Assignment: Family Life Cycle Fact Sheet
Introduction
Class position intensifies or alleviates the impact of crisis situations on families at each family life cycle. It influences whether family members receive higher education or life-saving surgery. It affects whether the family turns to paid helpers or unpaid relatives during times of need. It determines whether families immigrate together or separately. One member’s serious illness can also cause job loss and even homelessness if working-class relatives lose work time to care for their ill family member. In this assignment, you will explore how the family life cycle is impacted by social class position and will then develop a Fact Sheet for your assigned population. You will be assigned to research either the elderly or adolescent/teen population based on the 1st letter of your last name. (See Content Expectations for the assigned topic.)
Assignment Overview: What is a Fact Sheet?
Fact sheets are short reports that present information in a readable and interesting format. They enable scientists and researchers to concisely summarize the results of research, so it is shareable with the public or other professionals. A useful Fact Sheet has a clear organization and structure. It names the issue at hand, discusses relevance, gives data (usually numerical or statistical), describes interventions and makes recommendations. Because Fact Sheets summarize data in a report format, they must provide accurate citations and references for the sources. An example of a Fact Sheet is provided by the National Partnership for Women and Families: Healthy Families Fact Sheet (Links to an external site.).
DIRECTIONS
General Format and Audience
Most fact sheets are two pages in length. They should have a good balance of text (in a readable font), white space, and images or charts and graphs.
An effective fact sheet is informative and visually interesting. Many use a two-column format, as well as color fonts, headers and photographs.
It is important to keep your audience in mind, as you write the text for your Fact Sheet.
Use headings throughout the Fact Sheet to guide your reader through the Fact Sheet.
For the purposes of this assignment, assume you are working with an agency and are developing this Fact Sheet for distribution among the general public to share information regarding the impact that social class has on the family life cycle.
Content Expectations
1. Produce a two-page Fact Sheet on the topic of Social Class and the Family Life Cycle (see the specific topic assignments below based on the first letter of your last name). You will use your assigned textbook readings and three additional resources found on your own to complete your Fact Sheet.
1. If the first letter of your last name is A–I you will develop a Fact Sheet on Social Class and Families with Young Children.
2. If the first letter of your last name is J–R you will develop a Fact Sheet on Social Class and Families with Late Adolescents/Young Adults.
3. If the first letter of your last name is S–Z you will develop a Fact Sheet on Social Class and Families with Adults in Mid- and Later Life.
2. Your fact sheet should:
a. Describe the concept of social class
b. Explain the types of families that are included in each social class position described in your textbook: professional-managerial class, working class, and underclass.
c. Analyze the impact that social class has on your assigned family generation (For example: a premature baby being able to receive the medical treatment needed).
d. List the possible challenges that face your assigned family generation as a result of social class position.
e. Use 2 additional scholarly references (this is in addition to your required textbook). Scholarly references can include peer-reviewed articles, journals, government websites, and any course supplemental resources.
Format Expectations
Your Fact Sheet Must:
1. Cite all information from the required resources/textbook plus the additional scholarly references you use in the Fact Sheet. Use APA style.
2. Have two pages of content.
3. Have a balance of readable text, images, and white space.
4. Use headings to guide the reader.
5. Use color in headings, charts, and graphs. Use Word to create a pie chart or a histogram to represent data on assigned social class age population.
6. Avoid cut and paste text or tables from your sources.
7. Be well-organized and free of spelling and grammatical errors.
8. Use two additional scholarly sources besides the textbook.
9. Not copy from any existing fact sheet or handout.
Textbook Reference
McGoldrick, M., Carter, B., and Garcia-Preto, N. (2016). The Expanding Family Life Cycle: Individual, Family, and Social Perspectives. (5th ed.). New York City, NY: Pearson.
