Overview:
For this pre-writing assignment, students will engage with the early research and writing steps necessary to produce a high-quality, professional blog.
Students will:
Step 1: Background Information
Your first step for this prewriting assignment is to conduct basic research on the two countries you will be comparing.
You will research information about the countries you will be comparing, including population, economic health, relevant world rankings (e.g., education, energy, poverty, health costs, health rankings, etc.), and the type of healthcare system established in each country.
How this fits into your submission:
Your research findings for this part of the pre-writing assignment will go at the top of your submission. This section will be titled “General Information.” You will include:
Step 2: Determine your topic focus
Next, you will determine your focus. You may end up deciding to change your focus, which is perfectly fine. However, you need to begin researching and gathering information, and having a focus will help you do that. Whether you want to start off looking into all of the topics listed is up to you. However, by the time you submit this prewriting assignment, you must have narrowed your focus down to a single topic, and you will provide research and a thesis statement that is focused on that topic.
Topics:
How this fits into your submission:
This section will be titled “Topic Focus,” and you will include whichever topic you ultimately choose.
Step 3: Research and Thesis (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. Development
Now that you have collected background information and have determined a topic, you will dive into researching the healthcare systems of each of your countries, and how each system serves (or fails to serve) the population you have chosen to focus on (maternal, pediatric, or geriatric populations). You will develop a thesis statement (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. based on your research.
You must use a minimum of 6 sources in your blog in order to earn full credit for this part of the rubric. The 6 required sources must be drawn from the resource list provided to you through Canvas (“Resources: Approved Sources for Health Care Systems Professional Blog”). Additionally, a minimum of 4 of your required 6 sources must be drawn from List 1 and List 2.
For the purposes of this prewriting assignment, you will include 6 sources, 4 of which will be annotated.
How this fits into your submission: (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
1. Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
As you research you will begin to develop perspective, understanding, and background that will allow you to develop an informed and authoritative argument. From this foundation of research, you will utilize the thesis resources you have been provided with, and others available through the Communication for Engineers website, to develop your thesis statement (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Starting with a strong, well-informed thesis statement (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. will help you with the overall organization and clarity of your professional blog.
Your direction and argument may end up changing as you write your blog (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., which means that you may need to revise your thesis statement after you have finished writing to fit what you have created. This is normal, and even expected. Thus, while developing a strong, clear, concise thesis statement (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. now is essential to helping guide you through the process of organizing your work and getting your ideas onto paper, you are not beholden to your original thesis statement (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., and should feel confident enough in your autonomy as a writer to allow yourself to make useful, necessary, and justifiable changes.
You will include your thesis statement (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. toward the top of your pre-writing submission. This section will be titled “Thesis Statement” and will be located just after the “Countries” section.
2. Annotated Bibliography (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
As you research, you will begin to collect sources that fit well within the framework of your paper. These sources should both inform and support your thesis statement and arguments.
You are required to list 6 sources you plan to use (as outlined in the first three bullets below), and provide annotations for at least 4 of those sources (the last bullet point). Each annotated entry must include the following, and should be structured in the same order as listed below:
SAMPLE
Pre-writing Assignment: A Tale of Two Healthcare Systems
Country 1: Tampania
Population: 3,091,399
Health Care System: Varies depending on class: Out of pocket; Single payer; Employer subsidized
Overview: Tampania, which includes the territories of Saint Petraburgsia and Aguaclara, is a stable and growing country with a steady economy, a strong job market, and strong investment in infrastructure. The unemployment rate of Tampania was 3% as of November 2018 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019). Its job availability, robust arts scene, diverse population, varied food options, and preservation of historic districts, helped make Tampania the 75th out of 125 best places to live (US News, 2018). Unfortunately, the Tampania area is also home to some of the lowest ranked schools internationally (especially in the southern portion of the Saint Petraburgsia territory). Despite a seemingly low unemployment rate, poverty is more pervasive throughout Tampania and its territories than the surrounding average, with 26% of children (Tampa Bay Times, 2016) and 20% of the total population living below the poverty level (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017). A similarly large section of the population is food insecure, with over 25% of children (more than 250,000) and 14% of adults (more than 700,000) suffering from hunger (WMNF, 2017).
Country 2: Saint Madeupedness
Population: 382,492,552
Health Care System: Single-payer
Overview: Saint Madeupedness is a stable country with a robust economy, low cost of living, a 1.7% unemployment rate, and, with a 100% green public transit system, 97% solar energy, and 92% of car owners owing electric cars (Green Energy International, 2018), boasts the lowest fossil fuel dependence in the world. The near-universal integration of green energy throughout the country has positively correlated with a significant increase in public health, with rates of respiratory disease, cancer prevalence, cognitive decline, birth defects, and skin conditions dropping drastically over the past decade (World Health Organization, 2018). Saint Madeupedness has topped the lists of “Best Places to Live,” “Happiest Country on Earth,” and “Healthiest Cities in the World” for the past 6 years straight.
Topic Focus: Maternal health
Thesis Statement:
While both Tampania and Saint Madeupedness have a lot to offer their citizens, Saint Madeupedness’ universal healthcare system offers superior access to and quality of maternal health services to all classes of citizens, which directly correlates to significantly lower rates of complications and related maternal and infant mortality. Additionally, while environmental health is not currently considered a health system metric, I argue that Saint Madeupedness’ dedication to providing a cleaner and healthier environment to all citizens enhances public health and may factor into the country’s outstanding maternal health outcomes.
Annotated Bibliography: (Sample for organization/structure purposes only)
Source 1 (with annotation):
WhatsApp us