ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION:
This 1,100 - 1,600-word semi-formal research paper will use the argumentative/persuasive mode as explained in your text and our class discussions and will require a significant amount of scholarly research in order to support the proposed answer to your research question (i.e. your thesis statement) with a significant amount of carefully-selected and well-documented evidence.
More than anything else, this is an exercise in creating and supporting an effective argument for a controversial topic. You may choose any of the topics listed at the end of this assignment sheet. You may not write about (and I will not accept) papers written on topics other than these unless you get my permission inwriting via e-mail first.
Researching and writing this paper is going to be the most difficult assignment that you'll have this semester, and it's going to require that you spend a good amount of your time on it if you expect to get a good grade.Make sure that your thesis is focused and specific, make sure that your arguments are clear and well-developed, make sure that your writing is smooth and flows freely from one point to another, and, at every turn, make sure that your paper is truly rhetorically effective.
REQUIREMENT:
You are required to use at least four (4) scholarly (peer-reviewed) sources, which come from academic journals or books. One (1) of these four sources must represent a position opposite to the one you are taking on your topic. You may not use any websites to fulfill the scholarly source requirement, although you are allowed to use GALILEO (password: bison) and scholar.google.com to find the scholarly sources that the assignment requires. In addition to scholarly sources, you may use as many popular (i.e. non-scholarly) sources as you like, including websites, blogs, etc. The only sources you may not use are user-editable sources such as wikis.
All of your sources must be correctly cited using current MLA conventions (this means that you must have a correctly-formatted Works Cited page as well as correct in-text parenthetical citations). Any facts, data, evidence, examples, opinions, arguments, proposals, statistics, quotes, or any other content of any kind that is not your own MUST BE CITED, otherwise your paper will receive an automaticzero for plagiarism. All quotes must be introduced properly, and all cited content (whether quotation, paraphrase, or summary) must be used in the same context in which the author originally meant it.
REQUIREMENT: Your essay must be composed in a Microsoft Word Document (file extensions .doc or .docx only) with 1.00-inch top and bottom margins and 1.25-inch side margins (Page Layout > Margins). The spacing (right click > Paragraph) must be set to "0 pt" before, "0 pt" after each line, and Line Spacing must be set to "Double."
Selected topic - Why Motorcycle Helmet Laws and Motorcycle Helmets are better for society
TOPICS FOR ARGUMENTATIVE/PERSUASIVE RESEARCH PAPER
Mandatory Seat Belt or Motorcycle Helmet Laws
Many U.S. states (including Georgia) have laws that require automobile occupants to wear safety belts and motorcycle riders to wear helmets. Some feel that these laws inhibit personal freedoms; however, others believe that enforcing safety rules is something the government needs to do for the common good. Where do you come down on this issue? Pick one of the two choices (safety belt laws or helmet laws) and craft/support your argument.
Elitism in Beauty Pagents or College Fraternities/Sororities
In 1776, the founding document of our nation - the Declaration of Independence - was begun with these words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." Although American society has often strayed from this ideal, it's still often easier to move from one social class to another here than in some other countries that have more of a strict "caste" system. While many Americans champion the ideal of such equality, it can be argued that many parts of our culture stand in opposition to this ideal, such as #1) beauty pagents, and #2) Greek systems (fraternities and sororities) on college campuses. Pick one of these two institutions and discuss whether or not it fosters elitism - the suggestion that some people are better than others.
Ease of Divorce: Societal Benefit vs. Personal Freedom
Marriage is more than a formal commitment to another person; it's also a specific legal agreement between two people. Unfortunately, roughly half of all marriages in the U.S. today end with a divorce, which represents not only the end of the relationship, but the dissolution of the legal agreement, as well. In the past, some sociological research attributed societal problems to the break-up of the nuclear family - meaning that the fewer two-parent homes that exist, the more problems society will probably potentially face. Considering the potential benefit to society as well as the potential problems that could be caused for individuals trapped in a unhappy marriages, should divorces be made harder to obtain?
The Internet and Social Interaction
The internet has revolutionized our lives in ways we still don't completely understand. One of the most important ways can be attributed to the early-2000s arrival of a new paradigm referred to by many as "Web 2.0." According to this perspective, one of the most important things the internet would start to do for us would be to revolutionize our social lives. From the early days of AOL Instant Messaging, to MySpace, to YouTube, to Facebook, Twitter, and Skype, the way many Americans interact with one another socially has been directly affected by the internet. Because of this, are our lives better, worse, or merely different?
Legality of Buying and Selling Human Organs
Medical innovation has made possible many life-saving procedures, one of which is organ transplant. Unfortunately, a medical issue quickly becomes an economic issue when one considers that spare organs aren't universally available and must come from another human being. Many people generously choose to donate their bodily organs upon their deaths; however, some bodily organs could be harvested from a live person who could continue to live without them (i.e. a cornea, one of the two kidneys, some skin tissue, etc.). It is currently illegal to buy and sell human organs in the U.S. and in most other countries, however, due to the high demand and low supply of these organs, an underground economy has emerged, and black-market organs typically sell for tens-of-thousands of dollars, often to the highest bidder. Given the number of people who die waiting for an organ transplant, should the U.S. government allow the commercial buying and selling of spare human organs?
Paying Top-Level College Athletes
While the majority of college athletes will never compete professionally after they graduate, the highest level college sports - especially college football -is a notable exception. These players and the teams they form often represent the "economic engines" for their institution, bringing in fans, alumni, the media, and a tremendous amount of revenue. For the very best of these athletes, multi-million-dollar careers await them in the professional sports world IF they don't suffer a career-ending injury in college. Given the risk that these top-level college players are taking, as well as considering both the benefit that their college sports career gives them and the financial benefit they bring to their schools, should they be compensated directly, i.e. paid a salary or some other compensation on top of whatever tuition waiver/scholarship they already receive?
Smoking Ban: Societal Good vs. Private Property Rights
Probably due to decades of education and public service announcements on the matter, fewer Americans smoke today than ever before. Additionally, smoking is restricted to fewer places than ever before - many cities have an outdoor smoking ban in city parks, and many employers will not allow smoking on their property whatsoever (even if an employee is in his or her own car in the employer's parking lot). Given the known health risks of smoking and the undeniable fact that a smokeless society would be a more healthy society, should the U.S. government pass a nation-wide indoor smoking ban that would even include privately-owned homes and businesses?
Referencing Style : MLA