EH 102 Assignments

Research Summary 1

Assignment Overview: Write a short paper, about 600 words, summarizing a specific source you discovered in your research. Put your name in the top left hand corner and list the author's name and the full citation information of the piece you're summarizing (MLA or APA style--see Everything's An Argument chapter 20 or via the MLA Documentation link on the course website's main page).

Specifics: Offer a concise but thorough summary of the position this source is advocating. Stay as close to the text as possible, quoting the author's exact words at times to tie both you and your readers to the original text itself—cite page numbers for any quotations in parentheses after the quote (just the page numbers; no pp. or p.). Your aim is to hand over to your readers your understanding of WHAT this text is arguing for. Phrases such as "Smith argues/notes/explains," or "according to Bell," etc. will help you designate what is called intellectual property. You will not have room to cover all the points an author makes, so you will need to synthesize the information for us, tell us what position the author is advocating and then offer quotes from the text itself to demonstrate (to show us) that the author is arguing what you say s/he's arguing. DO NOT offer your own comments, opinions, or arguments about what the text says, and do not offer a rhetorical analysis of the writing. Stick to content: what is the author saying in this text? What position is s/he advocating?

Research Summary 2

Assignment Overview: Write a short paper, about 700 words, summarizing and then briefly rhetorically analyzing a specific source you discovered in your research. You should find a piece that we have not used in class already. Put your name in the top left hand corner and list the author's name and the full citation information of the piece you're summarizing (MLA or APA style--see Everything's An Argument chapter 20 or via the MLA Documentation link on the course website's main page).

Summary Section: The first three quarters of the paper should be a concise but thorough summary of the position this source is advocating, as in Research Summary 1.

Comments Section: In the last quarter of the paper, briefly analyze the rhetorical approach of this piece (textually and contextually). Think about the potential audience of the piece. For instance, if you were analyzing an article from the Wall Street Journal you might assume a largely conservative (sharing conservative versus liberal views on politics, etc.) and moderately-informed audience. How does the article's evidence work to convince its audience of its argument? Who does the text quote? What studies does it refer to in trying to convince the reader of its claims? Who is the author and what do we know about him/her? You might also point to connections between what this text is arguing for and what other texts you've read in your research are arguing for—how do they intersect and/or differ?

Essay 1: Mapping Controversy Positions

Your purpose in this essay (1500-1800 words) is to map out the various positions (arguments) made by experts within your chosen controversy, stating clearly what those positions are, describing each in some detail, and then highlighting the relationships among them. Each of the different positions within your controversy should be represented by at least one argumentative article (found in an academic journal, a magazine, a newspaper, a book chapter, etc.). A true controversy goes beyond mere binary arguments of yes/no, do/do not, pro/con. A controversy will have at least 3 and hopefully 4 or 5 possible argument positions. For example, within the controversy over factory farming, one might advocate for it because:

1) factory farms allow for a more controllable product, which leads to genetically superior livestock and produce and more oversight concerning the safe production and handling of food prior to its going to market

2) factory farms maximize the country's resources, meeting huge demands by producing huge numbers of product (both livestock and produce) and heading off any food crisis given frequent population surges

3) the mass production-mentality of factory farms keeps food prices down and, in the end, helps the lower classes who could not afford locally produced meat and produce nor products of the emerging organic market as a whole

These are just three positions (all advocating) under the controversy of factory farms. There are certainly more. You'll want to find a true controversy that is comprised of multiple argumentative positions.

DO NOT simply construct an informative report on the topic itself. Your job here is to illustrate what the experts are saying about the topic. DO NOT—no way, no how—present your own views on the topic. If this is really a controversy, there are several legitimate positions possible, and your job is to articulate each position.

One way to maintain a neutral ethos in this paper is to give each "side" an equal opportunity to present its position from its own perspective. Be sure to attribute statements to their original speakers or organizations: phrases such as "According to. . ." and "As argued by. . ." along with verbs that indicate that someone has stated a particular position, such as argues, advocates, asserts and contends will indicate that the argument you are presenting is not necessarily your own (see the templates for attribution in the handout from the text They Say/I Say).

Your audience for this essay will be concerned and interested but not particularly informed citizens who are looking to you to provide an unbiased lay of the land.

Recommendations: In the opening paragraph or two (at the most), you'll want to sketch out the basics of this controversy for your audience and offer a sense of its significance. For example, you may want to explain what events turned this issue into a controversy, who this controversy affects, how the outcome of the controversy may affect them, and why this controversy is important to others (why should anyone else care?).

In the following pages, you'll need to accomplish both of the following:

1. describe the positions ranging across the entire field of the controversy. These may include various proposed solutions to the controversy (what we should do to fix the problem) or the various positions concerning some sub-topic within the controversy (i.e., assuming we do accept that marijuana has medicinal purposes, for example, in what cases or by what guidelines should its use be considered legal?).

2. indicate the points of intersection and diversion among these positions. One position may focus on a particular segment of the population while another focuses on "all Americans." Another position might argue for several possible solutions while another may focus on the feasibility of one specific solution, while both advocate for immediate action to be taken. Note some of the similarities and differences.

Don't forget to document your sources according to the MLA or APA documentation guides found in Chapter 20 of Everything's An Argument or via the MLA Documentation link on the course website's main page.

Minimum Requirements (For a C or above, your essay must):

-Be 1500-1800 words long, typed, double-spaced; have 1-inch margins and name, class, date at the top left corner of the first page with title centered two lines below the date

-Strategically and effectively incorporate at least four quality sources (this means that you can justify the quality of information in the piece, as well as the ethos of the author/journal/site; beware of citing random blogs and other forms of informal media)

-Summarize all positions fairly, without advocating or slanting

-Document all sources accurately (in-text and on Works Cited page) according to MLA or APA style guides

-Be written effectively and coherently, with few errors in grammar or mechanics

-Be turned in on time

Essay 2: Stasis Argument

For this essay of 1200-1500 words, you will choose to write an essay within one of the genres of argument you have studied over the course of EH 101 and EH 102. You may write an argument of fact, definition, cause, evaluation, or proposal. Whichever form you choose, you should engage a particular audience within your controversy. You must employ four sources for this essay. These can be drawn from your work on essay one, or you may which to find additional sources as you work towards your final Research Essay.

Don't forget to document all your sources according to the MLA documentation.

Minimum Requirements

For a C or above, your essay must:

-Be 1200-1500 words long, typed, double-spaced; have 1-inch margins and name, class, date at the top left corner of the first page with title centered two lines below the date

-Clearly engage in one of the genres of argument

-Employ at least four secondary sources within your argument

-Document all sources accurately (in-text and on Works Cited page) according to MLA or APA style guides

-Be written effectively and coherently, with very few punctuation or grammatical errors

-Be turned in on time

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Argument Abstract

In this assignment, you will compose a brief abstract of around 300 words that looks forward to your argument for the final Research Essay. Academic abstracts take many forms. You might consider following the "parts of argument" model we've look at several times in class. Each part might consist of one sentence or half-sentence in a short abstract:

1) Introduction of the argument

    • Example or situational: “A tiny village in Ethiopia loses ten percent of its population each year to complications of malnourishment or simple starvation…”
    • Critical introduction: “Scientists and politicians continue to assert the necessary use of genetically modified seed in African nations struggling to produce consistent foods stores for their populations…”

2) Lacuna (space or gap in the current argument conversation); the “But” statement

    • response to the example/situation: “Yet, the deaths in this village from apparent lack of food fail to capture the complexities of food crises in Africa, complexities driven by politics, tribal warfare, and absent infrastructures, none of which might be solved through the introduction of genetically modified seeds.”
    • response to the critical introduction: “These scientists and politicians, fail to understand, however, that the food crises in African nations are in most cases not the result of an inability to consistently grow food; rather, politics, tribal warfare, and a lack of working infrastructure contribute significantly to food shortages.”

3) Methodology

    • Explain very briefly how you will approach the problem
    • “By examining both the approaches by African farmers already in place in Ethiopia that are spurring a significant growth in food output and the inherent dangers present in the use of genetically modified seeds…..”

4) Thesis

    • “In this essay, I will argue that genetically modified seeds are not the answer to Africa’s food crises.”

5) Payoff

    • Explain what your audience’s acceptance of your argument might mean for the larger controversy (moving forward or putting the controversy to rest altogether).
    • “If we finally agree that we should stop pushing these technologies on third-world farmers, then we can devote our energies to fixing the real problems as best we can, starting with pressing local governments to improve political stability and infrastructure. Then, African farmers can safely and efficiently produce food to feed their own countrymen.”

Research Essay

General

In this persuasive essay, about 1500-1800 words, you will situate yourself within the "map" of positions on your controversy that you constructed in Essay 1 and produce an argument that advocates a particular position using the persuasive strategies analyzed and studied throughout the semester. As you did in Essay 2, you may choose to craft a particular genre of argument (fact, definition, causal, evaluative, proposal), but this genre must differ from Essay 2. When crafting your essay, it is important to acknowledge and answer opposing viewpoints (even those of the positions you "mapped" in Essay 1). One rhetorical strategy that must be evident in your argument, therefore, is rebuttal. You must demonstrate an understanding of other positions (with which you should be familiar after Essays 1 and 2) along with the ability to place your argument in dialogue with these positions. This is your chance to place your voice in conversations with the voices you've researched and analyzed in previous papers. You should employ at least 8 sources as you make your argument. Also, to aid your own sense of rhetorical strategy for your argument, you should name a specific audience. Tell me whether you intend your argument to be, for example, an op-ed, a letter to a congressman, a formal report, etc. This will then dictate the audience you have in mind and, consequently, the rhetorical strategies and the kinds of evidence you use.

Specifics: It is important to begin this paper by establishing the landscape or “map” of positions within your controversy. This is effectively a shortened version (1-2 paragraphs) of Paper 1, or what we typically refer to as a "critical review" or "literature review." You should then look to explain what these arguments have missed/overlooked/misread/misunderstood or why their arguments are fallible and/or narrow. After this, you should state your own position and begin offering proof that supports your argument. It will be important, in explaining your own position, to tell your audience why your position matters (or why it is significant) given the arguments that already exist and the nature/context of the controversy. Depending on the kind of position you take, you may also need to consider feasibility and implementation of your proposed solutions (if this is the type of argument you make).

You may consider as argument models some of the sources you found particularly compelling in constructing Essays 1 and 2. Look at their organization, tone, and style. Will such a form work for your argument? Also consider your own audience. You should declare an audience for your argument. To whom are you writing? Where would your argument appear in print? List your audience(s) below your title on the first page of Essay 3.

Minimum Requirements

For a C or above, each essay will:

-Be 1500-1800 words, double-spaced; have 1-inch margins and name, class, date at the top left corner of the first page with title centered two lines below the date

-use at least 8 sources within the argument

-Document all sources accurately (in-text and on Works Cited page) according to the MLA style guide

-Be written effectively and coherently, with very few punctuation or grammatical errors

-Be turned in on time