Essay #4: Applying Errors in Debunking Arguments
Length Requirement: Four (4) pages; 110 Points; Separate Presentation Assignment – 90 points
Topic: Many notions or beliefs in our society are, in reality, just assumptions that go unchallenged. Many things that we take for granted or do not bother to question actually turn out to be false. One such example is that helping the poor, as we see in Hardin’s article “Lifeboat Ethics,” is a beneficial act when it may not be as beneficial as we think and can even bring destruction. Other, more serious, misconceptions exist as well. We learn a tremendous lot when we actually look deeply into many commonly held beliefs and see for ourselves the reality behind them.
For Essay #4, think of a commonly held belief—or misconception—that you either know or have reason to believe may be erroneous in some way. It does not need to be a big or extremely well-documented misconception. I am more focused on originality here. The misconception can be somewhat obscure and/or lighthearted in nature, even something you yourself have discovered. For a widely held belief that you find suspicious, do the necessary research to prove whether your suspicions are accurate. If you turn out to be correct, then you will write an essay in which you do the following:
1) Explain the misconception—what it is, its history, how commonly believed it is (stats, etc.). This should take 1-3 body paragraphs, no more.
2) Debunk the prevailing notion with facts obtained from your research
3) Identify and clearly explain how at least three fallacies are responsible for why such a view has gone unchallenged or accepted by most people. Identifying and explaining the errors involved is a very important part of the assignment. Each error and the explanation for it should have its own paragraph. Actual errors that have contributed to the misconception are preferred; if not available, then possible errors that can contribute to it will be accepted but not as highly valued. You can select up to four errors, which may strengthen your essay.
This essay can address historical issues, current issues, stereotypes about people, religion, ethnicities—virtually anything—but please check the topic with me first.
MLA formatted
12-point standard font throughout (Times New Roman or Ariel—nothing fancy)
* Direct or indirect in-text citations
* Work(s) Cited List with at least two references from outside, academic sources
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Essay #4 format
Title
I. Intro
A. Thesis (This essay discusses the misconception about…)
1. Main idea #1 (The commonly held notion is…) [briefly stated]
2. Main idea #2 (The lesser known reality is…) [briefly stated]
3. Main idea #3 (The fallacies involved are…) [state without explaining in the intro]
II. Body
A. (Misconception) [Provide info and cite relevant sources to prove the misconception exists]
1. Supporting detail #1 (break down the misconception into manageable parts)
2. Supporting detail #2
3. Supporting detail #3
B. (Reality) [Explain or break down the reality and cite info that is not commonly known]
1. Main Idea #1 (break down the reality into manageable parts)
2. Main idea #2
3. Main Idea #3
C. (Fallacy #1 because…) Support how an error is involved in the misconception
D. (Fallacy #2 because…) Support how another error is involved in the misconception
E. (Fallacy #3 because…) Support how another error is involved in the misconception
III. Conclusion
A. (Review the commonly held notion and the reality of it)
B. (Review the fallacies made that sustain the myth)
C. (Final thoughts)
*The myth, reality or errors paragraphs can be more than one paragraph in length. Just make sure the topic of each paragraph is very clear.
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Works Cited
Last name, first. “Title of article.” Title of Publication, edition (if applicable). Website Administrator (if
online), URL
