Reference no: EM133407504

Assignment:

Governmental data provide rich demographic information about places in the United States. This assignment asks you to write a short story about a place. Your interpretation of official statistical data must be an integral part of this story.

Purpose: This main purpose of the assignment is let you practice using data tools available to the public and apply the data to the understanding of a place.

• Reference: Read the article "What the Census taught me about myself" on D2L to get an idea of how statistical data can be applied to help understand a place. Use the article as an inspiration, not a template. Your paper does not need to follow its format or examine the same statistics.
• Choose a place: Start with a town, city, or county with which you familiar. Where you live, work or go to school is usually a good choice, but it's not a requirement.
• Questions and data: Explore what you can understand more about this place using data from the U.S. Census. Think about questions that you can answer from the data. Common statistics include population size, age, income, poverty, education, race/ethnicity, or housing conditions.
• Comparison: A comparison is not required but most likely helpful. Numbers usually do not tell much unless in a comparative context. For example, the median household income of Maple Grove may not seem high until it is compared to the median household income of Brooklyn Park.
• Presenting statistics: Try to present statistics in a meaningful way. For example, data like age breakdowns or racial composition is reported in absolute numbers, but they are usually more meaningful if they are converted into percentages.
• Write your story: Write a short essay (400 words or more). Combine other aspects of your understanding of the place and the statistical data to formulate a story.

Data source: You can find official Census data information from its public information portal at Our tutorial video provides some examples of how to use the tool.

Format: The format should be double-spaced. No academic citation format is required. I can only access .doc, .docx, .rtf, or .pdf files through our system. If you use Apple Pages or Google Doc, please save the document as a pdf file and submit that file.