Short Writing Proposal

Writing Project #2: Researching a Social / Political Issue

English 10

We have been reading in An Insider’s Guide to Academic Writing about food, sustainability, and class (Chapter 13). The readings in this chapter provide a wide range of perspectives that consider both food and sustainability as well as their intersection with the politics of labor, economics, and class. For example, Arellano’s “Taco USA: How Mexican Food Became More American than Apple Pie” explores Mexican food as a new metaphor for America and helps us see some complex economic, social, and political realities of our society. Michael Pollan’s “Why Cook” invites us to think carefully about how cooking can transform us from mere consumers into producers. These and other authors have each contributed to the larger conversation about food, sustainability and class, writing in a particular genre (academic or popular) and for a particular audience.

Building upon the previous project and what we have read thus far, in this writing assignment, you will research a current social or political issue and apply some of the rhetorical moves you have learned to writing a researched argument. Being an educated member of society brings with it a responsibility for civic community participation, and one element of this is knowing what the current issues are, knowing where you stand on those issues, and being willing to participate in the conversation about these issues (as demonstrated by the authors we have read in Chapter 12). To prepare for your own paper, you need to choose a current issue you want to write about. In this context, we define a “social/political issue” as:

1. A public conversation about a local/national incident/event that you can find on the news or in newspapers that has affected a portion of our population in the state and/or in the US;

2. A policy or set of policies or laws that the president or other political leader is proposing or that the state or federal government is voting on;

3. Laws created by state or federal governments or rulings by a state or by the supreme court that affect citizens in our society.

If you take on a social/political issue that doesn’t fit within this framework, you can discuss the issue with me individually. In general, I am looking for you to choose an issue that is current, controversial, and that affects people in your state or nation, where there are many different views about the issue. Choose an issue that you care about. The topic should be broad enough for you to research and find more information.

Once you have identified a particular social/political issue, you need to write a researched argument about this issue. This means that you will need to

1. Define the issue from a primary source

2. Describe the conversation about this issue: What are people saying? How does the issue affect different groups in different ways?

3. Analyze the language and assumptions that people are using to talk about the issue so you can understand the bias that is brought to discussions about this issue.

4. Take a stand on this issue.

5. Develop a nuanced argument by examining the ideas of those who are on different sides of the issue.

Specifications: 5-6 pages (1500-1800 words), double-spaced, 12 point font

Include 3 - 5 Sources in Total:

1. A primary text about the issue;

2. An academic source;

3. And one or more can come from newspapers or .gov websites.

*You cannot count dictionaries or encyclopedias as any of the three sources (you can certainly use these in your paper if you need to, but they will be in addition to the four sources required above).