The Argumentation Essay Project
❖An
argumentation essay is an essay that
combines your ideas and perspective with
the ideas and perspectives of others, called
sources
❖Before
you begin the steps in the writing
process, you must research the topic, and
arrive at an informed opinion about it using
critical thought
❖Your
informed opinion, and how you arrived
at it through analyzing your sources, forms
the core of your essay
Using Sources
❖
❖
❖
❖
The purpose of a research essay is not to present
a lot of quotations, facts, or statistics that show
only what others say about the topic
Your purpose is to analyze and evaluate source
material; in other words, to think critically and
form an educated opinion on the topic
Your essay will then be a synthesis of your own
ideas and your source material, which develops
from the process of critical thinking
Your well informed ideas and reasoning form the
core of your research essay; the sources are your
supporting cast
Paper Requirements
❖
❖
❖
❖
❖
7 pages of written text, not
counting the Works Cited page
MLA format, using in-text citations
A correctly formatted Works Cited
Page
A minimum of 5 different sources
Paper formatted as specified in
“Essay Checklist”
Steps for the Project
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Research, research, research, but be open to the
ideas and perspectives of others – that is critical
thinking!
Take notes on your sources, and keep publication
information needed for your Works Cited page
Prewrite, including both your own ideas and your
source material
Write a working thesis statement
Draft the essay, including the Works Cited page
Revise
Proofread
Working With Sources
▪
▪
▪
▪
Analysis Questions
What is the main assertion
or claim?
What evidence is used to
support or explain that
assertion?
Has the source considered
opposing views and
addressed them?
Are you convinced that the
source’s perspective is
valid? Why or why not?
▪
▪
▪
▪
Evaluation Questions
What is the source’s
expertise in the topic?
Does the source have
any possible bias
regarding the subject?
Are any facts used
verifiable?
When was the material
written? Is it up to
date or outdated?
Avoiding Plagiarism
❖
Any borrowed idea – whether in the form of direct quotation or paraphrase
– must be cited in your essay.
❖
An exception to this rule is information that comes from common
knowledge, or facts that are accepted as true. Examples include:
The United States Civil War began in 1861 and ended in 1865.
Jordan is largely an Islamic country
Albert Einstein developed the theory of relativity.
❖
❖
Try to put source information into your own words (paraphrase) without
looking at the original source. This avoids plagiarism AND shows the
reader that you understand your sources and can show their connection to
your ideas.
If you use any source’s exact words, you must use quotation marks.
Using In-Text Citations
❖
❖
❖
❖
❖
Citations show the reader where your source material comes from
The current MLA style requires writers to put source information -author’s last name and page number or other identifying
information like the source website when the author is unknown-in parenthesis immediately following any borrowed material:
Many faculty members at the University of Michigan believe that a diverse
student population “makes the college a better educational experience for all” (Arnett
276).*
If the source’s name is given in the text of the sentence, then all
that is needed in parenthesis is the page number where the
borrowed material can be found. A signal phrase should be placed
before the source’s name in the text :
According to Mark Arnett, an admissions researcher at the University of
Michigan, many faculty members believe that a diverse student population enhances
the college community, and students’ education (276).*
*Note that a citation is required if the information has been borrowed, whether or not
the source’s exact words are used.
Argumentation ‘Traps’ To Avoid
❖
❖
❖
❖
❖
Use of the “I” perspective when not relating personal experience to support the
thesis. I think, I believe, and In my opinion are not statements of experience, but
ideas. State ideas as though they are facts, but then PROVE them, using factual
information like common knowledge, an authority or source, verifiable facts, or clear
reasoning.
Quote Dumping. Sources and authorities should be used either to support, explain,
or prove your ideas. Sources should not be the focus of your essay, your ideas
should. Avoid quote dumping by beginning and ending every paragraph in your essay
with your own ideas. When using a source to prove or explain your ideas, always
show the reader how the source information is related to your reasoning.
Use of ineffective or biased sources. Evaluate sources before drafting the essay.
Using a scholarly search engine, like the Expanded Academic Index ASAP, instead of
general search engines like Google or Yahoo, will be more helpful in finding strong
Internet sources. When using print sources, stick to news magazines and newspaper
archives, which present more factual information, as well as books written by
authorities with knowledge and experience of the subject matter.
Waiting until the last minute to do the research and write the essay. The research
essay is a true project, and not just an essay. Take the steps one at a time, and
budget your time wisely.
Using Wikipedia as a source. Crowd sourced, Wikipedia is not an authoritative source.
Of course you may refer to it to find ideas and information, but you will need more
reliable sources from which to cite information.
Essay Checklist
All work must be typed on white paper, with:
• Standard one-inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right).
• Text aligned to the left margin.
• A single-spaced name block in the upper left corner.
• Double-spaced text with no extra line break between paragraphs.
• Indents of one tab (five spaces) for each paragraph.
• 12-point type of a standard font (e.g., Times New Roman, Arial) throughout the
paper—including the title.
• Proposals and review drafts stapled under the final draft.
The title is informative and creates interest. It is in the same font and size as the
rest of the paper. There is only a single line space above and below the title.
The introduction identifies the issue and provides enough information about the
topic so that the thesis is a single declarative sentence ending the introduction.
The thesis clearly states the writer’s position on the argument that follows.
The body paragraphs are organized in a logical way with transitional sentences
leading the reader from one paragraph to the next.
Each body paragraph clearly and completely discusses one point with specific
examples and details.
Outside material is properly introduced, cited, and connected to the main idea.
Each source also appears on the Works Cited page.
Because any use of source material needs both context and development, the first
and last sentences of all body paragraphs are entirely in the author’s own words.
The conclusion ties things together, summarizes the main idea, and restates the
thesis as proven.
Basic grammar check. Every clause has a subject and verb which agree in person
and number; every pronoun has a clear antecedent.
Punctuation check. There is a reason for every comma; there are no fragments,
run-ons, and splices.
There is no use of the first person (I, me, my).
Li 1
Runliang Li
Raymond Brennan
English 1C
July 15, 2018
Final Paper Proposal
The Geocentric Model of the Earth Belief
1.) My paper will discuss the theory that has been proposed by some scientists, philosophers, and
astronomers that the solar system is of the geocentric model. I will focus on the arguments that
have been tabled by those who agree with this idea. I will also discuss the factors that make this
theory to be disapproved and even the problems that could be brought about by this fact on the
people.
2.) The belief that the earth is the center of the solar system has been ousted by many
astronomers such as NASA who have extensively explored the solar system.
3.) My audience is other college students who have not read my source material but who are
interested in my topic and want to make an informed decision about where they stand on the
issue I discuss.
4.) Introduction
Many scientists have tried to study the solar system to understand how it looks like and how
different of its constituents are located. The majority of the astronomers that have explored the
moon and other planets have agreed to the standard model of the solar system. However, some of
the scientists and philosophers believe that earth is in geocentric form. The theory of the
geocentric model was first focused by a Greek astronomer and mathematician Claudius Ptolemy.
Claudius argued that in the geocentric model, the earth is the center of the solar system. He
believed that the moon, all planets, sun and all stars revolves around the planet thus forming a
Li 2
geocentric model. They are considered to consist of the heavens which remain unchanged and
ethereal.
Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, also argued in favor of this theory. Aristotle argues that if it
happened that the earth was moving, people would notice the movement of both air and land. He
also claims that if the earth were running, the apparent distance between the earth and the stars
would be varying. Two observations have been made to support the idea of the earth being the
center of the universe. First of all, the sun ends to rotate once around the earth daily. The moons
and the planets tend to have their orbits, but they also revolve around the earth once per day. The
stars tend to be on a celestial sphere which rotates around the earth daily along with some axis
which is through the North and South poles. Secondly, the earth does not seem to be moving
from an earth observer. It looks stable and robust without an appearance of moving.
In the early modern age, the geocentric model of the solar system was getting supported by some
religions. In the USA, several members of the Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod complied with
the Ptolemaic model of the solar system. (Babinski, E). Also, a few Orthodox Jewish leaders
maintained that the geocentric model as presented by Ptolemy was realistic. In Islam, very few
believers supported the idea of the geocentric model of the solar system.
Many astronomers who have reached the other planets and took a satellite picture of the solar
system has proved that the geocentric model of the solar system is not correct. The scientists
have shown that the sun is the center of the solar system. The modern model of the solar system
provides that all the planets and stars revolve around the sun. The geocentric model of the solar
system is getting ousted because it falls short of some evidence such as the revolution of other
planets and other stars such as Venus. The size of the sun is much times greater than the size of
Li 3
the earth. It is not logical for such a big object to revolve around the earth. Also, some planets are
much larger than the earth which would make it impossible for the rotation to happen.
There are still more factors which disapprove of the geocentric model of the solar system. When
observed by telescope, Mars tends to undergo a retrograde kind of motion. The motion makes it
hard to explain if the Mars was rotating around the earth and not the sun. In principle, all the
planets revolve around the solar system because of the influence of gravity. The sun being a vast
body of all other bodies tends to be holding the center of gravity. Copernicus was the first one to
counter the geocentric model but lacked enough evidence to deliver his point. When Kepler
provided more detailed information, he looked to be more informed. His model was fully
accepted when Newton discovered gravity.
The beliefs about many pseudoscientific theories influence the people who discover them and
even on religion bases. The pseudoscientists used to be contrarians to gain fame and cash. The
craving for fame may lead to cropping up of more pseudoscientists in the society whereby each
has their model of the solar system. The geocentric solar system model was misleading and thus
conveyed wrong information to the nation. The belief in the theories that are developed by the
pseudoscientists may erode the cultures of the community that is involved in this matter. I
personally do not support the geocentric solar system. The reason behind my stand is because of
the recent studies that have proved the modern model of the solar system. The modern model of
the solar system is scientifically possible because all the planets are only able to revolve around
the sun.
Li 4
5.)
Works Cited
Babinski, E. T., ed. "Excerpts from Frank Zindler's 'Report from the center of the universe' and
'Turtles all the way down'". TalkOrigins Archive. Retrieved 2013-12-01. (1995)
Glassmeier, Karl-Heinz, et al. "The Rosetta mission: flying towards the origin of the solar
system." Space Science Reviews 128.1-4 (2007): 1-21.
Henze, Ineke, Jan H. Van Driel, and Nico Verloop. "Development of experienced science
teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge of models of the solar system and the universe."
International Journal of Science Education 30.10 (2008): 1321-1342.
Malhotra, Renu. "The origin of Pluto's orbit: Implications for the Solar System beyond Neptune."
arXiv preprint Astro-ph/9504036 (1995).
Strom, Robert G., et al. "The origin of planetary impactors in the inner solar system." Science
309.5742 (2005): 1847-1850.
8/7/2017
Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide
General Writing • Research and Citation • Teaching and Tutoring • Subject-Specific Writing •
Job Search Writing • ESL
This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/). When printing this
page, you must include the entire legal notice at bottom.
MLA Formatting and Style Guide
Summary:
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and
humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (8th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA
research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.
Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli, Russell Keck, Joshua M. Paiz, Michelle Campbell, Rodrigo
Rodríguez-Fuentes, Daniel P. Kenzie, Susan Wegener, Maryam Ghafoor, Purdue OWL Staff
Last Edited: 2017-06-19 09:42:51
The following overview should help you better understand how to cite sources using MLA eighth edition, including the list of
works cited and in-text citations.
Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in MLA. See also our MLA vidcast series on
the Purdue OWL YouTube Channel.
Creating a Works Cited list using the eighth edition
MLA has turned to a style of documentation that is based on a general method that may be applied to every possible source, to
many different types of writing. But since texts have become increasingly mobile, and the same document may be found in
several different sources, following a set of fixed rules is no longer sufficient.
The current system is based on a few principles, rather than an extensive list of specific rules. While the handbook still gives
examples of how to cite sources, it is organized according to the process of documentation, rather than by the sources themselves.
This process teaches writers a flexible method that is universally applicable. Once you are familiar with the method, you can use
it to document any type of source, for any type of paper, in any field.
Here is an overview of the process:
When deciding how to cite your source, start by consulting the list of core elements. These are the general pieces of information
that MLA suggests including in each Works Cited entry. In your citation, the elements should be listed in the following order:
1. Author.
2. Title of source.
3. Title of container,
4. Other contributors,
5. Version,
6. Number,
7. Publisher,
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
1/7
8/7/2017
Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide
8. Publication date,
9. Location.
Each element should be followed by the punctuation mark shown here. Earlier editions of the handbook included the place of
publication, and required punctuation such as journal editions in parentheses, and colons after issue numbers. In the current
version, punctuation is simpler (just commas and periods separate the elements), and information about the source is kept to the
basics.
Author
Begin the entry with the author’s last name, followed by a comma and the rest of the name, as presented in the work. End this
element with a period.
Said, Edward W. Culture and Imperialism. Knopf, 1994.
Title of source
The title of the source should follow the author’s name. Depending upon the type of source, it should be listed in italics or
quotation marks.
A book should be in italics:
Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. MacMurray, 1999.
A website should be in italics:
Lundman, Susan. "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow, www.ehow.com/how_10727_makevegetarian-chili.html.*
A periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper article) should be in quotation marks:
Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in
Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature, vol. 15,
no. 1, 1996, pp. 41-50.
A song or piece of music on an album should be in quotation marks:
Beyoncé. "Pray You Catch Me." Lemonade, Parkwood Entertainment, 2016,
www.beyonce.com/album/lemonade-visual-album/.
*The eighth edition handbook recommends including URLs when citing online sources. For more information, see the “Optional
Elements” section below.
Title of container
Unlike earlier versions, the eighth edition refers to containers, which are the larger wholes in which the source is located. For
example, if you want to cite a poem that is listed in a collection of poems, the individual poem is the source, while the larger
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
2/7
8/7/2017
Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide
collection is the container. The title of the container is usually italicized and followed by a comma, since the information that
follows next describes the container.
Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories,
edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994, pp. 306-07.
The container may also be a television series, which is made up of episodes.
“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation, created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur,
performance by Amy Poehler, season 2, episode 21, Deedle-Dee Productions and
Universal Media Studios, 2010.
The container may also be a website, which contains articles, postings, and other works.
Zinkievich, Craig. Interview by Gareth Von Kallenbach. Skewed & Reviewed, 27 Apr.
2009, www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/1056940-skewed%2526-reviewed-interviews-craig. Accessed 15 Mar. 2009.
In some cases, a container might be within a larger container. You might have read a book of short stories on Google Books, or
watched a television series on Netflix. You might have found the electronic version of a journal on JSTOR. It is important to cite
these containers within containers so that your readers can find the exact source that you used.
“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation, season 2, episode 21, NBC, 29 Apr. 2010.
Netflix, www.netflix.com/watch/70152031?
trackId=200256157&tctx=0%2C20%2C0974d361-27cd-44de-9c2a-2d9d868b9f64-12120962.
Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.”
Historical Journal, vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, pp. 173-96. ProQuest,
doi:10.1017/S0018246X06005966. Accessed 27 May 2009.
Other contributors
In addition to the author, there may be other contributors to the source who should be credited, such as editors, illustrators,
translators, etc. If their contributions are relevant to your research, or necessary to identify the source, include their names in your
documentation.
Note: In the eighth edition, terms like editor, illustrator, translator, etc., are no longer abbreviated.
Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of
Reason. Translated by Richard Howard, Vintage-Random House, 1988.
Woolf, Virginia. Jacob’s Room. Annotated and with an introduction by Vara Neverow,
Harcourt, Inc., 2008.
Version
If a source is listed as an edition or version of a work, include it in your citation.
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
3/7
8/7/2017
Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide
The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.
Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. 3rd
ed., Pearson, 2004.
Number
If a source is part of a numbered sequence, such as a multi-volume book, or journal with both volume and issue numbers, those
numbers must be listed in your citation.
Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future
Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal,
vol. 6, no. 2, 2008, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Accessed 20 May
2009.
“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation, created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur,
performance by Amy Poehler, season 2, episode 21, Deedle-Dee Productions and
Universal Media Studios, 2010.
Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria. Translated by H. E. Butler, vol. 2, Loeb-Harvard
UP, 1980.
Publisher
The publisher produces or distributes the source to the public. If there is more than one publisher, and they are all are relevant to
your research, list them in your citation, separated by a forward slash (/).
Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine. 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Artchive,
www.artchive.com/artchive/K/klee/twittering_machine.jpg.html. Accessed May
2006.
Women's Health: Problems of the Digestive System. American College of Obstetricians
and Gynecologists, 2006.
Daniels, Greg and Michael Schur, creators. Parks and Recreation. Deedle-Dee
Productions and Universal Media Studios, 2015.
Note: the publisher’s name need not be included in the following sources: periodicals, works published by their author or editor, a
website whose title is the same name as its publisher, a website that makes works available but does not actually publish them
(such as YouTube, WordPress, or JSTOR).
Publication date
The same source may have been published on more than one date, such as an online version of an original source. For example, a
television series might have aired on a broadcast network on one date, but released on Netflix on a different date. When the
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
4/7
8/7/2017
Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide
source has more than one date, it is sufficient to use the date that is most relevant to your use of it. If you’re unsure about which
date to use, go with the date of the source’s original publication.
In the following example, Mutant Enemy is the primary production company, and “Hush” was released in 1999. This is the way
to create a general citation for a television episode.
“Hush.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah
Michelle Gellar, season 4, Mutant Enemy, 1999.
However, if you are discussing, for example, the historical context in which the episode originally aired, you should cite the full
date. Because you are specifying the date of airing, you would then use WB Television Network (rather than Mutant Enemy),
because it was the network (rather than the production company) that aired the episode on the date you’re citing.
“Hush.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah
Michelle Gellar, season 4, episode 10, WB Television Network, 14 Dec. 1999.
Location
You should be as specific as possible in identifying a work’s location.
An essay in a book, or an article in journal should include page numbers.
Adiche, Chimamanda Ngozi. “On Monday of Last Week.” The Thing around Your Neck,
Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, pp. 74-94.
The location of an online work should include a URL.
Wheelis, Mark. "Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological
and Toxin Weapons Convention." Emerging Infectious Diseases, vol. 6, no. 6,
2000, pp. 595-600, wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/6/00-0607_article. Accessed 8
Feb. 2009.
A physical object that you experienced firsthand should identify the place of location.
Matisse, Henri. The Swimming Pool. 1952, Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Optional elements
The eighth edition is designed to be as streamlined as possible. The author should include any information that helps readers
easily identify the source, without including unnecessary information that may be distracting. The following is a list of select
optional elements that should be part of a documented source at the writer’s discretion.
Date of original publication:
If a source has been published on more than one date, the writer may want to include both dates if it will provide the reader with
necessary or helpful information.
Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine. 1984. Perennial-Harper, 1993.
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
5/7
8/7/2017
Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide
City of publication:
The seventh edition handbook required the city in which a publisher is located, but the eighth edition states that this is only
necessary in particular instances, such as in a work published before 1900. Since pre-1900 works were usually associated with
the city in which they were published, your documentation may substitute the city name for the publisher’s name.
Thoreau, Henry David. Excursions. Boston, 1863.
Date of access:
When you cite an online source, the MLA Handbook recommends including a date of access on which you accessed the material,
since an online work may change or move at any time.
Bernstein, Mark. "10 Tips on Writing the Living Web." A List Apart: For People Who
Make Websites, 16 Aug. 2002, alistapart.com/article/writeliving. Accessed 4 May
2009.
URLs:
As mentioned above, while the eighth edition recommends including URLs when you cite online sources, you should always
check with your instructor or editor and include URLs at their discretion.
DOIs:
A DOI, or digital object identifier, is a series of digits and letters that leads to the location of an online source. Articles in journals
are often assigned DOIs to ensure that the source is locatable, even if the URL changes. If your source is listed with a DOI, use
that instead of a URL.
Alonso, Alvaro, and Julio A. Camargo. "Toxicity of Nitrite to Three Species of
Freshwater Invertebrates." Environmental Toxicology, vol. 21, no. 1, 3 Feb.
2006, pp. 90-94. Wiley Online Library, doi: 10.1002/tox.20155.
Creating in-text citations using the eighth edition
The in-text citation is a brief reference within your text that indicates the source you consulted. It should properly attribute any
ideas, paraphrases, or direct quotations to your source, and should direct readers to the entry in the list of works cited. For the
most part, an in-text citation is the author’s name and page number (or just the page number, if the author is named in the
sentence) in parentheses:
Imperialism is “the practice, the theory, and the attitudes of a dominating
metropolitan center ruling a distant territory” (Said 9).
or
According to Edward W. Said, imperialism is defined by “the practice, the theory,
and the attitudes of a dominating metropolitan center ruling a distant territory”
(9).
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
6/7
8/7/2017
Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide
Work Cited
Said, Edward W. Culture and Imperialism. Knopf, 1994.
When creating in-text citations for media that has a runtime, such as a movie or podcast, include the range of hours, minutes and
seconds you plan to reference, like so (00:02:15-00:02:35).
Again, your goal is to attribute your source and provide your reader with a reference without interrupting your text. Your readers
should be able to follow the flow of your argument without becoming distracted by extra information.
Final thoughts about the eighth edition
The current MLA guidelines teach you a widely applicable skill. Once you become familiar with the core elements that should be
included in each entry in the Works Cited list, you will be able to create documentation for any type of source. While the
handbook still includes helpful examples that you may use as guidelines, you will not need to consult it every time you need to
figure out how to cite a source you’ve never used before. If you include the core elements, in the proper order, using consistent
punctuation, you will be fully equipped to create a list of works cited on your own.
How to Cite the Purdue OWL in MLA
Entire Website
The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2016.
Individual Resources
Contributors' names and the last edited date can be found in the orange boxes at the top of every page on the OWL.
Contributors' names. "Title of Resource." The Purdue OWL, Purdue U Writing Lab,
Last edited date.
Russell, Tony, et al. "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL. Purdue U
Writing Lab, 2 Aug. 2016.
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
7/7
student
EWRT 2-13
Dec 8, 2015
Final Paper
Severity of Poverty: What Can be Done
Poverty is defined as the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of
support. Poverty is an increasing problem in America; from 2000 to 2012 the number of people affected
by poverty stricken neighborhoods has grown by five million people(Kneebone). The poverty threshold
in 2012 was an income of $23,492 for a family of four(Galbraith), which is an insanely low threshold for a
family of that size to live comfortably and have the necessities to succeed in life. The country's
politicians acknowledge the problems caused by poverty and insist they are doing everything in their
power to fight poverty, but the increase in the numbers of people living in poverty has increased over
the years which makes their claim either a lie or an admission of failure. Knowing the increasing
numbers of people affected by poverty is the simple part of the problem, but the understanding the
causes of poverty and coming up with effective long-lasting ways to ameliorate them is the burdensome
challenge at hand. Due to an increase in economic growth over the years, but a stagnant salary of jobs
under the top ten percent of people, has increased the amount of individuals effected by poverty. Along
with this, the loss of millions of jobs adds to the troubles one faces trying to provide sufficient food,
shelter, and clothing for oneself and his or her family. Poverty in America is a severe problem that leaves
millions and millions of people helpless and drained. The problems poverty causes in America can be
solved by a concerted effort that would require providing living wages and family-oriented labor policies
as well as investing in a safety net that supports and promotes economic mobility, and finally, investing
in community solutions administered by people who know poverty firsthand.
As said previously, poverty in America is a growing issue that seems to have no definite solution.
In the article, “The Growth and Spread of Concentrated Poverty, 2000 to 2008-2012,” by Elizabeth
Kneebone, a diagnostic test was done in the bigger cities of America to see the growth rate of poverty
stricken neighborhoods. The data shown in the article is shocking, “…the number of suburban poor living
in distressed neighborhoods grew by 139 percent—almost three times the pace of growth in cities”
(Kneebone). This statistic shows the outrageous numbers of people effected by poverty in big cities.
Even though there is economic growth in cities which provides opportunities for people to lift
themselves out of poverty, the percentage of poor people in these neighborhoods far exceeds the
amount of opportunities available not allowing everyone to benefit from them. Along with the big cities
that face an escalating percentage of poverty suffering neighborhoods, suburbs dealt with an enormous
rise in poverty as well. Kneebone explains that, “suburbs more than doubled, growing by 105 percent to
reach 4.9 million” (Kneebone). This example shows that poverty effects all types of communities, from
very populated cities to simple suburban neighborhoods. As the numbers of poverty continues to
increase throughout the 2000s, suburbs began to near the high poverty tracts of cities, proving that
urban and suburban residents now face similar challenges.
Poverty is an ongoing problem throughout America and continues to affect millions of people of
all ages. In Robert Galbraith’s article, “U.S. Poverty Rises Despite Economic Recovery,” he explains that,
“About 16.1 million children and 3.9 million people aged 65 years and older were living in poverty last
year” (Galbraith). This example shows that people of all ages are effected by the complications of
poverty. About twenty percent of children in America are born into poverty (Schaffer) making it very
difficult for said child to prosper in his or her life. Children who are born into poverty are not given the
necessary tools to succeed; the greater portion of the children will struggle with the challenges poverty
presents and will continuously fight their way out of it, but will always find themselves entrenched in
poverty’s downfall. People 65 years and older will also face the difficulties poverty presents, but in a
different way; instead of being able to retire and enjoy the rest of one’s life, the elderly people will have
to take part in minimum wage jobs, if not already, to provide themselves with the minimal necessities of
life. Galbraith cites Joan Entmacher, vice president of Family Economic Security at the National Women’s
Law Center in Washington, to fully describe the situation at hand: “millions are struggling to keep their
heads above water, while the richest one percent is doing better than ever” (Entmacher). This
statement represents the issue almost all Americans face, and it is something that should not be taken
lightly.
Many people do not clearly understand how severe the money distribution is throughout
America. The article “Average America vs the One Percent,” by Alan Dunn, Dunn explains many aspects
of wealth circulation between the average American and the top one percent of America. Dunn states
that almost forty-three percent of the nation’s wealth is contained by the top one percent and bring in
an average of 540 times the national income. The average American worker brings in roughly $51,000 a
year while the top percent brings in close to $717,000 a year (Dunn). Despite the hard work of the
ordinary American worker, most cannot bring is the sufficient amount of money to provide the
necessary goods for oneself or one’s family. America is built on the idea of equality and hard work, but
as time has shown only a handful exceed all expectations leaving the rest scrounging for the necessities
to live. To show this in a different way, the lower classes spend about seventeen percent of their income
on feeding their families, while the top earners or the rich spend nearly seventeen percent of their
incomes traveling for pleasure (Dunn). As you travel lower and lower down the social classes, the
percentage of income spent on providing the necessary nutrients for one’s family increases eventually
leaving no room to pay for any other expenses such as entertainment, clothes and shoes, shelter, and
health care. Many people who are
cemented in poverty cannot maintain a healthy standard of living for oneself let alone a family and a big
reason for this is caused by the allocation of money throughout America.
Following the lack of money many Americans face from the uneven distribution of wealth, debt
is also one of the biggest reasons to why an American can find him or herself in poverty. In the article
“Debt Pushes Millions Below Poverty Line,” by Tom Abate, he identifies the issues debt can have on a
person and if serious enough can lead one into the face of poverty. Abate uses the words of Steven
Pressman and Robert Scott, academic journalists of Monmouth University, who state, “four million
Americans would fall below the federal poverty line if the interest they pay on their credit cards and
other consumer debt were subtracted from their incomes” (Pressman and Scott) proving that debt is
something that can break someone in an instant putting one is a downward spiral into poverty
depending on how severe the debt is. Households of four that are in debt owe an average of $25,600
with an annual interest of $2,250 per year (Pressman and Scott). As said in the previous paragraph, the
average income of a family is said to be $51,000. $51,000 subtracted by $25,600 equals $25,400 for a
family of four; not including expenditures of shelter, food, health care, and clothes, a family of that
stature cannot survive without acquiring loans which pushes them further into debt resulting in the
family plunging across the poverty line.
Given the countless ways families can fall into poverty, taking on crushing debt loads, unable to
maintain a stable well-paying job, or simply being born into poverty, surely something can be done to
begin to ameliorate the problem. Many steps can be taken through a concerted effort to lessen the
number of Americans who face poverty on a daily basis. The best possible way to reduce poverty in
America is to create more jobs that pay well; by establishing new jobs more people will be able to find
work with a higher annual salary allowing one to pay for the necessities of life. Rebecca Vallas and
Melissa Boteach explain this best in their article, “The Top 10 Solutions to Cut Poverty and Grow the
Middle Class,” who say, “to get back to prerecession employment levels, we must create 5.6 million new
jobs…we will not get there until July 2018” (Vallas and Boteach). Although generating 5.6 million jobs
may sound impossible, it can be done. To begin, the federal government needs to start investing in jobcreation procedures to start rebuilding America’s infrastructure. America’s federal government can
develop renewable energy sources, renovate neighborhoods, make investment that will create jobs,
revitalize neighborhoods, and boost America’s economy (Vallas and Boteach). By doing these projects,
poverty can begin to diminish. The creation of jobs is the simplest yet most effective way to cut down on
poverty and will allow America’s economy to move forward.
The next step to solving the issues of poverty is to raise the nation’s minimum wage. The current
federal minimum wage in America is $7.25 which is usually for unskilled labor such as fast food
employees. Many Americans view the minimum wage for teenagers who have not had a major job yet;
for example a job at McDonalds is designed for a teenager to work at while enrolled in school to get
experience for what a real job might intend. In reality many Americans depend on the minimum wage to
support oneself and his or her family making it very difficult to do so on today’s minimum wage.
President Barack Obama called for the minimum wage to be lifted to $10.10 which would ultimately lift
about four million Americans out of poverty (Vallas and Boteach). Raising the minimum wage in all
states would give people in poverty a way to afford shelter, food and water, health care, and a chance to
fight out of poverty; along with that, it would provide many more children with the necessary utilities to
prosper in life such as education. Raising the federal minimum wage is another step to take in order to
shrink the amount of poverty throughout America.
Following job creation and increasing the federal minimum wage, the expansion of affordable,
high-quality child care and early education is a must in America to help deplete poverty. Child care is a
major expense and can lead a parent into poverty. Using the words of Vallas and Boteach to fully
describe how steep prices of child care can, “…one year of child care for an infant costs more than one
year of tuition at most states’ four-year public colleges” (Vallas and Boteach). Many
parents cannot
afford to take days off of work or do not have paid leave days which would allow one to watch the child,
resulting in a parent paying for child care with money that is not existent. On average, Americans who
pay for child care out of pocket can spend nearly one-third of their incomes, and child care assistance
only helps about one to six children. By providing child care to more families in need, one can expect to
save nearly 33 percent of his or her annual income; the income saved can be used to provide the proper
essentials of living and push a family out of poverty. Early education is also a vital step towards the
destruction of poverty; although the effects of early education for children may take years to actually
change the poverty rate, it is something that can help. Providing children with a legitimate education
can lead to a higher success rate in America’s near future. Preparing young children with an education
that can serve as a tool to achieve higher literacy and schooling will grant a superior career leading to an
above average annual currency rate. As previously stated, the effects of this step will take years to take
action, but will have an enormous impact of the children’s lives and the lives of their family in the future.
Along with the previous necessities to solve poverty in America, a safety net for Americans is
also something that needs to be looked at. In the article, “Three Steps We Can Take to Solve Poverty,
From Someone Who Knows Firsthand,” Tianna Gaines-Turner discuses the idea of a safety net for
Americans perfectly. Gaines-Turner examines five ways to improve the overall safety net already in
place; she explains that the federal government must, “invest in 21st century technology and customer
service…fix the cliff effect…invest in educational opportunities through the safety net…promote savings
so that families can build their own safety net…find solutions with a real task force” (Gaines-Turner).
Many businesses do not have the modern day technology to properly run; investing in new technology
will provide the security of documents. There have been many cases in which paper documents have
been misplaced or lost, resulting in the loss of an employee’s paycheck. Next is the cliff effect; the cliff
effect is when an employee receives a raise, but loses all benefits that he or she previously had. The cliff
effect needs to be eliminated, as a family begins to earn more money and push themselves out of
poverty, their benefits vanish making the family worse off. The cliff effect makes it nearly impossible for
a family to find their way out of poverty which is why it needs to be fixed. Another important factor of
solving poverty is the investment of educational opportunities through the safety net. A proper
education is hard to find when one is surrounded by poverty causing him or her to have a “work first”
mentality. When someone has a “work first” mentality, there is less room for education and the job that
is being done is usually a low paying one. There are not enough opportunities in America to improve
education making the chance of one getting a better job in the future very slim and unlikely. Investing in
more educational opportunities will have positive effect and will help move people out of poverty
(Gaines-Turner). Following the investment of education, the promotion of savings is ensuing step to
solve poverty. People who face poverty become safe with what they do with their money and in a lot of
cases are to scared to put their money into a bank. A program needs to be created in order to create
economic mobility and everyone who receives public assistance should be encourages to save money
(Gaines-Turner). If people in poverty began to save money through savings accounts that gave interest,
it would create a private safety net for the one who put the money in the bank. These easy, but effective
steps can be taken to help with the progress of diminishing poverty.
All of the previous ways to solve poverty listed above include the help of the federal
government, but have no interest in the help of the people who face poverty firsthand. No one knows
the struggles of living in poverty like the ones who actually live in it, this is why it is important for the
government to include these people. Gaines-Turner explains, “…the most important thing that Congress
can do to create a system where people who are poor can work together to create their own solutions
to poverty” (Gaines-Turner). Poverty is something that takes skill and strategy to defeat so why not take
advice from the people who deal with it every day. Poverty stricken areas deal many obstacles and make
the simplest task hard to accomplish, but with the wits and brilliance of those who face it every day
know exactly what to do to survive. People in these conditions should be able to participate in official
positions on community and state advisory boards to give their input on what must be done to lessen
poverty as a whole.
Finally, the federal government needs to help people affected by poverty through housing and
nutrition assistance. With the assistance of nutrition, families would be able to save a little money a
month to buy other necessary goods to survive. SNAP (The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
provides food-purchasing assistance for low or no income families living in the United States, but must
be increase in order to allow families to save a little money at the end of the month (Gaines-Turner).
Although SNAP provides assistance, it is not enough; families continue to purchase food in order to stay
healthy and are not left with much money after. Nutrition assistance is very important, but so is housing
assistance. Hundreds of families find themselves homeless and very stressed trying to look for some sort
of shelter. Being homeless brings difficulties only a few would understand such as health problems,
sufficient education for children, and malnutrition. Housing is a key to success, parents will have a better
peace of mind allowing them to focus on work and providing for their family; children will also be more
successful by having a place to sleep comfortably, keep a healthy lifestyle, and have a safe place to study
and complete class work. Nutrition and housing are two key concepts to a successful life and if more
poor families are provided with them, they will be able to save money and boost themselves out of
poverty.
Participation is the key. For any of the above ideas to work everyone needs to work together.
From the top one percent of people to the bottom, if one decides to opt out it will not work. Solutions
and steps to work out the problems are present, but without the help of everyone in America, poverty
will continue to haunt them. Poverty is an increasing problem throughout America, but something can
be done to stop it. Understanding the causes and effects poverty has on people is the simple part of the
situation at hand, but knowing the causes and being able to come up with solutions to alleviate them is
the actual task. The complications of poverty are very severe throughout the United States, but are not
impossible to stop. The problems poverty causes be reversed by a concerted effort that would require
providing living wages and family-oriented labor policies for the poor, as well as investing in a safety net
that supports and promotes economic mobility, and finally, investing in community solutions
administered by people who know poverty firsthand. This complex issue can be approached from many
directions because it is such a widespread problem in American society, but only one thing is certain
about the dilemma; poverty in the United States must be stopped!
Works Cited
Abate, Tom. "Debt Pushes Millions below Poverty Line." SFGate. N.p., 18 June 2009. Web.
06 Dec. 2015. http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Debt-pushes-millions-below-poverty-line3227038.php
Gaines-Turner, Tianna. "Three Steps We Can Take to Solve Poverty, From Someone Who Knows
Firsthand | BillMoyers.com." BillMoyers.com. N.p., 11 July 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
http://billmoyers.com/2014/07/11/three-steps-we-can-take-to-solve-poverty-from-someone-whoknows-firsthand/
Galbraith, Robert. "U.S. Poverty Rises despite Economic Recovery." Reuters. Thomson Reuters,
17 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2015. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/17/us-usa-economypoverty-idUSBRE98G0PN20130917#lgwTXxaetwzazk0e.97
Glasmeier, Amy. "Poverty in America: One Nation, Pulling Apart -- Home." Poverty in America:
One Nation, Pulling Apart -- Home. N.p., 16 Oct. 2006. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
http://povertyinamerica.mit.edu
Kneebone, Elizabeth. "The Growth and Spread of Concentrated Poverty, 2000 to 2008-2012."
The Brookings Institution. N.p., 31 July 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
http://www.brookings.edu/research/interactives/2014/concentrated-poverty#/M10420
Schaffer, Jennifer. "15 Facts That Will Change The Way You Think Of Poverty In America."
BuzzFeed. N.p., 4 Nov. 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2015. http://www.buzzfeed.com/jenniferschaffer/facts-thatwill-change-the-way-you-think-of-poverty-in-am#.umalVAA4xK
Vallas, Rebecca, and Melissa Boteach. "The Top 10 Solutions to Cut Poverty and Grow the
Middle Class." Name. N.p., 17 Sept. 2014. Web. 06 Dec. 2015.
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/news/2014/09/17/97287/the-top-10-solutions-tocut-poverty-and-grow-the-middle-class/
Purchase answer to see full
attachment