Essay outline

Research Question: Given the growing tension between singaporeans and foreign workers, what can the government do to narrow the gap between the two?

Thesis statement: Positive media coverage coupled with cultural education can aid in narrowing the social gap between the two.

Introduction

Problem: The influx of foreign workers, largely due to globalization, seems to have caused problems for the local community. Media reports on the unruliness of foreign workers and their lack of social integration seems to resonate among the locals, as such, there is growing animosity between locals and foreign workers.

Solution: Positive media coverage in addition to cultural education could help in curbing the social divide between locals and foreign workers. 

Body Paragraph 1

Topic sentence: The animosity between locals and foreign workers can be mainly attributed to lack of cultural understanding between the two. 

Brief description: Singaporeans’ cultural ignorance as well as expectations of the foreign workers to conform to local norms seems to contribute to the problem. Furthermore foreign workers’ lack of understanding of Singaporean culture as well as the growing number of foreign workers enables them to create their own community within Singapore. This gives them lesser reasons to integrate with the locals.

Description of one existing solution: The government in Singapore has employed various strategies to counter the current divide between locals and foreign workers. One such measure is cultural education to educate foreigners on the norms in Singapore.

Effectiveness of Solution:

Possible solution 1: Cultural education for both singaporeans and foreign workers. It is not sufficient for foreign workers to have just a small briefing on singaporean norms. They should be taught in-depth the norms of the local community and the reasons behind such norms. Explain to the foreign workers how they are perceived by singaporeans and encourage them to challenge these stereotypes by putting in efforts to integrate with the local community. And for singaporeans, they should be educated on the various cultures of foreign workers. Instead of condemning the behavior, encourage them to question why such behaviors occur.

Cons: singaporeans unwilling to accept the differences in cultures and foreign workers being transient may not be inclined to integrate despite efforts to educate them.
 
Possible solution 2: Positive media coverage allows singaporeans to have a positive view of foreign workers and slowly debunk stereotypes attributed to foreign workers. This also boosts foreign workers' morales and give them a reason to try and amalgamate with the local community. When they see themselves portrayed positively they may be more inclined to behave in line with their ‘new’ image.

Cons:possible black-lash for exclusively focusing only on the positive side of foreign workers. Cannot control people from posting their own interpretations or complaints on social media like blogs, Facebook etc.  

Conclusion: