During our third unit, we will be discussing ideas regarding environmental wellbeing, including aspects of how taking care of our individual selves extends to caring for our communities and the world we live. Our discussions will address environmental issues, personal & community responsibility, and adaptation/perseverance.
The main source for Unit 3: Environmental Wellbeing is Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation. Through this story, we will begin asking interesting questions regarding our personal responsibility of caring for ourselves and others, as well as our individual and collective responsibility to care for our communities and environment. These questions will drive the research for this final formal essay of the course.
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For this assignment, please write a 2,000-word (5-6 pages) argument-based research essay that
The argument you present should focus an idea found in the graphic novel regarding any of the following: |
Just be sure that the topic you choose is something that is problem-based and might be solvable. |
Begin your project by doing some background reading on your topic. Preliminary reading helps you do all the following:
Sustainable Planet by 
Environmental Health Sb, 6th Ed by 
The Gale Encyclopedia of Public Health by 
The SAGE Encyclopedia of World Poverty by 
Natural Hazards and Disasters by Why search here? Search 22 databases at the same time that cover almost any topic you need to research at MJC. This is a good resource to use when you want to delve deeper into your subject.
What's included: EBSCO databases include articles previously published in academic journals, magazines, newspapers, books, and other media outlets.
Why search here? When you want to find broad coverage on almost any topic you need to research at MJC, use Gale databases to search over 35 databases simultaneously.
What's included: Gale databases include articles previously published in journals, magazines, newspapers, books, and other media outlets.
Why search here? Use this database when you want to explore your topic from a global perspective or to analyze and understand the most important issues of the modern world with a global awareness.
What's included: You'll find news, global viewpoints, reference materials, country information, primary source documents, videos, statistics, and more.
JSTOR was founded as a non-profit organization in 1995. It currently offers more than 12 million academic journal articles, 100,000 books, and millions of images and primary source materials in 75 disciplines.
Why search here? This is a great database to use when you want to explore different viewpoints on controversial or hot-button issues.
What's included: It includes pro/con articles, court cases, primary sources, videos, media, editorials, and news on more than 800 hot topics in business, politics, government, education, and popular culture. Use the search or browse topics by subject or A to Z.
You already have a pair of research questions to consider, as noted from the prompt:
Would it benefit or harm someone to become more altruistic or egoistic? (individual focus)
In what ways would being more altruistic or egoistic benefit society or harm it? (society focus)
Consider answering one or both of these questions as a single statement that is arguable.
Each citation in your list of works cited is composed of elements common to most works -- author, title, publication date, etc. These are called the MLA core elements. The core elements are assembled in a specific order as shown to the left.
Use the links below to see examples of source citations and practice using one of the templates.
If you don't find what you need below, check out the MLA's, Ask the MLA.