World Cultures Essay Now that we have explored our individual/ family culture and American culture, we are now going to travel across the globe to another country with a different culture. For this essay you will choose a cultural group outside of your own and outside of the United States. If you are already closely tied to a culture outside of the United States, you must choose a culture you are unfamiliar with. Your research should focus on what does that culture focus on? What is important to them? How do they express their beliefs and values, and how do they teach their children these same beliefs and values? Essay Requirements Audience: general Purpose: to inform Page length: 3-4 pages not including the Works Cited page Paragraphs: you must have MORE than 5 total paragraphs. Sources needed: 3 sources that are NOT encyclopedias or Wikipedia or Britannica or AI (i.e. ChatCPT). Quotes: 1 properly integrated quote from each source for a total of 3. A properly formatted Works Cited page. ● ● ● ● Warning about sources: 70% of the essay must be your own original words and ideas; up to 30% can be from your three sources; if you use AI, it may not be more than 15% of the essay and must be properly cited. If you opt to use AI, which I strongly discourage, AI and the other sources may not exceed 30% of the essay. Introduction: Entice the reader in to your topic and give them background. Introduce the culture, including any background or facts to ground the reader. You can begin with descriptions and details about location, history, and language, for example. Hook the reader and then get them invested in the paper. Then introduce the main points you will be discussing. You will want to end your introduction with your specific thesis. Body: Lay out your argument and explanation. Make sure the reader knows what you are saying about the chosen culture and give support with evidence from the research. You should have several examples of connections between the specific culture you researched and the people. You will be using multiple strategies as you support your thesis: describing, comparing, analyzing, and illustrating cause and effect. You may have a few paragraphs for each connection you make. Do not think of this as a basic essay, but rather an essay that sets up a strong, supported thesis to explain your point and make your readers feel like they learned something. This is the meat of your paper, where most of your research will be used and where you prove your points. Conclusion: Wrap up what you are saying and make sure the audience knows your argument. Remind the audience of the significance of the topic, without just repeating what you said in the introduction or summarizing your paper. Relate the thesis back to the topic and place it in a larger world context: why is this important to/for everyone? What can we learn in general from looking at other cultures? What does the connection between stories and people say about people in general? Try and end by looking forward. How will this impact the reader, you, or the world? Think about what you want your reader to walk away with. Checklist You have an interesting title. Your introduction contains a clear thesis statement and gives the reader a preview of what you are going to be discussing. Your introduction is interesting and engaging, and you have applied one of the methods for writing an effective introduction found in Field Guide. Your introduction does not contain any language that announces what you are getting ready to say (i.e. this essay is going to discuss, this essay will tell you...) Each body paragraph discusses one of your major points and uses logical reasoning and outside sources to support your claim. Each point you make can be linked directly to your thesis statement. You have more than five paragraphs. You have used three sources and used one direct quote for each of the points you made. Your quotes are properly integrated. Each of your major points is examined and discussed in at least two paragraphs. Your conclusion does not announce that it is a conclusion and utilizes one of the methods for writing an effective conclusion found in Field Guide. There is no use of first or second person. The chart below explains the differences between first, second, and third person. Subjective Case 1, we you First Person (singular, plural) Second Person (singular, plural) Third Person (singular) Third Person (plural) The paper is four to five pages in length, not including the Works Cited page. You have a properly formatted essay and Works Cited page. he, she, it Objective Case me, us they you him, her, it Possessive Case my/mine, our/ours them you his, her/hers, its their/theirs