CMP 115 (Kranzler, Fall 2019)

Paper Two:  Working

Here are the questions, guidelines and requirements for your second paper, which is on all three of the readings in your textbook from Studs Terkel’s Working.   In addition, for this paper you are required to consult one outside source, and this source must be found in the library databases.  You cannot simply google your source; any article that comes from an online search engine will not be accepted.  To get you started on your research, we are meeting in the library with Professor Melissa Hofmann on Friday, October 4.  She will help you to locate suitable sources; please do not come to me to complain that you could not find an article to use in your paper.  That is the purpose of Friday’s library session, so please pay attention. The draft of your paper is due Wednesday, October 16; I will meet with you individually to discuss your draft on either Friday, October 18, or Monday, October 21.  The final version is due Monday, October 28.  This paper is worth 25% of your final grade.  It must be at least four pages long and written in proper MLA format.  Please note:  you must submit a copy of your article with your paper. I will not read your paper unless it is accompanied by a copy of your source.

Please answer the following as thoroughly and completely as you can:  What do the three workers, Babe Secoli, Pat Zimmerman and Ward Quaal, say about how their jobs make them feel?  How do they sound when discussing the various aspects, both positive and negative, about what they encounter while they are at work? What might be seen as surprising or unexpected about their attitudes towards their jobs?  ?  Are there any differences between how the different workers regard their work and themselves as workers?  What conclusions can you draw about the value of work and how it gives meaning and identity to workers based on these three readings? 

In addition to analyzing these three readings, you are also required to consult one outside source which is in some way about working in today’s world.  You want to locate an article that discusses how one or more workers feel about the work they do.  You do not have to find a first-person article written from the worker’s point of view; you can, if you choose, locate a source that discusses the larger aspects of work, such as the difficulty finding meaningful work (especially for recent college graduates), or people stuck in unfulfilling or unsatisfying jobs or, conversely, the work someone does which he/she/they do find stimulating and rewarding, similar to the way Terkel’s workers do.  Once you find a source you can understand in its entirety, you need to relate it in some way to the readings from Terkel’s book.  Does the worker in your article feel the same way about her/his/their job as Secoli, Zimmerman and Quaal do?  Why or why not?  What can you suggest about the way workers’ attitudes towards themselves and their jobs have changed since the publication of Terkel’s book if, indeed, they have?

Here are some things to keep in mind as you write your paper:

• You are not writing a simple summary of what each worker says about what they do while they are at work.   Instead, you are writing about their attitudes towards themselves and their jobs.  These attitudes and perspectives might not be explicitly stated; instead, you are asked to analyze their tone of voice; in other words, how would these workers sound if they were speaking out loud?
• This paper is not about your experience as a worker.  While your personal experience is, no doubt, interesting, it is not part of this paper.
• You are not writing four different papers on Terkel’s three workers and the one you have researched; instead, you are writing one paper that considers what all of these workers have in common and where they disagree if, indeed, they do.
• Therefore, you are asked to draw conclusions about what it means to work at a job outside the home, what makes work meaningful, and what value can be found in the workplace.

Some good sources of articles you might want to consider include The New York Times, Time magazine, The Wall Street Journal, or Forbes magazine.  You may use an opinion piece or an editorial in addition to a piece of reporting or traditional journalism.  You will also be required to include a works cited sheet, and we will review the proper format in class.  If you do choose to use one of the citation options available online, do be sure that it is in MLA format, not APA.  That is one of the easiest things to get right, so if you don’t, I will not read your paper.