Writing Question
You have now completed a questionnaire asking you about your first working experiences and someone who is about 20 years older than you. We also had a discussion in class about what other students reported on their questionnaires. After that, we reviewed the statistics surrounding teen labor force participation and how it has changed from the past both during the academic year and in the summer months. Finally, we explored the ongoing debate (Mortimer reading and others) regarding whether adolescents should or should not work while in school.
For this assignment, you will write a 2-3 page paper (double spaced) about past work experiences examining the information you collected with your questionnaire as well as the responses your fellow students discussed in class and how this informal survey responses compare to the statistical data presented in class and the articles you read in the module. You should write a well-written essay with an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion. Ideas to help you frame your essay include:
- What did you learn about yourself and the person you interviewed about how similar/different your first work experiences were?
o How consistent were your questionnaire answers with those obtained by other students in your class and with the statistical data you were presented with in class and the articles you were assigned for this module?
▪ What was the same or different? Do you have a theory as to why?
▪ Did anything surprise you?
- Based on you and your interviewees responses – how did your thoughts compare to the debate described by Mortimer whether adolescents should work? What do you think are the most compelling arguments for both sides of the argument and which side did you agree with?
