Short Answer Questions
HW2

Note:

(1) assignments appear in the syllabus on the day assigned, not the day due

(2) You must submit your written work by blackboard assignment system

(3) BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE FILE-NAMING CONVENTIONS FOR THIS COURSE (5% penalty if you do not).

All files should be saved on your computer as: your last name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the first two letters of your first name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the assignment number. So if a student named Saddam Hussein were to submit assignment number 2, the file name would be:


hussein_sa_2.doc

THIS IS ASSIGNMENT 2

STUDENTS WHO RECEIVE A 90/100 OR BETTER ON THIS ASSIGNMENT WILL HAVE AN ADDITIONAL EXTENSION/RESCHDULE OPTION

SEE HERE

Timing


This written homework should take you 1 hour and fifteen minutes to do.

 

IT WILL BE IMPOSSIBILE TO DO THIS ASSIGNMENT IF YOU DON'T HAVE A FIRM GRASP OF CL/EV/WA AS EXPLAINED HERE.

 

1)

(worth 10 points)

The following blocks of text come from a single paragraph organized around the claim/evidence/warrant format; but I have re-arranged their order. You have two tasks in this question: (A) re-arrange the order of the blocks so that they form a comprehensible cl/ev/wa paragraph and (B) explaining how each element is either a (CL), an (EV) or a (WA). Your explanation require no more than a sentence or two.

 

A Although black adult men have jobless rates two or three times higher
than adult white men, black male teens have rates three or four times
higher than white male teens. And the earnings of black men are lower than the earnings of white men. Moreover, black men are more heavily concentrated in low-paying clerical or service occupations, while white men are over represented in high-paying technical, managerial, and professional jobs.
B Black men have low rates of marriage due to their chronic work
instability and high levels of unemployment and underemployment.
C These unstable, low-paying and low-status jobs make many black men poor prospects for marriage


These questions refer to the documentary Bling; to help you, there is a transcript of the video here.


2
) (worth 20 points; requires one paragraph response)

Using evidence from the documentary, compare the differing impacts of American hip-hop and Sierra Leone hip-hop on the war in that country. Reviewing your answers to questions 4, 5, and 6 from Homework 1 will help you.

GUIDELINES:

A) Be sure to organize your paragraph around the claim/evidence/warrant format you have learned.

B) Be sure to have a concise claim that responds to the question. Label this claim by placing a "(cl)" before it.

C) Be sure that your provide specific evidence from the documentary (remember that you have access to the transcript here); remember that the evidence you provide should explain why your claim makes sense. Label this evidence by placing a "(ev)" before it. Remember, as well, that your quotations should be 10 or fewer words. If you need to reduce your quotations, see here.

D)Be sure to include a warrant that explains how and why your evidence supports or is relevant to your claim. Label this warrant by placing a "(wa)" before it.

Here is a helpful chart you may want to use when writing. You can drop in your sentences into the chart if you wish.

 

claim specify clearly the difference in impacts; present NO evidence; one to two sentences. 15 % of your score.  
evidence you'll need at least 1 quotation of 10 or fewer words from the video for each form of hip-hop. Remember to integrate your quotations into your own sentence 25 % -7.5 if your don't integrate the quotations; -7.5 if you exceed 10 words; -12 if you don't have evidence for each form of hip-hop
warrant Do NOT just repeat the claim; explain to your reader how and why your evidence supports your argument regarding the differing impacts of the two form of hip-hop. Do NOT present new evidence or make a new argument. 50 %  

 

3)


(worth 70 points)

In this question you will apply an abstract concept to evidence from the video; being able to apply principles learned in one context to material in a different context like this is a critical workplace skill -- and that's why this question appears here. (Make sure you understand the description below; it will be impossible to answer the question unless you do).

Economists and political scientists often speak of what's known as the "resource curse" or "paradox of plenty." This idea refers to the paradox that countries with an abundance of natural resources tend to have less economic growth than countries without these natural resources (That's a paradox because one might expect a country that's wealthy in resources to do better economically than a country that's poor in resources).

While this paradox happens for a number of reasons, there are two prime ones that interest us here. The first reason is government mismanagement--or political corruption--encouraged by the nature of easy money to be gained from such resources. The second is that natural resources can, and often do, not only provoke violent conflicts within societies, but also fuel those clashes.

One way to understand the first reason for the "resource curse," (government mismanagement) is to compare societies with an abundance of natural resources to "ordinary" societies that are not resource-rich. In these "ordinary" societies, governments tax citizens, who demand efficient and responsive government in return. This bargain establishes a political bond between leaders and citizens and grantees at least some services in the country. In countries whose economies are dominated by natural resources, however, rulers don't need to tax their citizens because they have a guaranteed source of income from natural resources. Rather than tax citizens for revenue, the government simply sells the resources (say, for example, oil) on the global market and pockets the profits. So the relationship between rulers and the ruled falls apart as leaders fail to provide essential government services--such as infrastructure--as part of their rule. (Look to Homework 1 for a definition of infrastructure).

Turning to and looking more closely at the second reason, in societies with an abundance of natural resources conflicts can occur over the control and exploitation of resources as well as the distribution of the money ("revenue") earned from the sale of those resources. Moreover, access to resource revenues by combatants can prolong conflicts.

 

In an essay of 250 - 350 words, use evidence from the documentary to demonstrate that Sierra Leone has long suffered from the "resource curse" because of the country's abundant diamond resources. Your response absolutely needs to address BOTH of the reasons for the "resource curse" discussed above (government corruption and the fueling of conflict). Reviewing your answers to questions 8 - 14 from Homework 1 will help you (hint: pay attention to infrastructure). Be specific in your argument by providing explicit textual evidence from the documentary.

GUIDELINES:

A) Be sure to organize your paragraph around the claim/evidence/warrant format you have learned.

B) Be sure to have a concise claim that responds to the question. Label this claim by placing a "(cl)" before it.

C) Be sure that your provide specific evidence from the documentary (remember that you have access to the transcript here); remember that the evidence you provide should explain why your claim makes sense. Label this evidence by placing a "(ev)" before it. Remember, as well, that your quotations should be 10 or fewer words. If you need to reduce your quotations, see here.

D) Be sure to include a warrant that explains how and why your evidence supports or is relevant to your claim. Label this warrant by placing a "(wa)" before it.

You might want to follow this outline

 

I. Intro

a. necessary background information (very short)

b. thesis. Here is a sample formula you might want to follow: "The resource curse theory can help explain Sierra Leone's poverty for reasons X and Y." (X & Y obviously would be the two specific, detailed reasons you insert here and will explain in the body of your paper.

 

II. Reason X

Cl

EV

WA

(REPEAT IF YOU HAVE TWO PIECES OF EVIDENCE)

III. Reason Y

Cl

EV

WA

(REPEAT IF YOU HAVE TWO PIECES OF EVIDENCE)

 

IV. Conclusion