Drawing on Sources

• Are there times when neatness is important in your life or work? If so, explain when and why.
• Are there times when neatness is not important in your life or work? If so, explain when and why.
• Are there times when sloppiness is acceptable? If so explain when.

Using the information fro the interviews along with your own experience and observation, write an essay that proves either that neatness counts or that neatness does not count.

Lords of the Ring by James Collins
Drawing on sources. Many people believe that professional wresting is part of a larger problem of violence on television. Do you think television is too violent? For ideas, watch television and consider how violent its content is. You can also look up "television violence" in the Reader's Guide too Periodical Literature in your campus library and at the search engine www.altavista.com.

Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrast by Bruce Catton
Drawing on sources. Grant and Lee each represented a force in American society. Pick someone who represents a force in contemporary society (for example, Madonna, Oprah Winfrey, George W. Bush, Rush Limbaugh, Jesse Jackson) and explain what the force is and how the person's behavior represents the force. For help, use the search engine of your choice (such as google.com, yahoo.com, or matacrawler.com) and type in the person's name as keywords, or look up the person's name in your library in the New York Times Index, Proquest, or the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature.

Am I Blue? by Alice Walker
Drawing on sources. State and defend your view on one or more of these questions: Are our food production techniques cruel to animals? If they are, can anything be done to eliminate that cruelty? Is the cruelty an unfortunate but necessary component of food production? If you need ideas, check the Social Sciences Index under the heading "Animals, treatment of." You can also type in the phrase "animal rights" at www.yahoo.com.

Squeaky Wheels and Protruding Nails: Direct and Indirect Speech by Deborah Tannen
Drawing on sources. As the world becomes a global community, we must all get a grater understanding of the communication styles in different cultures. For example, businesspeople traveling in Japan must understand the subtleties of indirect communication that Tannen touches on. Because much communication is nonverbal, we must also understand the gestures used in different cultures. In Mexico, for instance, a person might finger the lapel of another's suit as a sign of friendliness. Explain the importance of understanding the gestures used in other cultures by citing examples of those gestures, their meaning, and what could happen if that meaning were misunderstood. To research, you can check the Social Sciences Index under the heading "nonverbal communication." On the Internet, go to the Internet Public Library at www.ipl.org and click on "reference" and the "social sciences" and then on "ethnicity, culture, and race." Type in the phrase "body language" or the keyword "gestures."

Anglo vs. Chicano: Why? By Arthur L. Campa
Drawing on sources. Devise a grade school, middle school, or high school program that could help foster respect and understanding for different cultures. For help with ideas, search "multicultural education" at www.google.com or look up "multicultural education" in Education Index.