Argumentative Paper:

Argumentative Paper:

This paper is an exercise in not only your argumentative skills, but your ability to follow directions. You will be heavily penalized if you do not follow the instructions on this sheet.

Format:

Your paper is to be a minimum 5 full pages long (not 4 and 1/4….) For full formatting instructions see the grading rubric attached. There is no maximum page length.

Your paper should be argumentative in nature. That is it should be focusing on supporting your thesis. If 4 pages of your paper is not devoted to constructing an argument that supports your position, then it is not argumentative in nature. Don’t TELL me about your topic, ARGUE that this is the correct thing to believe. If your paper is non-argumentative, you are not completing the assignment correctly, and you shouldn’t expect a passing grade on your paper.

You must include at least 4 sources in your bibliography… You must have at minimum 3 sources that are not from the internet, or that appear in a printed version. (e.g. the Mercury News is a printed paper, so you can use a news article from their website as a non-internet source.)

Your bibliography will be evaluated as part of your paper. So be sure your sources are credible sources.

You must include both sides of the issue in your paper. This is not a Pro-Con paper where you simply present both sides of the issue and at the end say which side you favor. You will need to bring up objections to your argument, and then respond to these objections.

Your research should help you to find arguments in support of your position, find arguments that are against your position, and responses to those arguments. Don’t skip doing the research. Your paper will undoubtedly sound silly and uneducated if you skip researching your subject.

Sub assignment:

For Example:

Thesis: Voluntary Active Euthanasia is immoral because it forces doctors to step beyond their medical abilities and treat a patient’s values, not their illness, and ultimately makes life less valuable.

a. First I ‘ll explain and define what Active Euthanasia is, and that I am not talking about Non-voluntary Euthanasia.

b. In my first argument I’ll examine what a doctor’s role is. Doctors are healers, and euthanasia is not a kind of healing, but quite the opposite it is a killing. The role of a healer is not to kill the patient but to heal the patient.

c. In my second argument I’ll show how asking for a doctor’s assistance in euthanasia goes beyond treating a medical condition, but one of treating a patient’s values. Medical doctors are not specialists in treating a person’s values. If people don’t share certain common values then people will not agree with the decisions made from those values. Doctors are being forced to accept or reject a patient’s evaluation of what a valuable life is.

1. We wouldn’t base treatment on whether or not a person is a Republican or a Democrat, why should we base euthanasia on similar value judgments?

d. If life can be just given up, then it makes life less valuable.

e. Objections:

1. People are autonomous individuals, and have the right to make medical decisions for themselves. Because of this Self-determination quality, people should be able to decide whether or not they live or die, especially when facing a terminal illness that causes a lot of pain and suffering.

2. People are treated for their values all the time. Birth Control is an example of a value judgment, that doctors must also accept and go along with.

3. Doctors are not all healers, some doctors like Plastic Surgeons are not healing anything in particular, but are altering people’s bodies to conform with their value judgment of what is beautiful.

F. Response:

1. Self-Determination is not an unlimited right. We limit people’s self determination all the time in various ways. We don’t let others kill other people. We don’t let others commit suicide just because they are upset over a girlfriend or boyfriend. This is because life itself is valuable, and the loss of it, willing or unwilling is always something to be avoided.

2. Birth control is not ending a life, it prevents one from being created in the first place.

3. Plastic Surgery for shallow reasons like appearance is wrong for the same reasons as euthanasia is wrong.

(This is not a complete outline… but it’s a very good start.)

Your outline will comprise 5% of your paper’s final grade.

Possible issues include: Is the use of “chemical castration” for repeat sex offenders acceptable? Should neonatal circumcision be banned? Should prostitution be legalized? Is it morally acceptable to genetically engineer human beings? Should doping be allowed in sport? Examine a problematic aspect of informed consent, and argue for a particular solution.

No papers on euthanasia, abortion, gay marriage, or legalization of marijuana. These topics are tired and overused.

All paper topics that are not on this list must be cleared with me first. Topics that are not cleared with me first may get an F.

Paper checklist

Double space. Don’t skip lines between paragraphs. Don’t quote excessively. Don’t include biographies/history lessons Don’t make fallacious arguments Avoid using rhetoric

Write in a formal tone Use spell check, and proofread your paper. Define technical, important, and/or unfamiliar terms. Write clearly, avoid airy academic language Don’t repeat yourself. Don’t cheat.

· **** 1 inch margins. 12 point font Times New Roman. (Other fonts are bigger…. If they are bigger, then reduce the font size.) Your paper will be marked down ( possibly significantly ) if these are not followed. You will need to change the default positions of your margins in most programs to get this.

· Don’t put your paper in a binder, folder, etc. A single staple in the left corner is fine.

· Avoid examples. Examples exemplify something…. They don’t argue for something. Keep examples short, and don’t use them to make your paper longer.

· Include a cover page. Don’t include any kind of heading on the first page of your paper. Don’t skip down a quarter of a page to begin your paper. Cover pages don’t count towards your page limit.

· Don’t Justify your margins.

· Have a thesis in your introductory paragraph. Your thesis is the main idea or the point that you’re trying to make in the paper. Don’t let the reader “discover” your position as you go .

· EVERY PARAGRAPH should be somehow related to your thesis. If it isn’t, it’s irrelevant and should be deleted. EVERY PARAGRAPH should have a main idea, and only one main idea.

· JUSTIFY YOUR POSITION! Give me arguments to believe what you’re saying. Do not simply say, “I think abortion is wrong.” Tell me WHY you think it is wrong. Leave out your opinions (I feel… I believe… I think…) . Include your justified positions. A List of facts is not an argument. What conclusions should the reader draw from them?

· DEFEND YOUR POSITION! If you say abortion is wrong, then tell me why other people might think you’re wrong. Then tell me why you think that they are wrong. Raise objections to your position, and respond to them. Do not commit the straw man fallacy of oversimplifying or neglecting to mention important opposing arguments.

· Single Space and indent on both sides, extended quotations (Quotations longer than 3 lines)

When you quote, explain the quotation. What does it mean? How does it relate to your thesis? Single space lists. Put charts, graphs and pictures at the end of your paper as a reference, they do not count towards your page count.

· Don’t ask questions in your paper. If you answer the question, then asking the question is pointless. If you don’t, then the reader may not answer it the way you want them to.

· Don’t give anecdotal evidence or use case studies (stories about yourself your friends etc.) An example can disprove generalizations but not much else. (These are rules of thumb. Use caution when breaking them.)

· Use only substantial references in your bibliography. Don’t cite reference books like dictionaries, encyclopedias, or the Bible.[footnoteRef:0] [0: ]

· Don’t cite the full address of a website in your paper, cite it only in your bibliography . Other sources that won’t count in your bibliography are books and articles that contributed little or nothing to your essay. Don’t just make a list of books and think it will pass for a bibliography.

· Go beyond what we have discussed in class. Expand on topics we have covered in class, or look at issues and theories from different aspects than what we have done in class. Don’t just repeat what was said in lecture, or make the same arguments that are found in your readings.

· The rest of your paper will be graded on the quality of your arguments, the quality of the objections to your position, the quality of your bibliography, the depth of understanding of your chosen issue, your ability to integrate material you’ve learned in class into your paper, the critical evaluation of your own position and opposing viewpoints, and overall composition of your paper