Part one: Review your prewriting activity in the Learning Activities assignment. Based upon what you wrote there, identify a possible topic that you plan to write on for your academic essay and explain briefly why you have chosen this focus. This is a preliminary idea so you may end up changing your focus based on feedback from your classmates, but starting to plan for your Assignment can help you manage your time in the next few weeks.
Then, post a preliminary thesis for that topic, applying what you learned about strong thesis statements in the Reading and Learning Activities, along with an informal outline that identifies at least two to three supporting details. Remember that the more detailed your outline is, the stronger your plan for success in the academic essay will be.
Include an open-ended question about any issue your initial post raises which your classmates can help you with.
Developing a detailed and in-depth outline on the Discussion Board will greatly help you when you begin drafting in Unit 6. Be sure to take to extra time this week to develop a strong base for your Unit 6 Assignment.

Part 2: Expressing Your Ideas for an Academic Audience and Plan for Additional Research Apply what you have learned about formal language and academic writing to write your own 2 – 2 ½ page draft of an essay that analyzes a relevant change in your field of study. Your paper must analyze either what caused this relevant change or analyze what effect this change has had. It will also create a research plan for further revision, research, and development.