Prof. McMahand
English Composition
·
Must contain at least three sources but no more than five (web sources must
be approved)
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Subjects must be focused, not trite, nor polarizing. Off-limits: abortion, the legal drinking age,
euthanasia, gun control, capital punishment, religion or prayer in schools,
Confederate flag, affirmative action, and stem cell research
·
Thesis must be argumentative with something to prove, a controversy
involving at least two sides. You must articulate
both but choose your own position.
Proposal (due )
·
Include your working thesis.
·
Include a brief description of two or three articles you plan to cite
in your essay.
·
Describe the position you will take and list three or four reasons
explaining why.
·
Must be a paragraph in length, typed, well edited, and polished.
·
Attach the articles to your proposal.
Introduction
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General topic
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Address Question at Issue
·
Thesis
·
Give needed background information
·
Provide reasons and claims for the position that you have chosen,
using:
Causal
connections
Facts
and Examples
Expert
Opinions
·
Point and Counterpoint. Dedicate
half a page fairly laying out the opponent’s argument and as much space
rationally countering the opposition.
Conclusion
·
Restate in different language the thesis and the major reasons.
·
Include inquiry for further study, research, or discussion.
As usual, all essays must include a correctly
formatted Works Cited page following the text as well as the proper citation of
quotes within the text. Place your final drafts, rough drafts, peer
edits, prewriting, and research (highlighted) in an envelope or folder.
Essay Topics
Many of these controversies are extremely current and on-going in their
development. Therefore, much, if not
all, of your research will come from newspapers, weekly periodicals, and
on-line journals. Do not rely on blogs
or other personalized webpages. Also
note that several topics contain subtopics that could stand alone as the focus
of your research and argument. Lastly, bear in mind that some issues—like
nationalized healthcare—are micro-spatial and contain more subset issues that I
can possibly list here. Be open to new
angles and avenues in determining the focus of your research and argument.
1. the ethics of the pornography industry
*(How) should the government
track or regulate the porn industry?
*Does porn damage or enable its
subjects and viewers?
*What (if any) porn is
protected free speech?
2. gender assignment for (infant) intersex people
*At what age should a parent or
doctor assign gender to a child with ambiguous genitalia?
3. the ethics of the U. S. Patriot Act
*Argue for or against
wire-tapping and Internet tracking
*Weigh the loss of privacy and
civil liberties against the pursuit of public safety and national security
4. Foucaultean tracking devices/parental tracking devices
*Do parents have the right to
track their teenaged children?
5. environmental racism
*What (if any) restitution
should go to impoverished (often minority) communities impacted by undue corporate
environmental violations?
6. California’s Proposition 8: banning same sex marriage—should
the overturning be reversed and for what reasons?
7. gay parent adoption—should the Catholic Church and
other religious organizations be forced to consider gay parents as adoption
candidates? Consider all angles of
discrimination.
8.
California’s Proposition 19: legalizing marijuana—should the ban be
overturned and
for what
reasons?
9. federal
funding for National Endowment of the Arts (NEA)
10. the national homeless crisis
11. pro-anorexia movement
*Do pro-ana
websites deserve the same protection under the First Amendment as
other
forms of protected speech?
12. racial profiling in police work and national
security
*Weigh
individual rights against public safety.
13. mainstreaming special needs children—consequences and
drawbacks
14. alternative high schools for marginal populations—gay
students and “at risk” students
15. hate crime legislation for racial and sexual
minorities
16. single race specification for multiracial
individuals
17. body dysmorphia in males and females
18. hazing and bullying in high school and college—focus on
bullying OR hazing
*Suggest a series of solutions
for the epidemic spread of bullying and teen suicides
*Should federal, state, or local governments enact
anti-cyber-bullying laws?
*Is cyber-bullying protected free speech?
*How responsible are teachers, administrators, and
other students in hazing cases?
* How responsible are teachers, administrators, and
other students in hazing cases?
19. the sexual exploitation of women by pop and hip hop music videos,
mass media,
and tabloid journalism
20. cyber-sex predatorialism—prosecution and policies regarding
Internet pedophiles
*Should the government outlaw
web cams for children?
*To what extent should we
hold teenagers culpable for participating in or producing
Internet pornography?— i.e. the Justin Berry
case
*To what extent should
parents pay punitively for the actions of their porn-producing
children?
*How far should the law hold
teens responsible in “sexting” cases?
21. post-Katrina controversy
*the remaking of certain
neighborhoods and sections in New Orleans
*the displacement of New
Orleans’ poor
22. Illegal Immigration (in
particular the influx of and resistance to Latinos)
*Weigh in on Arizona’s new
anti-illegal immigration law
23. legalization of prostitution
24. Internet brides from third
world nations—Is this practice an advanced form of
international dating or sex trafficking?
25. argumentative solutions for
the methamphetamine (meth) crisis
26. bug chasing, the ethical and
legal consequences
27. the controversial plight of
Native Americans on reservations—restitution or more
Casinos?
28. national debate on health
care reform
*the constitutionality of
the Obama comprehensive healthcare law
*should employers opt out
of providing certain benefits such as for contraception and
abortion because of religious objections. Consider all angles of discrimination.
29. disclosure of sex offenders
in any given community
*Does the sex registry
prevent sex-offenders from re-entering the mainstream?
*Does the registry go far
enough in protecting children and other potential victims?
30. No child left behind—why many
states are reassessing and breaking with the policy