Analytical Essay | Chapter 1: What is Anthropology and Chapt…

For this assignment, you will write an Analytical Essay. Analytical writing includes descriptive writing but also requires you to reorganize the facts and information you describe into categories, groups, parts, types, or relationships. Sometimes, these categories or relationships are already part of the discipline, while in other cases, you will create them specifically for your text. For example, in this assignment, you will be comparing the subfields of anthropology. Thus, you might break your comparison into the 4 traditional parts (or subfields), for example: how each subfield addresses social context, how each subfield approaches language learning, how each subfield studies public health crises, social inequality, and/or climate change; and, finally, how each subfield can be applied in practice.

To make your writing more analytical:

• Spend plenty of time planning. Brainstorm the facts and ideas, and try different ways of grouping them, according to patterns, parts, similarities, and differences.
• Create names for the relationships and categories you identify. For example, advantages and disadvantages.
• Build each section and paragraph around one of the analytical categories.
• Make the structure of your paper clear to your reader by using topic sentences and a clear introduction.

Essay Prompt:

Define anthropology’s mission to study “what makes us human”. Argue for the discipline’s significance in the 21st century by demonstrating how the unique perspectives of the four subfields are essential for analyzing and addressing current global issues such as climate change, social inequality, or public health crises. Ensure you integrate the concept of evolution in your analysis of human adaptation.

Guidelines for Papers: All Essays must be in MLA format as follows:

1. General Paper Formatting

• Margins: 1 inch on all sides
• Font: 12-point, easily readable (e.g. Times New Roman font)
• Spacing: Double-spaced the entire paper, with no extra space between paragraphs
• Indentation: First line of each paragraph indented 0.5 inches (use the Tab key)
• Header: Last name and page number in the upper right corner of every page, half an inch from the top

2. Citations

• In-text Citations: Author’s last name, page number, e.g., Kottak 45.
• Works Cited: alphabetized, with a 0.5-inch hanging indent for each entry.

All work turned in must demonstrate a sincere effort on the students part to construct a clear thesis and develop an argument logically in a well-organized essay, with support of major points by specific examples and quotations from the text. Ideally, a students work should present fresh and creative approaches based on their own ideas and concepts. All work should be free of mechanical errors and be thoroughly proofread.

Assignment Overall Instructions

This assignment requires you to write 850 to 1000 Words (around 5 pages, double-spaced).

You need to demonstrate a clear understanding of the information presented in the textbook. That means that in order to write your responses, you will have had to have read and comprehended topics, concepts, and terms introduced in the textbook.

Before you start the assignment, do the following:

• Read and comprehend the accompanying chapters for this essay, that is, Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.
• Understand the goal and structure of an analytical essay. Ensure you follow guidelines from reputable sources such as the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) for the most detailed and current information.
• Understand the rubric and/or evaluation criteria, see below.
• Follow the Essay Guidelines provided here.