Essay on Stereotype threats

Part I: Who is Steele? What’s he talking about? Why should readers care? What’s your point? For Part I, which can be one or more paragraphs in length, you will – • Hook the reader with an interesting opening observation or anecdote related to stereotype threat perhaps pulled from one of our readings or from your own experience. • Briefly introduce Claude Steele who studies the concept of stereotype threat. Indicate what gives him the qualifications to write on this subject. For example, you might write: “According to social psychologist known for his work in stereotype threat, …. [and then go on to paraphrase, summarize, or quote Steele]” (10). This way, we know he’s an authority on the subject. • Define Steele’s concept of stereotype threat in your own words. • Indicate why this concept is important to understand or should be disregarded. • State your claim (which doesn’t have to be in the first paragraph as long as you’re making a deliberate choice about where you put it). o Your claim should respond to this question: Is stereotype threat likely to be a significant reason for the lesser success of people who are underrepresented in given fields (for example, women in the sciences)? Or, as others suggest, are these disparities more likely Essay Two: Essay Assignment Sheet/ENGL 124-5364 Spring 2017 3 to relate to differences in aptitude, intelligence, and natural ability or desires? Note: You can find that both may be true, but to make a strong stand, you must also give you reader guidance in your claim as to where to strike the balance. Under what circumstances or for what purposes is stereotype threat probably relevant to success? When isn’t it relevant? Your readers need something that they can use to frame their thinking out there in the world. This is a harder approach to this assignment.

Part II Who is Summers? What is he arguing? How might stereotype threat account for the differences Summers sees in women’s success? Whose account is more likely to be true, Steele’s or Summers’? (This should agree with your main claim.) • For each paragraph in this section, create a logical transition to include a subclaim that supports your main claim. • Briefly introduce Lawrence Summers, as you did Steele. In contrast to Steele, what does Summers think accounts for the success differences in women and men in the sciences and engineering? • Summarize Summers’ position with at least two of his key points. • If you’re not considering women in the sciences, explain how Summers’ position might relate to beliefs about other stereotyped groups (yours or someone that you have strong knowledge of). • Explain how the concept of stereotype threat might account for OR probably doesn’t account for the disparities Summers sees between men and women’s success (and that might also relate to the success of other stereotyped groups if you’re looking at another group). • Use at least one quotation introduced by a signal phrase, that is properly cited, explained, and connected logically to the topic sentence. • Logically link this paragraph back to your main claim or position.

Part III What major stereotype threat have you or someone close to you experienced? How has it affected you or them? Does Steele get it right? Is stereotype threat a real thing? Or does Summers have the better explanation? • For each paragraph in this section, create a logical transition to include a subclaim that supports your main claim. • Identify a key stereotype threat you or someone you know well experiences. • Describe how this affects you or them. • Evaluate how Steele’s concept of stereotype threat supports your or their experiences, or how Steele’s interpretation contradict those experiences. o Question to think about: In your experience and judgment (having considered the evidence in the essays), does Steele, Summers, or some combination of both best describe the reasons for the challenges you’ve faced or that someone close to you has faced? • Use at least one quotation from any of our sources, to be introduced by a signal phrase, properly cited, explained, and connected logically to the topic sentence. • Logically link this paragraph back to your main claim or position.

Part IV What can you and/or we do with this information? • For each paragraph in this section, create a logical transition to include a subclaim that supports the main claim. • Explain how this new knowledge could benefit (or harm) you and/or others. Essay Two: Essay Assignment Sheet/ENGL 124-5364 Spring 2017 4 o For example: How does it help you or the culture as it wrestles with stereotypical thinking in a very divided way (regarding race, religion, economic status, size, ability, etc.,)? (Or, how does it lead us in the wrong direction?) • Explain how might you and/or others begin to overcome stereotype threat based on what you’ve learned. – or – What should we be thinking about instead (if you don’t find that stereotype threat is a relevant problem) Essay on Stereotype threats