Argumentative Research Essay Current or World Issue:
The Basics:
Choose an issue from the provided list
• 3-4 Pages (“Works Cited” page required, but not included in the count) .
• 3 DIFFERENT Sources Strong Sources (as opposed to “weak” sources) ……see notes below
• MLA: Paper Format and Source Citations (Failure to cite properly will result in a letter grade deduction)
• Clear evidence of the “writing process” —INFORMAL—(prewriting, drafting, revising, editing)
• Clear evidence of the “research journey”—INFORMAL—(handwritten notes of initial source leads,
source summaries, your questions about sources, your answers to questions about sources, etc.)
• Claim-driven argument
• Use the persuasive appeals of emotion
The Details:
In this essay, which is our third and final out-of-class formal assignment, you are asked to write an argument of your own issue you have selected. The focus of your paper will be driven by your own unique claim (thesis) statement that either defends or refutes the issue you have chosen to provide a specific position on. This means you will write to either support or oppose the issue and the views/interpretation of the perimeters as it applies to institutions of higher education in America and or the world.
Using Sources . . .
By “STRONG SOURCES,” I mean those sources that represent the highest qualities of academic research! This means sources that are high in “ethos” appeal, as they should be written by people with solid academic credentials in the particular areas in which they write! This means finding articles from academic and/or professional journals primarily, which can only be obtained through library databases.
In terms of using sources directly from the open web (as opposed to web-based platforms/databases from which to obtain filtered material), DO NOT use “.com” or “.net” domains. Rather, use “.gov”, “.edu”, or “.org” domains. Even these three domains are not exempt from biases and agendas. I believe the order in which I placed them reflects their general level of credibility, with “.gov” being the most likely sites for the highest degrees of ethos, simply because of the transparent nature of government agencies in a free democracy. With “.edu” domains, credibility varies depending upon whether the page reflects the institution itself (higher level of ethos) or faculty/students within the institution (higher potential for flaws in ethos for various reasons); thirdly, the “.org” category is perhaps the most difficult to navigate in terms of determining credibility, since it is so vast. For example, on the one hand you have an organization like the American Cancer Society that resides in a .org domain, which is entirely credible, yet you also have the “Area 51” group who also use the same domain—an organization devoted to “proving” that aliens exist, have been captured by the government, and are being kept in the Nevada desert!
Sources I DO NOT allow in a paper:
First, I do not allow the following three quasi-news and biased websites or television broadcasts: CNN, NBC, or FOX. By extension, I also do not allow a particular non-objective resource you are likely to see on the library website called “NBC Learn.” This so-called “academic” source is merely partisan politics disguised as academically credible material. Generally speaking, and beyond these specific sources that lack objective credibility, you should try to avoid using ANY strongly partisan or political resource, such as “Slate” or “Rush Limbaugh,” for example. Using websites or publications like these reflects poorly on your credibility as a writer.Prompt:
How can your career aid and/or find solutions to a persisting social issue?
Objectives:
The paper will analyze a social problem of your choosing and evaluate an organized response to that problem using your career. The paper should be 3 to 4 pages + 1 (MLA Format). Clearly articulate your focus with reliable sources.
Process and Research:
What is the social problem? Analyze the root causes of the problem.
Identify whose behavior and/or what and how environmental factors need to change for the problem to begin to be solved.
Who claims it is a problem? Your Claim – Box it Claims – What people claim
Why do they claim it to be a problem?
How can your career help to solve or ease the issue?
Identify environmental factors that may contribute to the problem.
Identify the restraining and driving forces that affect the problem.
This is called a force field analysis. It means looking at the restraining forces that act to keep the problem from changing (social structures, cultural traditions, ideology, politics, lack of knowledge, lack of access to healthy conditions, etc.) and the driving forces that push it toward change (dissatisfaction with the way things are, public opinion, policy change, ongoing public education efforts, existing alternatives to unhealthy or unacceptable activity or conditions, etc.) Consider how you can use your understanding of these forces in devising solutions to the problem.
Submission:
All portions of the assignment should be double spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font and with one-inch margins on all sides.
Address all of the main questions (discussed in class) in your paper.
The main parts of your paper are all supported with evidence.
You have a clear and complete Works Cited page and Parenthetical Citations.
Your paper has used spell/grammar checks.
Social Problems Research Paper
How can your career aid and/or find solutions to a persisting social issue?
The paper will analyze a social problem of your choosing, and evaluate an organized response to that problem using your career. The assignment represents one of the major goals of the course: critical evaluation of a social issue with an evidence-based approach. This is also a skill employers value in all fields!
Great papers clearly articulate their focus, thoroughly document relevant evidence, and address all points below. The paper should be three to five double-spaced pages (MLA Format). There should also be a comprehensive reference list, which does not count toward the page limit.
1. Topic and Reference List (Due _________________)
First, select the ‘problem’ you’d like to analyze, and an existing policy or organized response designed to resolve it. The response could be an existing law, a corporate/university policy, a media campaign or social movement. You should not select a proposed policy/law that does not yet exist, or propose your own solution.
To pick a topic that will work well for the paper’s requirements, it may be helpful to work backwards. For example, a very new social issue like “online bullying” may be very interesting and important. It may be so new, however, that there is little research-based evidence on a relevant policy or organized response to stop it. Meanwhile, media campaigns may help increase public awareness of an issue, but can be difficult to evaluate with research. This exercise is designed to help you figure that out early.
2. Research Paper, Part 1 (Due _________________)
Building on the previous part of the assignment, write a four to five page research paper (not including the reference list) analyzing the social problem you chose. The paper should address these central questions:
• What is the social problem? Who claims it is a problem, and why? How well does existing empirical evidence support these claims? What does the evidence tell us about who is affected by the issue? What are the causes of the issues and/or consequences?
Remember, the goal is not to make your own argument that the issue you selected is a social problem. The paper should identify and evaluate prominent claims about the issue being a problem.
Begin with an introductory paragraph, and include a thesis statement. The Student Academic Success Center and Online Writing Lab (through Purdue University) are great resources for helping organize your papers.
3. Research Paper, Part 2 (Due _________________)
The second paper adds directly to the first, which you should revise and improve based on your grader’s comments. The second part of your paper should address the following questions:
How can your career help to solve or ease the issue? What limitations are there? Does it make other social problems worse? This evaluation should be based on strong and clear evidence.
What is its goal? You may discuss multiple responses that are significantly related in some way, but your paper will likely be stronger if it focuses on only one.
Suggested Planning for Research
Step 1: Choose your Topic
What topic or issues have you read or discussed in school that might make for an argument?
What issues or controversies in your school, community, state, or nation have attracted your interest?
What trends or movements might have a direct impact on you or those you love?
Step 2: Develop a Slant/Angle/Hook
What aspects of your indicated issues are most important? Why?
What aspects of your indicated issues are most interesting? Why?
What ideas or insights do you have that others seem not to have noticed or seem to undervalue?
Step 3: Brainstorm, Discuss, Research
What sources are likely to provide the most accurate and authoritative support for the argument?
What specific details, facts, etc, are likely to make your argument convincing?
Step 4: Outline your Essay
**Choose the appropriate outlining techniques you deem vital to conveying your argument (remember this is the preliminary stages of planning so no research has been performed as of yet).
Step 5: First Draft
**Compose a first draft only using the information you have gathered from your prior knowledge, observations, reasoning, and understanding.
Step 6: Peer Edit
What is this writer’s purpose?
What is this writer’s thesis?
What key points has the writer identified to clarify the thesis?
What key points has the writer identified to support the thesis? Does the writer effectively prove the thesis?
Step 7: Revised/ Final Draft
