Essay Length: 500-750 words (2-4 handwritten pages)
Background
According to the authors of The Next Los Angeles: The Struggle for a Livable City, Los Angeles is an increasingly divided city. The authors begin the chapter with a warning from former Mayor Tom Bradley, who in his 1989 inaugural address said, “Los Angeles cannot permanently exist as two cities—one amazingly prosperous, the other increasingly poorer in substance and in hope” (69). They conclude, following a lengthy analysis of the major economic and demographic changes of the last two decades, that “Los Angeles is increasingly a tale of two cities” (96).
Topic
Write an essay in which you respond to the authors’ claim that Los Angeles is an increasingly divided city. If you agree with the authors of The Next Los Angeles, be sure to illustrate both the ways in which Los Angeles is divided and how some people, groups, or organizations have attempted to and/or succeeded in overcoming those divisions. If you disagree with their claim, be sure to explain why you disagree and be prepared to offer considerable evidence to support your disagreement.
Hints
When you are illustrating either how Los Angeles is divided and/or how it is not divided you should draw on the book as well as your own knowledge and/or experience.
General Hints
1. Read the topic a couple of times and note what it requires you to do. Complete all the tasks of the assignment.
2. Take time to plan and organize your essay before you begin to write. (Scratch outlines are often quite helpful.)
3. Be sure to start with a strong focused thesis. Set out to argue or prove something and then gather and use evidence from your own experience as well as the text to support your claim.
4. Make sure that you support or illustrate general points with specific examples and vivid details.
5. Allow yourself enough time after writing to go back over your essay, check for errors or omissions, and make any necessary corrections.