Question Sets
Question Set #1 [p. 3 to p. 89 — 20 questions]
Question Set #2 [p. 89 to p. 133 — 10 questions]
Question Set #3 [p. 133 to p. 216 — 20 questions]
Question Set#4 [p. 216 to p. 260 — 10 questions]
Assignment
1) Locate a trend [social, political, cultural, other] and provide a thesis statement that (as accuratley as it can) describes the causes for this trend.
2) Background material.
You may provide a brief explanation of why you think this phenomenon meets Gladwell's three criteria for tipping point phenomenon.
a) contagiousness
b) little causes having big effects
c) not gradual but dramatic change
You may choose to discuss your "trend" in terms of the following ideas that Gladwell discusses. You should attempt to use relevant quotes from Gladwell (and any other authoritative source) to illustrate his ideas.
a) The Law of the Few [Connectors, Mavens, Salesmen]
b) The Stickiness Factor
c) The Power of Context
d) the five stages of a social epidemic curve
e) Leveling, Sharpening and Assimilation in the translation of a message
3) Illustrate the idea in (2) using the example of (1). Develop your example to the best of your ability using researched materials (texts, interviews, e-mails, etc.). Your development of this section might include the process (a story?) of how the example occurred and how it relates to the idea you are trying to illustrate in (2).
4) Your thesis should be a statement that clearly identifies the main causes of your trend.
5) The paper should be roughly 2200-2500 words with no more than half of that total devoted to discussing background material/Gladwell's ideas. That is, at least half, if not more, of the total should be dedicated to discussing your causes for the "trend".
6) MLA documentation should be used for all researched sources.
A potential outline might look like this:
|
I. Intro: Using some sort of introductory element [fact, statistic, question(s), anecdote, etc.] introduce your thesis.
II. Background material. Provide background material for "trend".
III. Support paragraphs. Provide support for how the "trend" you have chosen was caused by the factors you described above in the thesis. IV. Conclusion. Provide an explanation for the main reason that your "trend" became popular. Was it because of the reasons that Gladwell provides for Tipping Point phenomenon? Or was it for some other reason? |
Related "Tipping Point" websites:
Potential topics:
| • technology [VCR, cell phone, DVD, fax, computer] | • Wendy's tag line "Where's the beef?" | • any mainstream brand of apparel |
| • word-of-mouth about faculty reputations | ||
Student Papers