Essay 3 Social Entrepreneur Essay

The first step is to define the terms:  Social Entrepreneur, then decide on a research plan. I have listed three (3) tutorials below. You do not have to do all three, chose the one that helps you most.

Define the terms: social, society, entrepreneur, "social entrepreneur", philanthropist and philanthropy. Be clear about the difference between a philanthropist and a social entrepreneur. Also define: hero, local, selfless, selfish, community, help, support, supporter. care, independence, money, wealth.

Here are a few links that define Social Entrepreneur:

1. http://www.pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/whatis/ 

2. and http://www.pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/whatis/resources.html and

3. https://www.ashoka.org/social_entrepreneur and

4. http://www.socialgoodstartup.com/about-us/

Research Tutorials

1. Use the Research Process Tutorial to find a Social Entrepreneur.
http://alameda.peralta.edu/steve-gerstle/research-process-tutorial/

2.  http://seattlecentral.edu/iris/start/topics/topics.shtml

3.  https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/552/01/ (a bit general)

Logic behind assignment

I created this assignment after seeing the program: New Heroes on http://www.pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/ I wanted students to realize the power they possess to be the change in their communities they want to see, that one person can make a difference.

The question you want to ask after you have identified a person or two:

1. What motivated this person to want to change something in society?

2. How did this person get the community's support for the project?

3. What did the community gain?

4. What did the social entrepreneur gain?

Your essay needs to answer all of these questions, you can structure it like a typical problem/solution essay or cause and effect.

The person has to be alive. The person has to have been doing this work for 10-20 years. Well this is negotiable. Just make sure before you prepare your proposal that the person is well-documented.

Create a Bibliography

Next, you need to locate 5-10 sources on your subject to form a bibliography; you don't have to cite 10 sources. The sources can be published or broadcast interviews, books, articles, and films or you can interview the the person yourself.

Due dates

The Social Entrepreneur Proposal is due between April 21-April 26. The proposal needs to answer the questions you asked of the SE profiled in the 3 video assignments.

I will post a Cyber-Assignment link for the proposal for peer responses. Please also email me. Do not start the essay before the approval.

The planning sheet and 5-10 sources is due week of April 28-May 3.

The 5-10 sources are due April 28-May 3. 

The Initial Planning Sheet and Outline are due April 28-May 3.

The fast draft of essay is due May 3 for peer review.

The Essay 3 Portfolio is due May 10 for peer review.


Outline for the Assignment

Social Entrepreneur Essay

Worksheet for Assignment--Social Entrepreneurs: Engaged Citizenry

1. How to start:

Students need to explore the terms, entrepreneur, engaged citizenry, business, social good to grasp fully what it meant by the term: social entrepreneur. Another related, but different term is philanthropy. An entrepreneur is not necessarily a philanthropist. You need to know the difference and do not choose a philanthropist.

2.  Identifying the person to profile

This semester we are looking at a person whose happiness is connected to service.  Identify a business person who exemplifies this concept.

The person has to be documented, which means she cannot be new to this field. The person profiled cannot be you (smile) unless you meet all the criteria and present a convincing argument to me first (smile). I used to say the person couldn't be related to you, but that's okay as long as the other criteria are met.

I suggest students get the person approved as soon as possible so if you plan to interview the person, you have time to get on their calendar. Interviews are great as one of the sources cited in the essay. You need three or two other references for the paper. 

3. The Essay

Introduction

Open with the problem statement. Be descriptive. Connect the solution to the problem and the organizational work to happiness for both the entrepreneur and the people involved, that is, the community partners and target population.

The thesis sentence names your social entrepreneur as a "happy" person who is addressing the problem identified in the introduction (which is the reason why they are happy).

Define what you mean by happiness in the essay, if not in the introduction, then somewhere near the beginning of the discourse, so we will know what you mean when you say "happiness." 

Body paragraphs
 

Background on the social entrepreneur and what brings them to the work. You can cite statistics here to illustrate the problem. 

Introduce the organization or business venture. Does the work grow out of the community? 

How do the SE and the community interact?

Are there any partnerships with other organizations and/or government?

Are there any peer reviews or industry reports?

Conclusion

What are the measurable results for the community? Share a story here.

What are the measurable results for the Social Entrepreneur. You could quote the SE here.

Your essay needs to answer all of these questions; you can structure it like a typical problem/solution essay or cause and effect.

The person has to have been doing this work for 10-20 years (the length of time is negotiable, see me). 

Research

1. You need to locate 5 sources on your subject to form a bibliography; you don't have to cite them all. The sources can be published or broadcast interviews, books, articles, and films or you can interview them yourself.

2. You will have three citations: 1 in-text citation, one paraphrase, and one block quote in the essay. The rest of the writing has to be your own. The essay should be about 4 pages of writing.

This does not include the works cited page or bibliography.

This paper is your final.