choose any you like

Paper #4 Prompts

Paper #4 will be written on your own outside of class. Papers should be 800-1,000 words. Please double space, use 1 inch margins, and a 12 pt. font. Choose one of the following prompts to respond to:

1. Ethos, logos, pathos: Write a paper examining the use of ethos, pathos, logos in a magazine/online article, song, film, or speech. Are all three of these rhetorical elements working together well or does one work noticeably better than the others? Do not just simply say that the author/singer/director makes use of one or more of these rhetorical methods, but show how they use these methods.

Hint: MLK’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” works perfectly for this topic, but you’re 100% free to choose something else.

2. Sexist behavior: Does sexism play as prominent a role in our world as educators like Sherryl Kleinman (Author of “Why Sexist Language Matters”) and Michael Kimmel (“A War Against Boys”) believe? Or do you feel as though we’ve already evolved to a point where men and women are, for the most part, treated the same? You don’t necessarily have to cite the texts we covered in class, but you should be sure to cite specific examples in your discussion.

3. Injustice in America: Where do you see injustice occurring today? What should be done about it and why?

4. The pro’s and con’s of Photoshop: Is image editing software like Photoshop a blessing or a curse? Does it provide us with an image of ourselves that we should strive to attain, or does it perpetuate unrealistic expectations that ultimately hurt us in ways we may not even know? Feel free to point out any examples you like here, but do cite specific examples if you can.

5. Beauty. What is it? How should we define it? Spend some time thinking about what it means for us to say that something is beautiful, and then make an argument about beauty. If you want more guidance, try to see if you can come up with set of guidelines by which we should all use to judge beauty.

6. Your own topic: As always, you’re free to come up with your own prompt. However, be sure to run your idea by me first if you choose to go this route.

Due dates: 11/14 – Peer-Review (1st draft due)

11/19 – Final draft due to TRACS by midnight