essayy 2 gun control

Hey, Writers!

Today is a good day to choose a  specific topic for Essay 2 because you’ll need a rough draft for the  peer review we are doing in our next class ( Tuesday 11/8). So I’m writing to emphasize the importance of choosing a topic that is  narrow and specific. Avoid writing about issues like music or fashion or video games in generalities and instead narrow those to discuss something like a specific music artist or related group of artists or even a specific song or album; a type of fashion or a specific designer, store, or trend; a genre of video games or even one or two related games. And, of course, you don’t need to be constrained to just entertainment industries. Almost any area of life could be considered for this essay as long as it’s not noted as  “off limits” in the assignment sheet and you are focused on a  debate that has two or more valid sides.

 

I encourage you to explore opinions you have that are  not very popular .  One thing that is an important element of this paper, though, is to go beyond what is expected and argue something people will disagree with.  Think outside the box; argue from a fresh perspective to get your readers to at least consider something they normally think of as a good or bad thing in society as its opposite.  We all spend time making evaluations and choices in our daily lives that are debatable, so consider all the possibilities in the areas we brought up in our last class and the ideas you’ve seen in the  textbook chapter and readings and your newsfeeds, social media pages, conversations with friends, etc.

 

The point is to find  your  area of interest and then narrow the topic to one clear debate.  I cannot stress enough that your argument will be better if it is specific so that you can look at it in-depth! If you can think up the points for an outline in 5 minutes or less, you are probably  not writing a college-level paper.  A good argument requires   critical thinking . Find the point of contention and use specific examples to clarify the issues and your position. And don’t forget to  review the Essay 2 Assignment Sheet to make sure you are approaching the essay with the requirements in mind. I’ve also posted another informational document in the course,  Essay 2: Overview of Value Arguments, that discusses how to approach this kind of essay in more detail; it’s in this week’s Lessons/Assignments folder  IF you’re interested in learning more about value arguments. Once you’ve chosen a narrow, specific, debatable topic, the next step is to develop a strong  claim statement that shows the point of your argument. Remember that the goal of this assignment is to write about something that people  usually see as beneficial or harmful and arguing that upon closer inspection it is actually the opposite .

 

 

TLDR

· Pick a topic for Essay 2; make it debatable, interesting, and specific.

· Use resources like your textbook chapter and example essays, social media sites, and friends/family for inspiration if you’re stumped (or email me and/or let’s talk by phone).

· Don’t argue something people already agree with; aim to be original and think outside the box.

· Read the  Essay 2 Assignment Sheet +  Essay 2 Overview of Value Arguments.