Researched paper themes/topics—25 pts of final paper grade—due Tues, week 3, 7/20. Follow
directions under “homework” below.
The analysis and compare and contrast papers will be
strictly relating to discussing and proving points directly from in-class
readings.
However, the researched paper will allow you to do one of
three things:
1) expand
on the thesis arrived at in your analysis paper by deepening research which
applies to an other issue by adding at least five new pages of writing,
research, and argument;
2) modify
your thesis arrived at in your compare and contrast by expanding its scope to
include research from one of the themes for the researched paper assignment
through five new pages of analysis, etc;
3) write
a completely fresh paper, exploring a theme delineated.
Guidelines:
The researched argument essay is to be a culmination of your
work in this class.
Ideally (for a maximum score) it will include discernible
1) Summary,
properly cited, the relevance for which should be clear from the context of the
writing;
2) Direct
quotations, properly cited, introduced, and related to the point(s) being made;
3) Paraphrase,
when necessary, properly cited and integrated into points asserted;
4) An
original, thoughtful thesis/overall lesson;
5) Through
development (i.e., analysis, evaluation, and synthesis);
6) Appropriate
structure (introduction, thesis, conclusion, topic sentences, transitions,
etc);
7) Proper
MLA citation (bibliographical and parenthetical);
8) Tackling
of the topic chosen in new, fresh ways; and
9) Cohesion,
logic, and clarity.
Themes:
1) War
refugees
2) Orphans
as a result of war
3) Modern-day
terrorism—the Taliban, gangs (one specifically), etc.
4) Racism,
genocide
5) Sociopathic
disease
6) Modern
day slave trade
7) A
modern-day Socialist dictatorship
8) Equality
among races and/or sexes
9) Education
as a weapon against tyranny
Homework:
1) I
would prefer your sticking to these above themes, but you may submit an
alternate for approval. The idea is to stretch somewhat outside your comfort
zone, explore a topic of interest to you but that’s somewhat new.
2) Ask
a question about your theme/topic.
3) Narrow
it down to a specific region—not “the Middle East” but Iraq, Israel, etc.
4) Type
it up.
5) Explain
why this topic interests you, specifically.
6) This
should be about a paragraph in length
Sample:
For example, a student just wrote me asking whether she could research how education is a tool against (or for) tyranny in Cuba under Fidel Castro.
For slavery, you might want to look at how (mostly) girls are abducted into sexual slavery in a particular country, why, by whom, what law enforcement is doing about it, etc.
Then you need to ask a question: To what extent are corrupt politics to blame for the poor economy which subjects girls to abduction into sexual slavery/prostitution?Or, to what extent might the "normalizing" of pornography impact "the sex industry" and treating humans like "commodities?"
Then explain in a couple sentences why the topic interests you. Example: I am interested in this topic, because I recently saw a news program discussing how a father sold his little three year old daughter to a pimp in the United States, and I am concerned whether this is a growing problem, and what the U.S. is doing about it. (Notice that the focus seems to be on the problem here in the U.S., not Thailand, India, or somewhere else.) I am also concerned about the idea of sexual integrity--that the way people behave sexually actually reflects much about their morality.
