Emerging Adulthood

English Composition II

Emerging Adulthood Paper                                                             
 
For your first paper, you are going to write about Robin Marantz Henig’sessay “What Is It About 20-Somethings?” You are going to answer the following question: What are the causes of emerging adulthood and why is it necessary for society to recognize it as so? You must find examples from the text that explain the reason for the arrival of emerging adulthood as a new stage of life and why Dr. Jeffery Jensen Arnett believes it is important that society recognizes it as so. Your paper must have a hook, thesis, at least three supporting paragraphs with examples from the text, a conclusion in which you restate your thesis, and a “so what?”. It must be double-spaced, 3-4 pages, use 12 pt. Calibri, Times New Roman, or Arial font, and follow MLA citation formatting, including a works cited page. (Note: The works cited page isn’t included in the 3-4 pages you have to write, so your final paper should be 4-5 pages including the works cited.)
 
Introductory Paragraph:
You should start your paper with a hook to grab your reader’s attention. (A hook is often a rhetorical question or a thoughtful, relevant quote.) You must also introduce the article by stating its title and author before briefly explaining what emerging adulthood is. You should also introduce Arnett. Your thesis should specifically state how Arnett(or Arnett and Henig) believe(s) that we should recognize emerging adulthood as a new stage in life.

Supporting Paragraphs:
Each supporting paragraph should begin with a topic sentence. Each paragraph must also have a cited example from the text, whether it is a direct quote or a paraphrase. You must have at least one example of Henig explaining why emerging adulthood has occurred and at least one example why Arnett (or Henig herself) believes it is important to recognize it as a stage of life. Lastly, after quoting directly from the text you must explain the quote to the reader in your own words. A supporting paragraph cannot end with a quote.Do not use the pronoun “I” in these paragraphs.Again, you must always have a citation in each supporting paragraph.
 
Concluding Paragraph:
Your conclusion must begin with you restating your thesis. You may also briefly summarize the main points of your essay. Lastly, you must give a “so what?” A “so what?” is a short explanation (2-5 sentences) in which you explain to the reader why the topic of your paper is important. This is often done by relating the topic to the reader’s life, a current event, or a real-world example.
 
Don’t forget to include a works cited page. To see an example, refer to the one in the sample paper in the Week 1 folder. To generate the citation, use EasyBib