Below is a list of current topics people are debating. What do "they say" about the topic? Do you agree, disagree, or are you conflicted? How would you go about taking, strengthening, or defending a position?
Social media needs stronger governmental regulation in the U.S.
College tuition should be free at public universities.
Fossil fuel companies should pay climate reparations for climate change.
Your response should be 100-200 words.
Choose one of the three readings from the Reading List below. Using the templates from Chapter 1 of They Say / I Say, consider the following:
1. What is the conversation the author is participating in? Is this an ongoing debate?
2. What is the author’s position, opinion, or argument? In other words, what do “they say?”
3. Does the author rely on standard views or assumptions? Does the author have specialized knowledge or a privileged perspective?
4. Do you share the author’s position?
In total, your essay should be between 200 and 300 words.
Reading List
1. Liz Cheney’s “Prologue” to Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning. The prologue can be read for free on Google Books. The audiobook is available on Audible; the prologue is available as the free preview.
2. Charles M. Blow’s op-ed “Tennessee and the Anti-Drag Race” in the New York Times.
3. William Brangham’s news story “How mental health experts are handling the Israel-Hamas war’s lasting impact on children” for PBS NewsHour.
Format
Your essay must be a Microsoft Word doc attachment. The margins must be one inch. The font should be Times New Roman, 12 pt. The document should be double-spaced.
Choose one of the three readings from the reading list below. Using the templates on page 42 as a guide, summarize the author’s position. Use verbs from pages 43-44 to help you summarize the author’s position. Then, start a new paragraph with a sentence or two that shifts the argument to your view. Your own view can be disagreement, but it can also be agreement that intends to build upon or extend the author’s argument. (“However, we must also look at...”) DO NOT FLESH YOUR ARGUMENT OUT, THOUGH. The point here is to make sure the way you summarize the article connects to the position you yourself would make. In total, your summary should be between 150 and 200 words.
Reading List
Kate Marvel’s op-ed “I’m a Climate Scientist. I’m not Screaming into the Void Anymore.” for the New York Times.
John McWhorter’s op-ed “College Became the Default. Let’s Rethink That.” for the New York Times.
Amy Goodman’s story “Texas Woman Denied Abortion for Nonviable Fetus, Flees State, ‘One of Thousands’ in Similar Position” for Democracy Now!
Format
Your submission must be a Microsoft Word doc attachment. The margins must be one inch. The font should be Times New Roman, 12 pt. The document should be double-spaced.
Choose one of the three readings from the Reading List below. Using the templates on pages 51-52 and the sample on pages 52-53 as a guide, summarize one of the author’s points with a “quotation sandwich.” Pick a quote that you could use to support your own hypothetical argument (either because you agree or disagree with the author). Then, state the author’s position, introduce the quotation, quote the author, and explain he quotation. Follow with a couple of sentences that further connect the “quotation sandwich” to your own hypothetical argument, your own point of view. DO NOT FLESH YOUR ARGUMENT OUT. The point here is to make sure that you summarize and quote the author in such a way that it connects to the position you yourself would make if you were writing a longer paper. In total, your short essay should be between 150 and 250 words.
Reading List
Tressie McMillan Cottom’s op-ed “This Economy Has Bigger Problems Than ‘Bad Vibes’” for the New York Times.
Tal Fortgang’s op-ed “Blocking the Road is Civil Terrorism” for the Wall Street Journal.
Zeba Warsi’s story “Investigation finds sexual assault claims against immigration officials routinely ignored” for PBS NewsHour.
Format
Your submission must be a Microsoft Word doc attachment. The margins must be one inch. The font should be Times New Roman, 12 pt. The document should be double-spaced.
Pick one of the previous essays you’ve written for this class. Using the templates and samples in Chapter 4 (pp. 57-71) as guides, respond to one of those arguments. What is your argument in response to theirs? The point here is to articulate a position that somehow uses one of the arguments in the articles from Essays 1, 2, or 3. In total, your short essay should be between 150 and 250 words.
Format
Your submission must be a Microsoft Word doc attachment. The margins must be one inch. The font should be Times New Roman, 12 pt. The document should be double-spaced.
Choose one of the three readings from the Reading List below. Using the lessons learned in Essays 1-4 (Chapters 1-4), you will summarize the author’s position and respond with your own. Your summary of what “They say” should include a quotation, and your own response (your “I say”) should clearly agree, disagree, or agree and disagree simultaneously. As learned in Chapter 5, there should also be a very clear distinction between what they say and what you say. In total, your short essay should be between 300 and 500 words.
Reading List
Yuval Noah Harari’s keynote address “AI and the Future of Humanity” for the Frontiers Forum.
Adam Grant’s chapter “Diamonds in the Rough: Discovering Uncut Gems in Job Interviews and College Admissions” in Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things. (Note: Fordham provides access to this book through EBSCO. You can also listen to the chapter on Audible.)
Michele L. Norris’s op-ed “Our true feelings about race and identity are revealed in six words” for the Washington Post. (Note: The author also reads an audio version of the article at this link.)
Format
Your submission must be a Microsoft Word doc attachment. The margins must be one inch. The font should be Times New Roman, 12 pt. The document should be double-spaced.
In class, we went over the CRAAP Test for evaluating sources. Is the source current? Is it relevant? Does the source have authority? Is it accurate? What is the purpose of the source? We’ve also read sources that pass the CRAAP test as well as one that didn’t (although we found a way to make that source useful).
We’ve been reading about humanities education and the liberal arts. We’ve summarized authors that argue for new methods to teach the humanities as well as authors that warn that soon these types of educations will soon only be available to the wealthiest in the U.S. As a group, I want you to keep this broad topic in mind: the state (or decline) of the humanities/liberal arts education today.
Last week, we also posed a question: Is the current state of a liberal arts education, particularly one that focuses on the humanities, detrimental to current students? How, if at all, will this affect them? We then zeroed in on both practical and conceptual problems that arise from this question. There are current conditions, and there are consequences to those conditions. With this in mind, we can begin to conduct research. We can begin to find solutions. (Remember, though, you do not have to go into your research with a solution in mind. Your research can simply help you understand the problem.)
Assignment
After our introduction to the library's resources, you will divide into groups of four. As a group, you will need to find four sources. These can be articles, databases, book chapters, or some other form of media. At least two of the sources, however, must be scholarly. By scholarly, I mean they must be in a peer-reviewed academic journal, on an official database, or from a scholarly publisher (in the case of a book).
Summarize your four sources. What is the argument? What is the evidence? What are the implications? Provide a citation for each source, and follow each citation with a summary of the source in question.
Pick a citation style: MLA, APA, or Chicago. Your annotated bibliography must contain at least four sources, and those references/sources must conform to one of these citation styles. Refer to the Owl Purdue Annotated Bibliography Guide. The annotation for each of your sources must summarize, but they must also assess, reflect, or assess and reflect (at least two of the three possible parts). If you use one of the articles from class for your four sources, that annotation must summarize, assess, and reflect (all three parts). Use the samples provided on the Owl Purdue site as a guide. At least one of your sources must also be from a scholarly journal, database, or book.
The point here is to find (research) and consider sources for your final essay.
In total, your final annotated bibliography should be between 800 and 1,200 words.
The initial draft of your annotated bibliography must have at least two sources, but the final submission must have all four.
Format
Your annotated bibliography must be a Microsoft Word doc attachment. The margins must be one inch. The font should be Times New Roman, 12 pt. The document should be double-spaced.
Based on the topic you’ve selected for your final paper and the research you conducted for your annotated bibliography, write a working abstract. This working abstract will serve as a guide for the structure and message of your final paper as you write it. Use this essay by Philip Koopman as a guide as well as the video by Tom Nicholas that we watched in class. Your working abstract should contain five parts: 1) Motivation, 2) Problem Statement, 3) Approach, 4) Results (Nicholas' Conclusion), and 5) Conclusion (Nicholas’ Impact).
The point here is to think narratively before you outline. Working abstracts are often written before the actual paper for conferences, journal submissions, fellowships, and scholarships. Once you’ve done research, you think about the overall story that you want to tell, and in a few sentences, you describe how and why you’re telling it. That is your working abstract. In total, your working abstract should be between 150 and 250 words.
Format
Your working abstract must be a Microsoft Word doc attachment. The margins must be one inch. The font should be Times New Roman, 12 pt. The document should be double-spaced
Building upon the research you conducted for your annotated bibliography and the argument you want to make as you described in your working abstract, you will now produce a working outline.
The introduction to your working outline must define the problem, topic, or issue you’re addressing. (This is the conversation you’re entering.) The introduction must also define your (working) thesis. This is your argument. Each body paragraph/section of your outline must have a complete topic sentence (often claims or propositions) and two or three ideas (reasons and evidence) about how you’ll unpack that point. Your conclusion section should include a summary statement and restate your thesis, but also begin to think about the main takeaway for your reader.
In total, your working outline should be 1-2 pages long.
Format
Your working outline must be a Microsoft Word doc attachment. The margins must be one
inch. The font should be Times New Roman, 12 pt. The document should be double-spaced.
Consider the arguments in the media we’ve examined for class this semester. Building upon what “they say” in one of those pieces, you will write an essay arguing your own position, responding to that conversational topic. Or, using the lessons we’ve learned, you may choose a topic or issue more in line with your interests. You must, however, join an ongoing conversation, one you can research. You must have a clear research question or problem for which you are trying to present a solution. You should strive to make your argument as compelling and clear as possible for a general audience, an audience already engaging with the articles/publications you’re using.
In addition to one of the pieces of media we’ve examined for class, you should use at least four other sources – at least five total. You should already have four from your Annotated Bibliography, and one must be scholarly (peer-reviewed journals, academic publishers, or research institutes). As you read each these other sources, think about which ideas you can disagree and counter, agree with and build upon, or some combination thereof. Look for quotations and data you can use to strengthen your argument. This will help you craft claims, supported by reasons and evidence, which is the scaffolding for your own thesis or argument. With your Working Abstract in hand, you have an idea of the story you want to tell. With your Working Outline in hand, you have a rough scaffold for your paper, so you are ready to draft!
Using the rhetorical lessons from class, consider how you’ll introduce your argument in a compelling way. How will you introduce and characterize others’ ideas, particularly your naysayers? Make sure you connect your ideas clearly with words and phrases that keep those ideas in focus; transitions are crucial! Conclude your argument with an if/then scenario, call to action, or another rhetorical device.
Format
Your drafts must be a Google doc shared with me and your peer reviewers, but the final submission must be a Microsoft Word doc attachment. The margins must be one inch. The font should be Times New Roman, 12 pt. The document should be double-spaced. The final paper should be between 8 and 10 pages long.
Drafts
The first draft will be shared with just me, and it should be 1-2 pages.
The second draft (1-2 additional pages, a minimum of 2 total pages for this draft) must be sent to me and your Second Draft Group with editing or commenting permissions so that groups can comment within two days of receipt.
The third draft (1-2 additional pages, a minimum of 3 total pages for this draft) must be sent to me and your Third Draft Group (a new group!) with editing or commenting permissions so that groups can comment within two days of receipt.
The fourth draft (1-2 additional pages, a minimum of 4 total pages for this draft) must be sent to me and your Fourth Draft Group (yet again a new group!) with editing or commenting permissions so that groups can comment within two days of receipt.
Your final paper (6-8 pages) is due a week after the fourth draft.