My Topic from Assignment 1 was Same sex Marriage.
Synthesizing and Writing
When looking for information about a particular issue, how often do you try to resist biases toward your own point of view? This assignment asks you to engage in this aspect of critical thinking.
Write at three to four (3-4) page paper in which you address the following:
- Restate your topic from Assignment 1, give your position on the topic, and explain why you chose that topic. Identify two (2) opposing views on the topic, and then present the view that you'll try to defend in the assignment. Be prepared to support your opinion with academic sources.
- Identify three (3) reasons to support your position. In separate paragraphs, go through each reason and describe why it supports the position you took in the first section.
- Go back to your Believing Game answers from Assignment 1. Describe why you thought those responses were true. What led you to 'believe' things in that way? Was it an expectation (straw man) or did you truly examine what they were saying?
- Identify at least two (2) biases you experienced in your examination of the topic. How did the biases support or contradict the position you took? Did the biases create a barrier to your thinking?
- Since we all have biases or opinions, how did your own background shape the way you felt about the topic you presented in the first section?
- Now that you have used the Believing Game, has your thinking about the topic changed? If so, why? If not, why not?