The idea of this assignment is to have you practice your critical thinking and analysis skills by writing a thought paper or a solution essay on a real-life planning issue. A thought paper is a concis

This is a two page APA style thought paper. I would like the topic to be based on Chapter 7 social issues of homelessness. Here in the Imperial Valley, there is a large population of homeless people.

The idea of this assignment is to have you practice your critical thinking and analysis skills by writing a thought paper or a solution essay on a real-life planning issue. A thought paper is a concise, accessible summary based on research and your interpretation through an analysis. 

You have much flexibility in choosing the topic and in how you develop your argument – but it important to accomplish a few key outcomes in this assignment. You must:

1.      Use the textbook and cite your references

2.      Search for at least one external resource – an academic journal, a TED Talk, an NPR story, etc. … NOTE: not Wikipedia

3.      Present your own ideas in the paper, and these must be supported with logic

First, read/review the What is a Thought Paper to help you decide which guideline you will follow. Each of the documents leads you through a logical sequence for the paper. 

The first paper will be based on your selection of a chapter topic, selecting from Chapters 1-9.There is no ‘prompt’ from me for this paper – you choose the topic and develop it per the thought paper.

My recommendations for currently relevant chapters – topics that you will easily find news stories or other resource information about, as well as local Imperial County issues – are:

1.   7 (social issues)

Perhaps the MOST IMPORTANT thing is that the problem you are writing about MUST be a problem in Imperial County. You MUST include a real-life example of the problem.

For example, maybe you choose to write about transportation. Is transportation a problem in Imperial County? If so, how is it a problem? What negative impact does it have on residents? What is being done about it? What solution would you offer to solve the problem?

Ask yourself these questions when selecting a topic.

In contrast, if you were to write about an eight-lane highway construction project … is that relevant to Imperial County? Maybe not. So, transportation issues such as this would not be a very good choice for your paper.

Always – if you have questions or concerns or need clarification – reach out to me. I am happy to text, talk, or meet face-to-face so that we can ensure you submit a paper you feel confident about.

Other relevant guidelines/requirements:

1.      12-font, Times New Roman or Arial

2.      APA style

3.      First line indent, double space

4.      1” margins

5.      2 solid pages of writing – does not include a title page (if you choose to do a title page)

6.      Reference page – should include the textbook, at least one other reference