The government should/should not play a role in controlling the fast-food industry. The government should/should not control the contents of school lunches for children.
Requirements:
Due Dates:
Over the next few weeks, we will read various perspectives on the politics and business of food. Some writers, such as Radley Balko, concern themselves with the importance of individual dietary choices, while others, such as Michael Pollan, write about the government’s role in ensuring the health of its citizens. In some way or another, all the voices we read are concerned for Americans’ health but have different ideas about how to best approach it.
Drawing from at least one of the authors from class and outside research, write an essay in which you assess federal, state, and/or local government policy on obesity and controlling the food industry.
Some questions to consider in your research are: How, if at all, should the government regulate the fast-food industry? Would ideas like a “fat tax” or “sugar tax” be effective? Have other places tried them, and if so, what was the result? What is some recent federal, state, or local legislation that has passed or been introduced to combat obesity? Do you think it will work? Do you believe in giving government more control over health matters, or less? Why? What other systemic or structural factors contribute to obesity? What role does fatphobia play in how we shape policy? What is the danger of focusing too much on obesity at the expense of other health concerns?
Using the 80/20 rule for original writing vs. source material, be sure to quote from and cite at least one of the authors we read together in class (Pollan, Balko, Zinczenko, or Maxfield) as well as from your two additional sources from the library databases