This is a 1000 word, APA style essay.

The topic of this essay is to answer this question: What motivates someone to accept (or avoid) an obligation?

There is not one right answer to this question. What you must do is make an assertion that you believe is true and then use two readings from this class and your own experience to show that your point of view is valid.

Write an introductory paragraph for your essay. The introduction has two important goals: it must generate interest in your answer to the research question and indicate where the paper is heading.

Make sure that your introduction avoids bland, general, obvious statements such as “Every person in the world has obligations that they do and do not meet.” Blech! Every sentence of the introduction should make your reader enthusiastic about your unique answer to the research question.

Your introduction must also include a thesis statement. The thesis statement should present your answer to the research question and mention not only the readings that you will be using but also the personal experience that you plan to share.

Good intro: X is the biggest reason that people step up and accept their obligations. Evidence for this can be found in Welty (1941), Banks (2015), and my decision to postpone college until I completed Responsibility Z.

Write the body paragraphs for your essay. Each body paragraph should begin with a sentence that does two things: 1) introduces the reading (or experience) that you are analyzing and 2) explains how that information contributes to your thesis statement. Then, provide and analyze evidence from the reading (or from your life) that answers the research question. Do not give lengthy plot summary of the source, and be sure to include at least one quotation that is correctly formatted in APA style.

Write a good conclusion for your essay. Your conclusion should be a full paragraph (at least 5 sentences) and bring the essay to an effective close.

Good Body Paragraph: One factor that contributes to young people not accepting their responsibilities is X, evident in Brooks (1963).

After you have a draft of the entire essay, give your paper a title, which is meant to grab your reader’s attention. Come up with something interesting and unique. Do not use words from the research question.

Confirm that you have set up your quotations correctly. If you want all the points, every quotation must have three parts: 1) an introductory authority phrase, 2) an accurate and correctly punctuated direct quotation, and 3) a parenthetical reference.

Introductory Authority Phrase + “Direct Quotation” + (Parenthetical Reference).

The three parts must combine to form a smooth, grammatically accurate sentence. Remember that you have a 39-word limit per source on quoted material.

First reading: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/po… – we real cool by gwendolyn brooks – 1963

https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/fashion/15love…. – Would our two new lives include a third? by Kaysen 2007