What is fair trade? Who are the players involved? Who holds the responsibility for how chocolate is processed

Procedure: We are continuing to build the course theme by critically reading visual texts, excerpts from company websites, newsprint articles, and your own research. The aim is to engage in dialogue on chocolate and economics specific to fair trade, as well as the players involved in the chocolate world.

Questions to consider: What is fair trade? Who are the players involved? Who holds the responsibility for how chocolate is processed? Who owns chocolate? What value does chocolate hold in society? What and how does chocolate contribute to society?

You may use any of the texts we have read in class and for homework to support your thesis for essay 4. Read for key ideas that relate to your thesis. Use evidence from the text to show how the author supports their thesis. You may also research outside sources for your essay to explain your thesis.

Quotes from at least three sources are expected to be integrated throughout your essay.

Works Cited Page REQUIRED. Reference the example on canvas under the module MLA.

Readings:

“Cocoa: A Guide to Trade Practices” loaded to Canvas

“The Economics of Chocolate” https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/economics-chocolate-180954224/ (Links to an external site.)

The International Cocoa Organization https://www.icco.org/ (Links to an external site.)

“Slave Free Chocolate” by Lidz-Ama Appiah, cnn.com https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/02/world/tonys-chocolonely-slavery-free-chocolate/index.html (Links to an external site.)

Fairtrade America http://fairtradeamerica.org/Fairtrade-Products/Chocolate (Links to an external site.)

“A Story of Chocolate and Child Labor” by Sec. Hilda Solis, https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/7899998/amp (Links to an external site.)

“Cocoa’s Child Laborers” by Peter Whoriskey (Links to an external site.) and Rachel Siegel (Links to an external site.), https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/business/hershey-nestle-mars-chocolate-child-labor-west-africa/ (Links to an external site.)

Essay prompt: Argue why Fair Trade chocolate is relevant today and further explain how it may impact farmers, laborers, companies, investors and consumers? (Your answer is your thesis!)

What is the biggest strength in your essay? (What are you most proud of?)Cover Memo stapled to front of essay:

What still needs improvement in your essay? Write about what you’d still like to work on with your writing.

What was your biggest challenge with completing the task of writing the essay?

Minimum Requirements:

The essay contains a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

The essay supports the thesis with appropriate quotes and paraphrases the author’s ideas.

Proofread, making sure that grammar errors don’t interfere with readability and comprehension and attempt to use coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.

Write a final draft answering the essay prompt (3.5-4 pages), include related assignments and a cover memo describing the revisions made between drafts.

An “A” paper will meet all the minimum requirements AND…

The essay contains a thesis statement that gives the readers a clear idea of issue being critiqued.

Included are three quotes from texts and writing that shows quotes were carefully unpacked and critiqued.

Developed ideas completely and wrapped it up to conclude strongly.

Close attention to style and mechanics in all work by implementing the organization and writing skills introduced in this class.

Careful proofreading together with correct grammar and punctuation usage is crucial in this class. Although the spellchecker is a valuable tool, one that students absolutely should use, students cannot simply run a spell-check without also proofreading a paper. As we know, spellcheckers do not flag everything, and may incorrectly flag some items. Only careful proofreading can find all the errors. In conjunction with the spellchecker, also enable the Microsoft Word grammar checker to run concurrently with the spellchecker. Lack of proofreading — formatting, punctuation, spelling and grammar mistakes — will result in an NP grade.

Questions always arise regarding what constitutes a “page,” so to ensure all use the same guidelines for essay length, a “page” for essays is a full 8 ½ x 11 inch page. (3.5-4 full pages required!)

Follow the standard MLA formatting guidelines.
-Essay is double-spaced.

-Use 12 pt. Times New Roman text running from the top margin to the bottom margin

-All margins are one inch wide, no greater. The exception is the first page with the author block and essay title, in which the text runs from one line space below the title to the one-inch margin at the bottom.

-Single space after period (or punctuation) at end of sentence.

A works cited page is required with this essay. The works cited is the last page of the essay. Refer to this example for how to assemble the sources: MLA Format of Works Cited Page 2020.docx.

You may also click on the link below to access more examples:

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_sample_works_cited_page.html (Links to an external site.)