Question :
Essay 2: Read "The Declaration of Independence" on pp. 266-69 in CCA. Read topic #2 on p. 269, and write the essay according to the prompt, except for the word limit. Your essay should be 750 to 1000 words. Cite any reference source you use to define "absolute tyranny," and cite "The Declaration of Independence" when you quote it, paraphrase any part of it, or summarize any part of it. Include a list of works cited. Avoid all first and second person pronouns unless you're quoting directly.
Essay 3: Read pp. 166-77 in CCA: "Facebook: How Has Social Networking Changed How We Relate to Others?" Your topic for this essay is the same as the casebook title, but your title will be different. Focus on facebook and other social media. You may use the articles in the casebook to support your opinions. You will need two other sources from the library databases as well. Include a list of works cited. Your essay should be 1000 to 1250 words. As you work on your prewriting, think about yourself and your friends and friends of friends on social media. Do the friends you know personally-your real friends-say things online that they would not say to people in person? Do you know people who are shy in person but who are very open and "sociable" online? What makes the difference? Why can't some people be outgoing when they are having face-to-face relationships with people? How can people who are considered "gentle" or "kind" in person become rude, hateful, and obnoxious online? These questions are to help you get started. You may incorporate your answers (or not) into your essay. You are not limited to these questions or to the order in which I've asked them. Avoid first and second person pronouns unless you are quoting directly from a source or using personal experience to prove a point. Your audience is made up of the current freshman class at SE. They have probably noticed that people behave differently on social media than in face-to-face relationships, but your audience does not have all the information that you have because of your focused consideration of and research on the topic.
Essay 4: Read pp. 177-84 in CCA: "Genetic Modification of Human Beings: When Is It Acceptable?" This topic often generates heated debate, so remember your classroom etiquette. Also remember that the focus is on humans, not crops. Human genes change over time for many reasons. As the availability of nutritious food, or at least food with a greater variety of nutrients, changes, body sizes can change. Also, better living conditions and health care have an impact on genes over time. For instance, the "knights in shining armor," such as those who might have sat at King Arthur's Round Table, were, on average, about five feet tall. Better nutrition resulted in larger bodies in later times. Similarly, when people in Japan began eating more protein, often imported to them from the West, clothing factory machines had to be adjusted to make larger sizes to accommodate the people whose body sizes had increased. Genes can behave unexpectedly in many other situations as well. For example, a mother and father who both have brown eyes can produce a child with blue eyes if one parent has a gene for blue eyes (his/her mother or father had blue eyes). Chances are you know someone who differs physically from his or her biological parents. People with high IQs can produce children who are severely mentally challenged, and mentally challenged parents can produce children with high IQs. As I mentioned, genes are unpredictable . . . or are they? If medical researchers could find ways to eliminate genetic diseases, should we allow embryos to be genetically modified to avoid the disease? If genes could be altered (modified) to increase intelligence or to reduce obesity or to improve athleticism, should they be? And, what about "designer babies"? Should people be allowed to choose their children's physical and mental capabilities? Should governments be allowed to genetically modify humans for any reason? These questions are to help you think about human genetic modification; you do not have to address any of them in your essay. You may use your answers, if you choose to, in the order that best fits your essay. Depending on your spiritual beliefs or lack thereof, you may say that God made people the way He wanted them to be, but try to think beyond that because we live in an age when the Christian God is not always consulted or considered by lawmakers.
Write an essay of 1000 to 1250 words in which you argue when, if ever, it is acceptable to modify the genes of humans. You may cite either or both of the articles in this casebook in your essay, but you will also need three sources from the library databases to support your opinion. Include a list of works cited. Think of your audience as the freshman class at SE: they have little to no information on genetic modification and have not considered whether or not it would be beneficial to the human race.
Essay 5: Read pp. 198-222 in CCA: "Should the U.S. Require Young People to Perform Public Service?" What is the point of asking anyone to perform public service? In the U.S., we like the image of the "self-made person," that truly independent man or woman who, through intelligence and common sense and sometimes a college degree, beats all the odds and becomes a billionaire or a great political leader or even a pop culture celebrity. People in the U.S. have a tendency to focus on themselves, on their own goals and dreams, often disregarding everyone else. Is it wrong to disregard everyone else? Some U.S. citizens believe that public or military service will cause young adults to become more mature in their thinking and actions. Here are some ideas to consider. "Fracking," a process for removing oil and gas deposits from the ground more easily by forcing lots of water and some dangerous chemicals into the ground. The gas and oil companies retrieve more product for less cost and then sell it for a lower price. The companies get their profit and consumers get lower-priced fuel. So, what's the problem? Some say that fracking is causing earthquakes and poisoning the water-destroying homes and potentially causing death. If oil company executives had met lots of everyday people by doing public service, would they have had more concern about keeping people safe and less concern about profit?
Here is something else to think about. Do you know anyone who is having a difficult time choosing a college major, or someone who has graduated from college but can't seem to settle into a job? If the undecided people had spent time working with the elderly, with non-English speakers, with food banks, with Habitat for Humanity, with community garden programs, with after-school programs such as Boys and Girls Clubs, or if they had joined the military, could they decide more easily what work they would like to do? Some believe that when students graduate from high school or turn 21, they should be required to participate in some kind of service, either public or military. The service does not have to be voluntary, but the pay for public service would be a subsistence wage (enough for basic survival), and military pay does not always lead to wealth. Service forces young adults to see how different groups of people live, to think about how to improve life for others, and to consider others as they make decisions for themselves. AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps are two public service groups with which you might be familiar.
Even though public or military service might seem to be a good idea, what if people need better jobs to help support their families? What if they know what they want to do and feel that public service is a waste of their time and potential income? What are some situations that might make public service impossible or inappropriate for particular people? Is it morally or ethically wrong to force people to join the military? What are other, if any, problems you see with enforced public or military service?
With these ideas in mind, determine your opinion and write an argumentative essay on mandatory service for young people in the U.S. Your essay should be 1000 to 1250 words. You may use the articles in the textbook for background information and support, and you will also need three sources from the library databases. Avoid first and second person pronouns. Your audience is the freshman class at SE. They are unfamiliar with the idea of mandatory public or military service.
Longer Research Paper: For your longer research paper, you will be writing a 2000- to 2500-word argumentative essay. You may choose to revise heavily and expand a paper you have written for this class during this summer session, or you may choose from a list of topics that I will make available to you. Avoid first and second person pronouns unless you are directly quoting a source or using personal experience to support your argument. Your audience is the freshman class at SE and is unfamiliar with your topic. You will need eight to ten sources, mostly from the library databases, for this essay.
Journal Entries
Journal entries are not topically related to the essay you are currently working on (or have recently finished). However, analyzing classic, professional argumentative essays will help you improve your ability to compose arguments and to think critically. For each journal entry, please follow these instructions.
Write a summary of the argument that includes the following:
. Author's thesis statement
. Author's main points of his or her argument
. Author's conclusion about the topic. Explain how the author persuades (or attempts to persuade) his audience.
After gathering and writing out this information, do you believe the author has presented a convincing argument? Explain your answer. You should write one to two pages for each journal entry.