Working
Assignments
Fall 2009

Diagnostic Essay
In a 1-2 page essay, answer the following:
Choose a job that you have had or that a relative has had.  Besides the money earned from the labor, choose one aspect of the job made the work enjoyable and one aspect that made the work boring or unpleasant.  For each, discuss why.

Grading Criteria for Assignments
AA/BB/CC -- Total points possible: 80
AA (30 Points) -- Refers to the organization of the paper and includes the introduction, the body, and the essay’s conclusion. The essay should include an arguable thesis statement, general use of supporting evidence in the discussion, and conclusions that lead one out of the paper rather than merely repeat.
BB (20 Points) -- Refers to the coherence and clarity of paragraphs, sentences, and the grammar used in the paper. Long/confusing sentences and grammatical errors (including BWEs) result in lower scores. When appropriate, sources should be included, along with citations.
CC (30 Points) -- Refers to your creativity, your insight, and the breadth and depth of analysis in the paper. Includes supporting arguments with evidence (including outside evidence) -- i.e., avoiding making claims and stating opinions that are not backed-up.

Assignment 1
Answer ONE of the following questions in a 2-3 page essay:

On page 7 of The Overworked American, Juliet Schor briefly summarizes her argument that capitalism creates a need for long hours of work. Develop your own critique of her argument.

"All things are considered - economic, psychological, and interpersonal - today's working women are better off that they were fifty years ago". Using information from The Overworked American and other sources that you may find, to what extent is this statement valid and why?

One way of breaking out of the cycle of "work and spend" is to lower our levels of consumption. Using information from The Overworked American and other sources that you may find, to what extent would following this strayegy prove effective and why?

Develop a proposition regarding technology's impact in the workplace and use information from The Overworked American (and other sources if applicable) to support it.

Assignment 2
Answer the following in a 3-4 page essay:

In Working, numerous themes appear in Terkel's interviews. Some are:

o Meaning and Work
o Personal Identity and Work
o Money and Work
o Class Differences and Work
o Personal Dignity and Work
o Personal Freedom and Work
o Leisure and Work
o Any other theme you find interesting

Select one of these themes and select two people (in Working) interviewed with different perspectives toward this theme. Compare these perspectives, discuss the similarities and/or differences, and by analysing insights from your evidence, develop a conclusion .  To develop your thesis, you may draw on an in-class writing or a free-write on your own time.