MWA 2 ~ Social Awareness of Health, Well-Being, and Safety

Your Purpose: As a student, you are part of a diverse community of learners who face a
variety of issues throughout college. You yourself have experienced one or more issues
involving health, well-being, or safety related to college students. In this second major
assignment, you will establish your own credibility as a writer knowledgeable on this issue
and will make your ideal audience aware of the problem as it relates to college students.

You will convince your audience that it is a significant issue and needs to be addressed
because of its current negative impact on yourself or others around you. You will focus on
defining the issue, and not solving the problem, but be sure to present a clearly stated,
arguable thesis claim about the issue’s importance and back up that claim with specific
supporting evidence, examples, or (if needed), sources. To provide credible evidence in
support of your claim, it might help to find a recent news story as an example to center
your argument around.

For this assignment, you may not focus on broad national or global issues in which you have
no first-person experience. Stick to specific, localized issues that have directly impacted
your life as a student. Keep this essay focused on an issue of mental, physical and/or
financial well-being that has impacted you or your family; tie in examples that support your
claim, as this is a significant issue that needs to be addressed.

Your Audience: Think of your audience as someone (or a group) within the college
community who could help work toward solutions to this issue if only they knew more about
the topic.

Format: Your essay should be approximately 3 to 4 pages (3 full pages minimum), word
processed and in MLA format.

When drafting this essay, make sure to focus on explanation of an issue related to college
student life that matters to you. Don't forget to show your understanding of this issue on
a personal, local, and universal level. It should be something you or your family have some
direct experience with; we can’t take on a national or global issue in at least 3 full pages
(there’s just too much to say!)

Other questions to consider: Why do you care about this issue? What impact has it had on
you and those around you? What misconceptions or misunderstandings exist about the
topic that your audience may bring to the reading? Make sure to pick your topic carefully
and consider one that could be debated from multiple points of view and that is relevant.
After drafting the essay, we will then focus on revision and explore concepts relating to
structure, development, editing, and MLA format.