Dr. Horton's English 1101
 
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Paper Topics

Below are paper topics to use for your two out-of-class essays. I designed these topics to address common issues for first-year college students at GSC and to help you learn to focus an argument. If you do not like any of the following topics, you will need to design your own and have them approved by me. Any topic that you submit for my approval must follow the format I used for the topics below:

TV Show You're Ashamed to Say You Love to Watch
Intelligent viewers of television usually choose to watch programs that feature smart storytelling or enriching content. But are there any shows that you are ashamed to say you enjoy? Do any of the shows you watch promote ideas that you would never want your closest friends to associate with you? Are any of the shows you follow a disgrace to your otherwise respectable standards? Choose a show that, despite your disapproval, intrigues or captivates you. First, think about why you watch it and why this show is able to captivate you and disturb you at the same time?

Now, here is your assignment: Focusing on ONE particular episode of this show, make an argument about why the low quality and immature purpose of the show is not enough to make you change the channel.

Your thesis will respond directly to the orange sentence above. In order to develop this topic, the stages of your paper will include the following:
  1. What are some features of the show that help define its quality and purpose? (use your chosen episode for support)
  2. What makes you drawn to these features, despite the fact they are distasteful to you? (again, focus on your chosen episode for details)
  3. Why are you ashamed of this inconsistency, that is, why is there a problem with watching the show?
  4. Could you stop? Why or why not?
In your ending, you might discuss whether you are making any progress in changing your television watching habits. Is your shame enough to motivate change or will you continue to harbor your secret?
Alternative to Age Limit to Determine Privilege to Drink
Do you have a problem with the current Georgia law prohibiting individuals who are under 21 from purchasing alcohol? If so, what justifies your disapproval? Do you simply want the age lowered so that you are included in the legal classification, or are you unhappy with the reasoning behind the law? Think about the reasoning behind the law first! Are you sure you understand what it means? What is so special about the age of 21? Or is there nothing special about it all? What are the justifications for the age limit we have? Does the age limit promote the benefits that government is looking for?

For this paper, you have find a shortcoming of this law OTHER THAN the particular age that the lawmakers chose. Then propose a way to improve how the government determines whether individuals should be allowed to purchase alcoholic beverages. What is an alternative way to manage drinking behavior?

Now here is your assignment: Focusing on yourself and ONE other person you know personally, make an argument AGAINST using an age limit to determine whether someone should be allowed to drink.

Your thesis will respond directly to the orange sentence above. In order to develop this topic, the stages of your paper will include the following:
  1. In what way are you well-prepared (or ill-prepared) to be a responsible consumer of alcoholic beverages?
  2. In what way is the other person well-prepared (or ill-prepared) to be a responsible consumer of alcoholic beverages?
  3. How does the contrast between you and this other person point out an inconsistency within the drinking law?
  4. How should the government modify the law so that it can more effectively fulfill its goal?
In your ending, you might discuss how the severe problems associated with poor drinking habits might be prevented if the law were modified in the way you suggest.
The Student-Centered Values Behind the GSC Smoking Policy
Even if you are a non-smoker, you might find the no-tobacco policy at GSC to be a little bit troubling. And if you are a smoker, you might have a hard time even considering the possibility that the policy has benefits. Setting aside your personal feelings about or habits with tobacco, first think about whether there are sound reasons to support the policy. Then, beyond these reasons, consider whether the college has a right to enforce such a policy; if so, what is the standard that justifies that right? After you determine the goal of the policy, consider how well it fulfills (or how it falls short of) the student-centered mission and values of GSC.

Now here is your assignment:  Focusing on ONE weakness of the policy, make an argument about how the no-tobacco policy could be improved to meet the student-centered goals of GSC more effectively.

Your thesis will respond directly to the orange sentence above. In order to develop this topic, the stages of your paper will include the following:
  1. What is the policy exactly and what seems to be the motivation for the policy?
  2. Does this motivation fit in with the student-centered mission of GSC?
  3. How is the policy in its present form not fulfilling its goal as well as possible (remember, one weakness)?
  4. How would you change the policy so that its goal could better be achieved? Why?
In your ending, you might discuss the difficulty of balancing the attempt to uphold student rights and promote student health.
To Rush or not to Rush through Your College Education
Most high school graduates consider college to be the next unavoidable hurdle to leap over to earn a good job and achieve a desirable income. As if the obstacle of a college degree were not overwhelming enough, many college students want that good job and desirable income as soon as possible. First, consider whether finishing college in the typical four-year period is as important, for you, as finishing well (or at all), especially if one of your responsibilities is to hold down a job along the way. Obsessing over the imaginary deadline of earning a bachelor’s degree in four years can cause enough stress to make the college experience dreadful. Think about what makes you want to rush, and who is making these time-limit “rules” for you.

Now here is your assignment:  Focusing on ONE source of pressure to meet this deadline, make an argument about the advantage for you of taking your college education more slowly. How would go about changing the mindset of the person (including yourself) who values finishing fast over finishing at all?

Your thesis will respond directly to the orange sentence above. In order to develop this topic, the stages of your paper will include the following:
  1. What is the mindset of the person who is pressuring you to finish college in a certain amount of time?
  2. What is your mindset, in contrast? What makes you want (or need) to take your time in school?
  3. How can you approach the first mindset in order to bring it into some kind of agreement or harmony with the second?
In your ending, you might discuss an attempt you have actually made to achieve this agreement and how it went. What if agreement cannot be achieved?
Alternative to Grades for Evaluation of Student Success in a Course
As many of you know, students are asked to fill out evaluations at the end of the semester to rate their teachers and the effectiveness of the course. This process is similar to assigning grades, but it also permits students to express their personal opinions about their teachers, often to the point of excessive praise or insult. Should teachers be permitted to do the same for their students? If grades do not always show everything there is to know about a student, should teachers fill out a more extensive evaluation of student attitude, interest level, work ethic, likeability, etc.? Would you want a teacher’s opinion of you to factor into your overall performance evaluation? Focusing on ONE possible consequence of such a system, make an argument proposing or rejecting the idea of teachers evaluating their experience with students.
Professionalism and Respect between Teachers and Students
Have you ever visited or posted a comment on RateMyProfessors.com? As a teacher, I am afraid to look at this site because it always makes me feel bad. Have you ever used the site make an informed decision about taking a class? If the site has a respectable purpose, why is there a “tamale” rating to indicate how “hot” a teacher is? Now try this thought exercise. Would you visit a website called RateMyStudents.com to see what your teachers were saying to each other about you? Would you be insulted if teachers rated your “hotness” or how smart you were or how interesting you were?

Now here is your assignment: Focusing on ONE problem, make an argument about how sites like RateMyProfessors.com (and the imaginary RateMyStudents.com) stand in the way of a more productive student-teacher relationship. How can teachers and students become more like colleagues in the pursuit of knowledge and skills?

Your thesis will respond directly to the orange sentence above. In order to develop this topic, the stages of your paper will include the following:
  1. What kind of site is RateMyProfessors.com? What is its purpose?
  2. What's the problem with it that interferes with professionalism between students and faculty?
  3. What is the remedy to this problem? Should the site be dismantled or ignored or something else?
In your ending, you might discuss how the site is only a symptom of some greater problem and not the main cause of the unprofessionalism that currently exists.
Importance of Attitude in Overcoming Academic Struggle
In my time as a student and a teacher, I have observed various attitudes toward college education. Is it a hurdle to clear on the track to a better job? Is it a growth opportunity, a challenge worth meeting for its own sake? Is it is a burden that parents force us to take on? Is it a social obligation? Is it the final frontier of positive self-image? Is it a meaningless hoop to jump through? What are some the attitudes you have observed? Which ones seem the most productive to you? Now bring your focus to your own attitude(s). Why are you here at GSC? How do you feel about the fact you are here? Where did you learn your present attitude toward education? What do you value about it?

Now here is your assignment: Focusing on ONE struggle you’ve faced as a college student, make an argument about how your attitude toward being a student played a role in overcoming that struggle? Did your attitude change as a result of the struggle?

Your thesis will respond directly to the orange sentence above. In order to develop this topic, the stages of your paper will include the following:
  1. What is the struggle? You will need examples from your experience to show the audience.
  2. What have you done to overcome this struggle? What kind of effort have you put forth?
  3. What attitude helped you make this progress? What motivated you to overcome?
In your ending, you might discuss where you are now with this struggle. What subsequent progress do you expect to make in the next few months?
Athletic Expectations Based on Gender Discrimination
Being expected to behave a particular way as a student, athlete, friend, or significant other simply because of gender can be an annoying experience. But gender expectations will remain relevant as long as we continue, right or wrong, to see differences. Some of us actually appreciate different expectations for different genders. Perhaps gender expectation differences are most notable in the world of athletics. Were you an athlete in high school? Were expectations placed on you as an athlete different from the expectations placed on athletes of the opposite sex? For instance, did you feel the need to apologize for being over-competitive or for not being competitive enough? Are toughness and grace equally valued among the two sexes?

Now here is your assignment: Focusing on ONE situation from your athletic experience, make an argument about how gender expectations prevented you from being yourself on the court or on the field. Why did you not stand up for your right to be the kind of athlete you really are?

Your thesis will respond directly to the orange sentence above. In order to develop this topic, the stages of your paper will include the following:
  1. What exactly happened in this scenario? Outline all the relevant elements of this experience. This paragraph will cover more detail than, say, your "reaching out" paragraph could.
  2. Identify the discrimination. Where exactly was the double standard enforced by someone (or yourself)?
  3. How did your behavior change as a result of violating this double standard? Did you defend yourself or give in? Why?
In your ending, you might discuss how your understanding of gender and athletics has been shaped by your experience. Is the discrimination you faced inevitable, or is there a way to prevent it?
Learning How to Learn on Your Own in College
For some students, college is a rude awakening because some college professors expect their students to discipline their own work habits and participate actively. For most students, high school, in contrast, was a walk in the park because they were never expected to turn in assignments on time or be prepared for class. In high school, the standards of being a student were much lower, and the teachers were often pushovers. Most high school students refer to their classes as easy because the teachers assign busy work, like doing worksheets and projects. Why were the assignments from teachers so easy? Why didn’t your high school teachers prepare you better for the amount of work that you would have to do in college?

Now here is your assignment: Focusing on ONE particular high school class and the teacher of that class, make an argument about how your experience underprepared you to think for yourself and manage your own learning now that you are in college. What could your teacher have done differently to make you ready for college?

Your thesis will respond directly to the orange sentence above. In order to develop this topic, the stages of your paper will include the following:
  1. What was that high school class like as a student? What kind of instruction or treatment did you receive from that teacher?
  2. In what particular way do you currently feel underprepared to manage your own learning?
  3. What is the connection between your high school teacher's instruction and your underpreparedness?
  4. What could that teacher have done differently to better prepare you to manage your own learning?
In your ending, you might discuss whether that high school teacher is completely responsible for your current struggles in college or whether your approach to learning in high school also bears some responsibility.
The Trial and Error of Persuasion an Audience
Very few of us have never tried to get what we want out of a person or a situation. One time, for example, I tried to persuade my two-year-old to pick up his Mr. Potato Head pieces and put them back in the box. I failed, at least initially--he did not do what I wanted him to do. Have you ever failed to persuade an opposing audience to adopt a line of action or a line of thinking that you thought was advantageous? What went wrong in your attempt? What strategy did you use? Why did it fail to work? Did you argue or did you fight? Did you use force or did you try to reach consensus? What’s the difference?

Now here is your assignment: Focusing on ONE situation in which your attempt at persuasion was frustrated, make an argument about how you would try differently next time. What strategy would you try and why do think it would work better?