Assignment 1: LASA 2—Critiquing an Article

In Module 4 Assignment 2, you were asked to provide your impressions of Peter Singer’s article “America’s Shame.” Now, you will compose a researched response to this article. This assignment allows you to assess and defend the reasonableness of your personal beliefs through critical assessment of Singer’s arguments and the presentation of your own, original arguments about the subject using the tools of evaluation you have learned throughout the course.

Assignment Overview:

For this assignment, assume that you have been asked to present a PowerPoint presentation at your local community center about the topics of world poverty and education. You have decided to use Peter Singer’s article as the starting point of your presentation. As you craft your presentation you will need to:

• Present the major claims of Singer.
• Present your own original argument offering thoughtful solutions to real-world problems.
• Back up your argument with outside research.

Here is the link to the article by Singer: "America's Shame" from The Chronicle of Higher Education. 55(27), B6–B10. (EBSCO AN 37137370).

Assignment Details:

• Develop a 12–15-slide presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Include two additional slides—one for the title and the other for a References page.
• Bullet points are acceptable, but use complete sentences throughout the presentation.

Be sure to include the following:

• Describe the portions of Singer’s article you seek to engage/critique.
• Clearly state your own argument/thesis in response.
  • Remember, the nature of the stance is not important; you can agree or disagree with any point Singer makes in the article. The important thing is for you to construct a stance that clearly engages Singer’s position. Include properly cited examples from the article.
  • As you advance your own thesis, be sure to include your position on how to address the problems that Singer discusses in his article. Again, you may agree or disagree with Singer; however, be sure to offer your own solutions to the issue of world poverty, as discussed by Singer.
• Support your argument with the use of original research.
  • Use at least three credible, academic resources to support your positions.
  • These should be sources other than Singer's "America's Shame" article.
• Apply APA standards to citation of sources. 

Name your file LastnameFirstInitial_M5_A1.ppt.and submit it to the M5: Assignment 1 Dropbox by Week 5, Day 5.

You may use this Presentation Design Checklist to help you create an effective and visually appealing presentation.

Use this APA Citation Helper as a guide for citing your sources.

Assignment 1 Grading Criteria	Maximum Points
Summarize portions of Singer’s article that you wish to engage/critique.	40
Utilize tools of evaluation to create an original argument that engages Singer’s text in a way that is productive and advances your own thesis.	80
Apply research to engage Singer through the effective use of supportive evidence.	120
Presentation Components: Organization (16) Style (8) Usage and Mechanics (16) APA Elements (20)	60
Total:	300