Describe the warrants of the social problems claims. Why should the audience or the public care about this social problem and take action to solve it? How do the claims invoke certain cultural values such as equality, freedom, justice, kindness, or patriotism? How do the claims reveal implicit assumptions about how the world works, or how the world should work?
After describing the grounds and the warrants of the social problem, you will choose two additional questions below and answer them in your essay:
1. Who are the people making the claims? Provide some background information about them. Are they activists or experts? Are they insider claims-makers or outsider claims-makers, and how do you know?
2. What role is the media playing in the social problems process? How has the media transformed the primary claims made by the initial claims-makers into secondary claims? Is the media coverage influenced by any notable factors such as geography or norms to appear unbiased?
3. How has the public responded to these claims about the social problem? How do the responses differ by social groups and social characteristics? What methods were used to measure public reaction – were there surveys, focus groups, social media analysis, interviews?
4. What is known about the policymaking process to address this social problem? How are policymakers and interest groups constructing their policy proposals based on how they understand the social problem? What symbolic objectives do the policies serve?
5. What is known about the outcomes of the policies? How are these outcomes being measured? How are various claimsmakers responding to these policy outcomes? Are the policy outcomes being reconstructed as new social problems?
