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Writing about the American Dream 

Published: 17th Jul 2020   |   Last Updated: 16th Feb 2021   |   Views: 6006

Essay paper writing

Academic writing

American culture is hard to imagine outside the context of the American Dream. Tommy Hilfiger, a renowned designer, once said ‘The road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive, and passion, it’s possible to achieve the American dream.’

 

The mixing of the concepts of the American Dream and consumer society occurred in the minds of many Americans at the end of the 20th century. The very term ‘American Dream’ is often used to describe a nationwide ideology that unites Americans. However, there is no clear official definition. Every US citizen has his or her own understanding of American dream.

 

Today, this unique concept attracts the attention of many researchers. If you need to write an American Dream paper and don’t know where to start, you have found the right article! Here, we will reveal the most useful tips and interesting ideas on the topic. Stay tuned!

American Dream essay topics

If you found yourself struggling to choose what to focus on, check this list of the American Dream essay topics:

  • The America I believe in essay
  • Immigration and unrealistic expectations: The American Dream is alive essay
  • Argument essay arguing how the social network represents the American Dream
  • Sport and the American Dream - a review essay
  • Does everyone in America have an equal chance to achieve the American Dream essay
  • What is the American Dream essay
  • My American Dream essay
  • Is the American Dream still alive essay
  • Is the American Dream achievable essay
  • Is the American Dream a myth or reality essay
  • Education and the American Dream essay
  • Public education and the American Dream essay
  • How to achieve the American Dream essay
  • Is the American Dream still attainable essay: What prejudices might ruin it?
  • Essay on the American Dream and how it affects the most vulnerable
  • What is the American Dream today essay
  • Defending the American Dream essay
  • What does the American Dream mean to you essay
  • Who are the true beneficiaries of the American Dream essay
  • American Dream in the 50’s and now: Does the American Dream still exist today essay
  • The American Dream is leaving America essay
  • Cultural identity and the American Dream essay
  • Essay about the American Dream in The Great Gatsby: Has anyone actually achieved it?
  • The idea of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby essay
  • The Great Gatsby is a criticism of the American Dream essay.
  • How does The Great Gatsby demonstrate the death of the American Dream essay
  • Paradox of the American Dream essay
  • Is the American Dream accessible to everyone essay
  • The American Dream is dead essay
  • Pursuit of Happiness: American Dream essay
  • The American Dream “Of mice and men” essay
  • The American Dream Huckleberry Finn essay
  • The American Dream and “Death of a salesman” essay
  • Essay that explains how Americans’ beliefs make it possible for them to pursue the American Dream
  • American Dream in literature essay
  • Current US economy: Is the American Dream still possible essay
  • Why do immigrants come to America?
  • Essay immigrants and the American Dream: Why do people fail to achieve it?
  • Essay about immigration to America and immigrant perspectives
  • How has the American Dream changed over time essay
  • Babbitt: Achieving the American Dream essay
  • The American Dream in other countries essay
  • People sacrifice too much to achieve the American Dream argumentative essay
  • American ideals essay
  • Money and the American Dream essay
  • Invisible man: Can everyone achieve the American Dream essay
  • Argumentative essay on modern American Dream not being worth it
  • Persuasive essay on whether it is possible to earn the American Dream under current political system

how has the American Dream changed over time essay

American dream essay outline

Outlining is an essential aspect of any paper writing process. It helps to keep one’s ideas in order and make sure that all the necessary information will be covered. We recommend using the standard outline for the essay about the American Dream:

  • The American Dream essay introduction.

A typical intro includes:

    • A hook. You need to engage your readers from the very first sentence so use rhetorical questions, quotes, or some interesting fact to do it.
    • Background information on the topic. Use this part to help your readers understand why you have chosen the topic and why it is important to research it.
    • An American Dream thesis statement is a last sentence in the paragraph. It gives a brief overview of the points that will be discussed in the body of the paper without going into too many details.
  • The main part

Here, you have to gradually review and discuss the points from the thesis statement using strong arguments and examples. Do not forget to use transitions between sentences and paragraphs to make this section clear and coherent. 

  • American Dream essay conclusion

This part should restate a thesis statement about the American Dream that you have made in the intro and provide a quick overview of all the body paragraphs. In the final sentences, you may encourage the reader to reflect on the topic further or show what they can focus their own research on based on what you have written.

American Dream essay hook

The hook is an important element of the introduction. It should be a short provocative phrase that attracts the attention of the reader. Thinking about an attention grabber, you need to understand that a hook for the American Dream essay is a single sentence – not the whole paragraph – and it has to kick start your paper. You cannot just throw a relevant fact in and switch to information that is not directly related to it in the rest of the intro. There is no obligation to write a hook right away – take your time to think about it as you are writing the rest of the introduction and the paper.

American Dream essay titles

Despite the fact that the title is the first thing that the reader will look at, do not rush to come up with one right away. The easiest way to create good titles for an essay about the American Dream is to do it at the very end when the text is written and thoroughly checked. Then you can find a few words that best reflect the message expressed in the academic paper. If it is suitable, you can even come up with a funny American Dream essay title.

the American Dream in other countries essay

How to start an essay about the American Dream?

Not sure how to start an arguable essay about the American Dream? Consider several effective techniques:

  1. Use the method of free writing. Its essence is that a person writes down all thoughts that come to his or her mind without revising them right away even if the logic seems a bit flawed. Once you start writing at least anything, you might come up with a few ideas that will eventually help you finish certain parts of the paper. Otherwise, you may never make the first step.
  2. Start the narrative with a question and write an answer to it. You may write down a few questions you would ask a person working on a chosen topic to understand what your reader would expect to see in your paper. When you start providing answers, it will be easier to understand if you need to read more on the topic, lack strong arguments to prove your point, or it would be best to change the topic as it is too broad or narrow.

Useful tips on how to write a quality essay on the American Dream

Here are a few simple things you need to do to create an A+ American Dream college essay.

Start without delaying

Once you create an outline and come up with the American Dream thesis, start writing immediately. The early start gives you the opportunity to revise the text, talk with someone else about it, and submit it to the teacher on time. If you write your essay the night before the deadline, it will surely affect the overall quality of your paper.

Use a variety of sources

Refer to books and scholarly articles, especially those suggested by your professor. They will give you not only relevant data on your topic but also an understanding of what kind of language should be used in academic writing. If you search for sources online, make sure they are trustworthy by checking who the author is and if the website is deemed credible in general.

Avoid plagiarism

All American Dream essay ideas taken from other sources have to be properly cited. Always mention the original author and reference their work properly. Otherwise, the teacher will think that you are trying to deceive him or her and to present the idea as your own.

Keep your paragraphs well-structured

Remember that you need to review one American Dream essay thesis point in each paragraph. The first sentence of the paragraph expresses its main idea, explaining what this section of text is about. The next sentences are for arguments and examples, while the last one has to include some sort of mini-conclusion.

Edit your paper

The best way to submit a paper free of any mistakes is to check it the next day after you wrote it. This way, you will detect more mistakes than you would after reading the text right after finishing it. Alternatively, you can ask your family member or friend to read your paper and express their opinion on it.

Refer to American Dream essay examples

Sometimes, it is a good idea to get inspired by some outstanding essay examples. You can find various samples on the Web and check how they are written and structured. However, do not use any part of those essays because it will be considered plagiarism.

 

the idea of the American Dream in “The Great Gatsby” essay

What type of essay to choose?

Of course, there can be various types of essays about the American Dream, but we would recommend you to focus on the following ones:

  • American Dream definition essay. This is a short essay in which you can consider the meaning of the American dream. You can also show the definitions adopted by experts in different fields.
  • American Dream argumentative essay. To write an argumentative paper, choose a controversial topic, clarify your stance on it, and provide information to support your stance.  
  • Synthesis essay on the American Dream. It’s a paper where the author reviews two or more sources to form an opinion about the subject. Therefore, focus on finding the most credible info for your paper, review it carefully, and present your conclusions.
  • Persuasive essay.  In such a paper, your task is to convince your reader that your idea is the right one. You will have to use a lot of factual information to back up each claim that you make to ensure that your point is hard to argue.

Facts for American Dream essay

  • The American Dream was originally a religious idea. The first English Protestants who arrived on a new continent in 1620 did not dream of wealth. Their goal was to build the Kingdom of God on Earth, where humans would dedicate themselves to their heavenly Father.
  • The American Dream concept first appeared in 1931 in “The Epic of America” book, written by historian James Truslow Adams. The author traced the transformation of the American ideology from the moment of the foundation of the New World. 
  • The following concepts are inextricably linked with the American Dream:
  • Individual freedom and freedom of entrepreneurship.
  • “Self-made person” (that is, a person who achieved success in life independently, through hard work) and highly-paid labor.
  • Irreproachable reputation and process of transition from one social class to another.
  • The American dream is a difficult concept to define, but it is usually understood as the ideal of American life. The historian F. Carpenter wrote: “The American Dream has never been precisely defined and, obviously, will never be defined. It is too diverse and too vague at the same time.”
  • According to the US economist and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, the best example of the ideals of the American spirit is Bill Gates: having accumulated a fortune estimated at hundreds of billions, he began to donate large sums to fight diseases around the world and improve education in the United States.

 

Top 10 American Dream research paper topics

  • An event or accomplishment in the history of the United States that is a part of the American Dream
  • In what way has the media played a role in changing the American Dream concept?
  • What role has technology played in transforming the American Dream concept?
  • American dream and fine art
  • American dream in cinematography
  • Does the concept of the American Dream still exist in American mentality?
  • The development of the American Dream throughout the years
  • How is American Dream seen in a specific country?
  • Do people have realistic expectations when it comes to the American Dream?
  • How is American Dream viewed by republicans and democrats?

American Dream research paper outline

  • Title Page

The formatting of the cover page will depend on the style required by the professor. Generally, it will include the title, your name, professor’s name, course info, name of the institution, and a date. In some cases, you will also have to include a word count.

  • Abstract

About 150-250 words summarizing what the whole paper is about. An abstract is usually optional so you need to check if it is a part of the rubric for your research paper.

  • Introduction

Start by providing the basic factual information on the topic and justifying your choice of it. In the end, present a thesis statement or a hypothesis.

  • Methodology

Here, you need to explain what type of research was conducted. It is important to show why you have used certain methods to look for the necessary information and how they helped you ensure the validity of the data.

  • Lit review

This section is used to go over the credible sources of information that you have found. It would be necessary to present the findings of different researchers in the field, highlight potential gaps, and show how your paper fits into the big picture.

  • Results

All of the key findings of your research process should be reported in the results section. Be brief and demonstrate how each of the findings mentioned relates to the thesis/hypothesis that was put forward.

  • Discussion

The purpose of this section is to explain why your findings are significant. It is also necessary to interpret the results and evaluate them, showing some of the shortcomings of your research as well as your contribution to the subject under review.

  • Conclusion

In this last part of your paper, you need to make an overview of the abovementioned sections without going into details. This is your last chance to show why your research mattered and what can be done to further the knowledge the community has on the topic.

  • Appendices

If certain tables, pictures, or charts were too bulky to include in the body of the paper, they can be added to the appendices section and referred to in the text.

There might be other sections such as limitations or ethical considerations. A lot will depend on the type of research you are conducting and the requirements for the assignment. Therefore, when outlining the paper, use a rubric to guide yourself and run the final version of the outline by the professor just to be sure you are on the right path.

Writing American Dream research paper assignment

Writing a research paper is a challenging and time-consuming process. After completing your research paper, you will be amazed by how much new information you have learned. To make your writing process easy, we have collected the best research tips, which we will share with you below.

Choose a good topic

If the topic has not been assigned to you by the teacher, try to come up with something original. By choosing something that genuinely interests you, you will make the process of writing more exciting.

Be careful with sources

You have to be especially careful with the sources you cite in your research paper. One of the best rules of academic writing – never use Wikipedia – should be applied here. Check scholarly articles, books, and governmental websites instead.

Proofread your paper

First of all, look at your grammar, spelling, and syntax. Check if there are smooth and logical transitions from one idea to another. Ask your teacher what format you should stick to. Make sure your paper has all the necessary elements, including the title page, introduction, body, conclusion, reference page, and appendices if needed.

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