Monday Peer Review Assignment

Spring 2015 English 101

Professor Schwartz  

Paper #2: Labor and Work!

Due Dates:  Rough Draft, Monday, 4/27

                          Final Draft, Thursday, 4/30

Assignment: In the chapters we read from Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser discusses the ways in which fast-food companies avoid hiring skilled workers and rely instead upon vulnerable employees who are usually young people of color. We also read about the dangerous conditions endured by the laborers (often undocumented workers) who make up the vast majority of employees in slaughterhouses and elsewhere across the food-supply chain. In the documentary film we watched, Food Chains, we saw once again how mostly poor people of color (also often undocumented) are exploited to fill our supermarket shelves with food while they themselves often cannot feed their families. And finally, Mac McClelland informed us that the so-called “new economy” of online shopping still sources its workers from the same vulnerable pools of people.

Through our classroom discussions, we discussed the similarities and differences between these forms of labor and exploitation. We’ve also discovered that many of the tactics used in the industries listed above can be found in our own working lives.  For this assignment, you will write an essay in which you compare and contrast the various forms of exploitation we’ve covered across several readings, and also suggest possible solution for lessening the negative effects of these practices. You will use evidence from your own life as well as ideas from the readings to make your case.

READINGS TO REVIEW: Chapters 3 and 8 from Fast Food Nation, “I Was A Warehouse Wage Slave,” and Food Chains. Please also look back at They Say, I Say as you format your thesis statement, summary, and quotations.

DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE ESSAY:

Thesis: A clear thesis statement, focusing on the labor issues presented in the readings should be early in your essay.  Look at chapter 4 from They Say, I Say for help formatting that thesis.

Evidence: Evidence in support of your thesis should come from our readings from Fast Food Nation, “Wage Slave”, and from your own work experiences. Even if you have not worked in any of the industries from the readings, you may have experienced many of the practices criticized in these readings and can use them to support your argument. You must use at least TWO different sources in your final draft.

Quotation:  This falls under evidence, but now that we have practiced quoting several times, I will expect all quotes and evidence to be properly formatted, as we saw in They Say, I Say chapter 3.

Audience: You can assume your audience has some familiarity with the book and movie, but you will still need to summarize them where necessary and place quotes and examples in context so that readers will understand them.  Any evidence and support you give from outside the readings will also need context and explanation.

Formal Expectations:

§  600+ words (around 3 pages AT LEAST)

§  Typed, double-spaced, 12pt font

§  All work (first and final drafts) must be on time or will be graded down. ***Late final drafts are penalized a half grade for each day late.  For example, an A paper one day late will be an A-.***