Assignment Write a 2-3 page essay (double-spaced) intended to apply one of the specific theories from "Theoretical Perspectives on Aging" to a different situation, either a situation mentioned in "Pro

Assignment

Write a 2-3 page essay (double-spaced) intended to apply one of the specific theories from "Theoretical Perspectives on Aging" to a different situation, either a situation mentioned in "Problems Facing Older Americans," "Aging in Japan," "Social Relationships & Mortality Risk," "Reflections on Aging," or a situation that you, yourself, have experienced.  

As part of this essay, also include one summary that helps support your thesis assertion, from one scholarly source.  You can find an academic or professional journal article through a library database search. If you go to the ESC Library and put your search term into OneSearch; the search will include academic and professional journals.

Below are some ideas to spark your thinking: 

• How would taking a certain theoretical approach help solve a problem with a specific aging population?
• How might another country's theoretical approach be effectively applied in the U.S., based on your experience with aging populations?
• Based on your experience, what overall theoretical approach do you think has been applied to the aging population (perhaps unconsciously) either by local or national government, what different approach would you recommend be applied, and what might be the concrete benefits of applying that different theoretical approach? That is, how might the new approach work, and on what evidence do you base your projections?
• If there is a particular theoretical approach that you think could cause harm to the aging population, explain why and how it might do so when applied.
• Explain artist Anna Halprin's experience, offered in the article "Reflections on Aging," in terms of one of the theories of aging.  Which particular theory best applies? Show how the theory "works" applied to her experience.

How to ProceedBegin by understanding college expectations for writing to apply. When you write to apply, your essay will have a thesis that, in some way, links the theory with your chosen experience.

Note that this is not a research essay; please confine yourself to one summary from one source outside of the articles you chose from the text.  The bulk of your essay should still consist of  your own details and examples that support your thesis and topic sentence assertions. 

As you draft and revise, you may want to review the page on Paraphrases & Summaries to Re-State Ideas.