A Modern Day Sir Thomas More

Your assignment is to pretend you are a modern Sir Thomas More in the United States of America. Just as Sir Thomas More highlighted problems with European societies in Book I of Utopia, you are to discuss current problems with American society today. Remember that More discussed unfair punishment for crime, a corrupt socio-economic system, the greediness of kings, and distrust in technology. He also closely analyzed the corruption of advisors to the king. These were all significant problems in 16th century England. What are the significant problems in 21st century America?

Just as More used fiction to convey his ideas, you will be writing a short fiction script to depict the signicant issues of society in the 21st century. Do not merely list several problems with American society. Pick two or three problems as a focus and then add details through setting, stage direction and dialogue that fully explain why these things are problems. Talk about who has created the problems and who is affected by them. Discuss how people are affected by these significant problems. Also be aware that your teacher will be looking for you to communicate your ideas effectively, so this will involve you using prepositional phrases to vary sentence openings.

Once you have completed a rough draft, if possible, submit your writing along with a rubric to a peer, a parent or a guardian to review your draft and provide feedback. Use this feedback to make changes to your draft.

When you submit your script for a grade, you should include the following:

• Evidence of prewriting (generating and organizing ideas) • Evidence of a draft (should contain evidence of revision and editing) • A completed rubric (Student Statement) with evidence of review