The Assignment:
Writing
100 / fall 2014 / Darling
Argument Paper Assignment
Write a paper on one of the following topics,
developing a thesis that specifically presents a point or argument you want to
make. Consider framing your thesis in terms of one of the questions or focusing
suggestions listed under the topics and then develop a clearly articulated
position within that context. You may use up to three sources to supplement
your argument, including any readings we have done in class, any other essays
from The Impossible Will Take a Little
While, or other outside texts.
Education
Frederick
Douglass and Martin Luther King, Jr. both write (explicitly or more implicitly)
about the difference between basic literacy and critical literacy or education
in a wider sense. Critical education is about using literacy and other tools to
gain knowledge and have a deeper understanding about world events or issues.
Think about developing a thesis that addresses one of the following: What is
the difference between basic literacy and critical literacy or education, and
why is this important? What is the role of education in relation to oppression
and/or social change? How do Douglass and King’s notions about education
translate or apply to discussion of education in our contemporary world?
Hope
Think
about how Cornel West defines “hope.” What about MLK? What is hope in these
terms and why is it important philosophically, and in reality? How does it
function in historical examples and why is it important in our contemporary
world?
Social Change
Think
about the relationship between the “Individual” and “Society.” How do these
relate to social change? (And what does one mean when one talks about “social
change”?) What roles and responsibilities does the individual have in relation
to the social? How do education and hope, among other things, play important
roles in terms of social change? What kinds of social change do we need in our
(city, state, country) world today and how might that come about?
The requirements for this paper include:
Focus: keep the essay focused so that the reader can follow (don’t try to
include too many experiences or ideas, but focus on a particular experience or
idea and use this to elaborate some deeper messages/ideas, for example).
Develop a thesis statement that focuses the overall argument you want to make
but that doesn’t try to do too much in a single sentence (eg. think about
working the thesis into the introduction in a way that focuses the argument
clearly and effectively).
Organization: organize the order and presentation of
information so that the paper is interesting, effective, and accessible (easy
to follow).
Development: work with your informative support,
examples, and evidence as well as your own reflection, narration, commentary,
and experience to develop the points and ideas throughout in a
creative/thoughtful and textured piece of writing.
Coherence: from beginning to end, within individual paragraphs, and at the level
of individual sentences.
Due Dates:
Argument Proposal (one paragraph summary of the argument you
will present in the paper) and Outline of
paper structure
Draft Due: Due in class at least 6 pages plus bibliography page with
sources
Times
New Roman, 12pt, double-spaced throughout
Final Revised Due: 7-8 pages
Include two
or three sources, formatted in MLA Style within the body of the paper as well
as on a bibliography page at the end of the paper
Add a
one page reflection after the bibliography page: Discuss your writing process
and anything you learned about yourself, the world, the writing and
construction of an argument/thesis-focused paper that you didn’t know before.
Times
New Roman, 12pt, double-spaced throughout
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