For the upcoming essay, the research question that I plan on exploring is “To what extent to race and gender influence the possibility of being a victim of police brutality?” This question correlates with the topic of my last essay where I discussed the opposing solutions that have been proposed to solve the issue of police brutality. I therefore chose this question to gain a better understanding of those solutions. Some of the solutions that I found seemed to undermine disproportionate amount of black people that have fallen victim to police brutality compared to white people. By choosing this research question, I am looking forward to gaining a deeper understanding of the racial inequality issues that plague our society and to be able to back my understanding with genuine statistics and data.

My goal is to complete my research for secondary sources by October 22. I have already analyzed one scholarly source that I plan on incorporating into my essay, called “A Psychological on Police Brutality” by Ashley Salter. This essay includes various statistics on police brutality and the populations that it impacts, as well as provides context for these statistics. I therefore look forward to utilizing this source because it will assist me in analyzing the influence race has on becoming a victim of police brutality. Additionally, my audience for my essay is U.S. citizens that do not believe that the black community is disproportionately affected by police brutality. This is my target audience because I plan on making this essay an argumentative one in which I convince this group of people against their current belief. The article that I plan utilizing as a model essay is the New York Times article “Police Killings of Blacks: Here Is What the Data Say,” because this article has an organized layout with data and clearly holds the stance that the black community is heavily impacted by police brutality.

URL for model essay: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/upshot/police-killings-of-blacks-what-the-data-says.html

Current Bibliography:

Salter, Ashley. A Psychological Perspective on Police Brutality, June 2021, https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1617&context=diss.

For essay number, the research question is where does the money for the public schools of the united states money actually go? Public schools are very unfunded and it’s irritating to see kids not have enough resources. The secondary source research will be completed by Friday. The model essay I will be using is a TCF study finds the U.S. underfunded by nearly $150 billion annually, written by The Century Foundation. The model essay talks about how children are basically being robbed of billions of dollars every year that should be going into their education. Most of these cuts are based on race/ ethnicity and income which is not the way public schools are supposed to be portrayed because every child has the right to a good education. It is very important that education is free and available to all types of families. Esspecially in the United States where we thrive on diversity and helping improve each and every generation that follows.

https://tcf.org/content/about-tcf/tcf-study-finds-u-s-schools-underfunded-nearly-150-billion-annually/?agreed=1

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/

Questions I’m deciding on are:

• How have social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat affected the mental health of teenagers in today’s generation?
• Do video games such as Call of Duty, Battlefield, or Halo, have a relationship with gun violence crimes in America?
• How negatively does the foster care program affect a kid’s mental and physical health issues?

I’m interested in the social media topic because I’ve read many articles about the negative effect of social media such as isolation, anxiety, depression, stress, etc. I want to learn how these factors of mental illness can be caused by social media. I also want to learn more about the positives of social media because the media usually focuses more on the negative. The video game topic also interests me because I completely disagree that video games are the cause of gun violence which is why I want to write about it. I think it’s fascinating that the media turns to the violence of video games as the cause of gun violence rather than looking at the gun laws/restrictions that are put in place for America. However, I do have an open mind and will research the statistics of the relationship between video games and gun violence. Foster care is another issue that I’m intrigued by because not many people talk about it. Foster care can both be a positive and negative effect on kids who were put in that system. It can be positive because if they are lucky enough, these kids will be placed in a loving/stable home where resources are easily accessible for them. On the other hand, it can be negative because most of the time, they are put in a place with a bad influence on them and a lack of resources, and can even be victims of sex trafficking.

Sources I’ve found so far:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41347-020-00134-x

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2734799/

https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2014-49445-001.html

How I plan to model this essay:

Social Media and Mental Health

For assignment 2 the research question that I’ve chosen is “Why has mental health worsened in teens over the past generation?”. I chose this topic because I thought everyone should know why so many teens’, including ourselves, mental health have been suffering, even pre-covid. Over our life course, there has been at least one time an adult has invalidated the way we felt by saying we were too young. But in reality, there are problems teens face in this generation that the last generation did not have to go through. The reason why I chose this topic is that this is something that’s current and is affecting everybody in the world.  Something that also interests me is learning the actual factors that contributed to the wording in mental health. I would like to know why people have let this go unnoticed.

My research sources should be done by Friday the 22nd. One of the scholarly sources that I’ve found so far, talks about the factors of why the new generation’s mental health has significantly decreased, such as social media (a given) and generational trauma. The text was also able to communicate to people some of the signs that are seen in teens who can be suffering from a mental illness. The article gave a voice to the teens that have been suffering but have not been able to communicate it. The audience of this text is to parents, specifically parents who neglect their child’s mental health. 

The main audience for this essay is for adults who see their children suffering yet play it off as if it was normal or say that the child knows nothing about pain. The link to my Model Essay on the Annie Casey Foundation is: https://www.aecf.org/blog/generation-z-and-mental-health

The link to my google scholar source is: https://www.uhhospitals.org/Healthy-at-UH/articles/2020/01/a-growing-mental-health-crisis-among-americas-children-and-teens

The topic I decided to choose is Mass incarnation on marijuana . I chose this topic because I believe it’s not spoken as much as it should be.Those imprisoned face extremely lengthy prison sentences, particularly African Americans as it pertains to marijuana possession. The thesis is “Mass incarceration impacts the community by having the children being raised by one parent.”How mass incarceration impacts the community ? The following is the timeframe for this project: by 10/19, I will have organized my research proposal, ensuring that my research topic is clear and complicated, and that I have a thesis that supports the objective of my writing. By 10/22, I’ll have a few additional sources, including scholarly papers as well as normal magazine or newspaper pieces, to back up my research topic with rhetorical aspects.By having a model essay to follow, I will be able to organize my research ideas in a professional manner to meet my topic and thesis. By 10/25 I am planning on having a detailed outline of my draft in terms of following a model essay which help me to develop my research question answers in the text, and lastly by 10/27-29 have a finish draft written and revised following the outline I wrote .A description of my audience for this research paper will be the black community because they will be able to see how injustice the system is towards black people. This will assist me in focusing on my researching goal and formulating a strong, complicated research topic. The model is essay is called We must reform marijuana laws . The link for the essay is :https://www.bartleby.com/essay/We-Must-Reform-Marijuana-Laws-PKCGNGSYTJ

The question that I chose for the essay #2 is “What social issues and differences do the European Union immigration policies cause compared to the ones in the United States?”

Immigration issues in the United States compared to the European Union is a major topic in today’s world. Both the United States and the European Union have been largely impacted by illegal as well legal immigration throughout history. Nonetheless, each of them have different systems and ways of controlling the people into their countries. I find this topic to be very interesting because it is something that I constantly see on television when I’m back in Europe and it’s also something that is constantly talked about in social media as well all platforms in the United States. I’m also very interested in the different approaches that both of them have on this matter and how the migration policies put in place by the European Union for all its members affects each country compared to the United States. In addition, there needs to be a different policy for each country which will be easier to coordinate and not cause geopolitical problems. The essay “Is there a Common Migratory Policy in the EU?.” ukessays.com. 11 2018. UKEssays. 10 2021 <https://www.ukessays.com/essays/politics/common-migratory-policy-eu-2133.php?vref=1>, gives thorough explanation on the immigration policies and fluxes surrounding Europe as well as the European Union whilst citing the multiple problems that the migration policies put in place provoke on the multiple European countries.  I believe that the audience for this topic can vary, but it is mostly targeted towards the people who are not well aware of this issue or the complete opposite: people who want to learn more of this topic. 

Source Bibliography:

1. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/11/13/how-european-and-u-s-unauthorized-immigrant-populations-compare/
2. https://warsawinstitute.org/us-eu-immigration-policies/
3. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/05/13/the-emigration-election-why-the-eu-is-not-like-america/

For esssay #2, the research question I chose is “how has voting been a difficult process for young American citizens”? The sources I found so far demonsartes the difficult process of voting for teens that aren’t educated enough to vote as well as not old enough to have the ability to use their voice. The article emphasized how and when we vote in America had always been a complicated process for young individuals. To vote today in the United States, individuals must be an American citizen and at least 18 years old during voting day, the first Tuesday of November. To register how to vote claims to be an easy process; voters can follow clear instructions and still result in insignificant changes at the last minute. Voter suppression demonstrates many methods used to interfere with the final vote results. In another article, the author Drew Desilver, describes that one of the solutions for citizens to vote is by having all states to enable mail-in voting. The research data shows more than half of the voters in the most recent election came primary from the mail-in ballots, this proves that mail-in voting is one of the effective ways for citizens to use their voice and exercise their rights. What is missing in my reaseach is more sources because I need 4 article and 3 social media. 

Mail-in voting became much more common in 2020 primaries as COVID-19 spread

https://www.vox.com/21497637/election-2020-youth-vote-young-people-voting

For essay two research proposal, I choose to stick with how social media positively affects teenagers. Most people believe that social media has been found a distraction to teenagers. However, to some it is, it has been an excellent source to express themselves and sometimes escape reality. I wish to explain how social media has been of great use for many teenagers and how it can be used as entertainment, show awareness, and use responsibly. Of course, there are negative impacts when teenagers use social media, but there are always two sides of a story that I will cover, mostly in part of how it has help teenagers today. I have seen many ways how social media has been used and not just only for entertainment. The model essay I was able to find has lists of positive and negative effects to social media; it would help by giving me two points of view of social media. Notably, it mainly states out to everyone, but it explains how it uses good use. To the audience I will be writing out to is parents, especially those to think that social media is a bad influence/distraction for their kids. Although I am still in the search of my sources to help me write this essay, there are also ways that can help parents set certain rules for their children when using social media. This article I found gives some techniques that can help parents and their children. So far with this model essay and article, it has help me deepen my research to find actual teenage users on social media that uses social media as positive effect for them.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/tween-and-teen-health/in-depth/teens-and-social-media-use/art-20474437

model essay:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Waseem-Akram-19/publication/323903323_A_Study_on_Positive_and_Negative_Effects_of_Social_Media_on_Society/links/5ab1c064a6fdcc1bc0bfefef/A-Study-on-Positive-and-Negative-Effects-of-Social-Media-on-Society.pdf

For assignment 2 the research question that I’ve chosen is ” why aren’t the unvaccinated getting their shots?”. I chose this topic as I found it pretty interesting, and I thought all of us should know why we’re still wearing masks and maintaining social distancing even though we’ve been vaccinated for months. I know that it’s every individual’s own personal choice whether they want to get vaccinated or not, and forcing them to get a shot goes against basic human rights, but still, I feel they should look at the disadvantages from our perspective too. The reason why I chose this topic is that this is something that’s current and is affecting everybody in the world.  Something that also interests me is knowing the point of view of these people. I would want to know what scares them about getting vaccinated.

One of the scholarly sources that I’ve found so far, talks about how brazil made covid 19 vaccination mandatory and part of their law too.in this topic, Mandatory vaccination for COVID-19 has been the object of heated debate in Brazil. This article discusses the legality and constitutionality of such a policy. First, it analyzes the laws, regulations, and Supreme Court decisions that provide for the possibility of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination. Subsequently, it analyzes the constitutionality of a mandatory vaccination policy through the proportionality method to address the conflict between, on one side, the right to individual autonomy, which includes the right to refuse medical intervention, and, on the other, health policies that interfere with individual autonomy to protect the rights to life and health. The application of this method allows for the identification of key questions that need to be answered to determine the constitutionality of a mandatory vaccination program. So far this is the only source I’ve found, but I’ll find all the sources by 10/22. The one source that I’m really looking forward to researching, is the one where we’re supposed to show the problem from the opposite perspective, so right now I’m searching for articles by people who support not getting their shots.

The main audience for this essay is definitely the people who voluntarily chose not to get their shots, besides them there are the people who support not getting vaccinated. The publication for whom I think my essay would be appropriate would be ‘CNN’. and I’ve provided a link to a model essay from CNN, that relates to my topic. This article by Miguel Marquez talks about how the once vaccine-hesitant are changing their minds.

The link to my google scholar source is: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8233032/

the link to my model essay on CNN is:https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/12/us/project-finish-line-fights-vaccine-hesitancy/index.html

For the second essay of the semester, the research question that I chose to answer and research upon is “What is the relationship between students completing assignments in a classroom setting juxtaposed to completing assignments in a household setting?” The reason I wish to discover the distinct differences between the two teaching styles is simply due to the current state of our society today. Our education system has dipped its toes into the aspects of online learning in the past 2 years, so it’s important to compare the positive and negative impacts this particular teaching method had on the mindsets of growing individuals/students. Especially considering how I am a current first-year college student who has had first-hand experience in both areas of learning thanks to the pandemic. Thus, it’s also important for me personally to see if other people were impacted similarly to how I was during the course of quarantine. If I were to give a particular timeline of when I would have my sources and research materials collected, it would be quite difficult as I not only have to deal with other classes assignments, lectures, work, the amount of time it takes for me to go to college and back, and also my scriptwriting for a film. However, I would declare that I would attempt to have all of my sources settled before the end of the week, hopefully before the 22nd of October. The audience I shall be writing my essay for would essentially be students who reside within New York City or, particularly within Brooklyn. Although the question of how quarantine has affected students lies worldwide, I find it better and more suitable to do my research on the sense of the city; that way, I can better put myself into my essay and have a better understanding of my paper while comparing the results of my research to my own experiences. So by taking this audience into consideration and the research question I had created, it was quite difficult to find a model essay to use and the closest source I could possibly find was an article depicting the outcome of remote learning after a year has ended in the US. Hopefully, I can find a better model essay but it’s quite difficult to say if there is one out there for my research question (The model essay/article is attached below). However, I have found one source so far that I can use as a stepping stone when it comes to viewing other sources (Below model essay/article).

Overall, the main difficulty I would have in writing this paper would be finding a model essay as there doesn’t seem to be one generally focused on students in new york and the experiences they have in both types of learning. Thus, I would also choose to further focus on that as well when finalizing my sources before the 22nd.

https://www.panoramic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Results-Are-In-for-Remote-Learning_-It-Didn%E2%80%99t-Work-WSJ.pdf

Online vs. Remote Learning: What’s the Difference?