Final Paper

Dr. Martin

Final Assignment:  An Argument about and Reflection on Expressive Arts and Military Veterans

This assignment should embody not only your experiences with expressive arts in the class with your classmates and with the veterans, but also the ideas from the assigned readings, from your research, and from any other art forms that have helped to shape your point of view.  The structure of this assignment should be created by a logic you develop as your process for discovering connections and conclusions develops, combined with an over-all argument structure where you support a claim you state about the effect of expressive arts and PTSD in conjunction with military veterans.  Your central question for the argument:    Are the expressive arts a viable tool for addressing the needs of  those  suffering from PTSD, especially military veterans?  If so, which expressive arts activities do you think are most effective for veterans?

What kind of writing should be included: sources to support your claim and reflections such as material from the assigned readings, relevant sections from your journal,  material from outside sources. You should  also employ relevant observations and experiences from your interactions with the veterans from the VA clinic to support your argument.  You may also include visuals, songs (written out), etc. You may also address any concerns for the inclusion of the arts to help reduce the effects of PTSD, making sure to discuss ways these concerns may be alleviated.

You must include 3-4 outside sources that help you build your argument.  One of those sources must come from one of the assigned readings for the class. Please include copies of  outside sources when turning in this assignment. (Xerox relevant pages from books.)  But you do not need to copy pages from book we've read in class.

Length:  6-7 pages, MLA formatted, plus a Works Cited page.  Please follow current MLA guidelines for in-text citations and for the Works Cited page.

Make sure this paper is your developed argument and reflections, not just a patch work of source material. Your grade will also depend on finding meaningful connections  that make the reader think about how the arts can be impactful for military veterans. Please pay attention to correct incorporation of sources, and edit your paper for clear transitions, and clear and direct sentencing.

Due:  at the final exam.  You must also submit this paper to turnitin before I CAN GRADE IT.  Otherwise, you will not receive credit for the class.

Turnitin information needed to submit your papers:

Class ID-- 7246835

Password-- yippee