The objective of this assignment is to identify and describe the parts that make up the whole. You should construct an analysis of a subject from any area of your academic life, preferably from your major. Choose a complex subject that you would like to look at in depth and about which you think you have insights to offer. In writing, analyze the topic you selected by breaking down its components, describing and explaining what they are and how they function, outlining how each piece works in conjunction with the others, and offering insights into the subject. For example, a business major might write about customer driven marketing or using technology to manage information, a biology major might write about meiosis or light reactions, or a political science major might write about bureaucracies or a particular judicial system.
Though the primary purposes of the paper are to analyze and inform, you should use synthesis to achieve these purposes. It is expected that you will use many source texts to explain your topic and that you will synthesize and interpret the information you find in source texts as they relate to this topic. Remember, there is no synthesis if you are not drawing from multiple sources.
As with all of the essays in this course, this essay is not about your position, but instead should remain focused on informing the reader and demonstrating a deeper understanding of your topic by closely looking at the pieces that constitute the whole.
In Writing Project, your process should look something like:
• Focus on a complex, academic subject
• Conduct library research to find multiple books
• Identify a topic that can be analyzed as parts to whole
• Identify the most useful details and relevant information related to your research that can be drawn from the source texts
• Provide a thorough explanation of important parts and how they relate to one another (Keep the writing focused on how the parts relate to the whole)
• Find more sources as needed, at this stage, articles may be more appropriate than books
Your essay should include the following parts:
• Introduction: this is where you explain why it is important to understand this complex issue in more detail and foreshadow the parts you will discuss.
• Body: In the body paragraphs, you may accomplish a strong analysis in a number of ways. First, you should define the pieces/subcomponents of the whole well. Second, you may need to describe how each individual piece is important in isolation, as well as how it is important in relation to other pieces, and finally how the piece/subcomponent is important in relation to the whole. In the body paragraphs you may also wish to use compare and contrast and cause/effect to show the inter-workings of your topic
• Conclusion: this is where you round up your essay. Be sure to recapitulate your thesis and return to the importance of a deeper understanding of your topic.
Points toward final grade: This essay is worth 275 points toward your final grade.
Self-evaluation: When you submit your final draft, a homework or classroom assignment will be presented asking you to reflect on the process of writing this paper. This assignment will involve a 150-225 word response to a specific set of questions.