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English 113A/Misaghi

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Progression 2 Essay: Super Freakonomics!

 Essay Proposal (Outline with Thesis) due ____________  First draft (at least 2 full pages with a Works Cited page) due ____________  FINAL draft due ____________

The purpose of this assignment is to formulate a clear, argumentative thesis statement, and develop support for it in an essay that  analyzes  others’  arguments  and  utilizes  academic  research. You will learn and practice the following research skills: analyzing a text, applying the claims from the text into your own argument, finding and evaluating sources, and citing sources.

Note: this is not a report-where you collect and then report information. Instead, you will develop and argue a debatable position on your selected topic. You will not turn in a paper that puts together other people’s  ideas.  Instead, you will support a thesis statement and use sources to back up your ideas. After spending time in class discussing Levitt’s and  Dubner’s  work,  you  will  combine  what  you  have  read   along with a minimum of 2 other credible outside sources to develop a 3+ page typed, and double-spaced (MLA format) paper that addresses ONE of the following questions:

1. Does the recognition of differences (narrow your topic to something specific, like: ethnicity, religion, culture, politics, socioeconomic status, geography, gender, sexual preference, appearance, etc.) create an "us and them" mentality, or does it help maintain a fair society? You MUST use examples from SuperFreakonomics to support your position.

2. In the first book, Freakonomics, Levitt proclaims, "Humans respond to incentives" (7). Write an essay to explore the power of incentives by:

a. Analyzing one or two of the ideas/conclusions Levitt reaches in SuperFreakonomics, and b. Showing examples of how incentives work in your world.

3. If you want to formulate your own question, you may do so as long as it is related to

SuperFreakonomics, you get my approval, and you can write an argumentative essay to answer it.

YOU  MUST  INCLUDE  A  “WORKS  CITED”  PAGE  AT  THE  BACK  OF  YOUR  PAPER  (See  chapter 29 of COMP if you need more help); THIS DOES NOT COUNT IN THE PAGE COUNT!

WHILE YOU MAY USE WEBSITES AS SOURCES, YOU CANNOT CITE FROM WIKIPEDIA OR ANY DICTIONARY/ENCYCLOPEDIA/QUOTES WEBSITES. YOU MAY USE THEM IN YOUR RESEARCH, BUT DO NOT CITE FROM THEM AS THEY DO NOT COUNT TOWARDS THE 2 SOURCES REQUIRED.

YOUR ESSAY FOLDER DUE ON ______ MUST INCLUDE: 1. Final draft (100 points) 2. First drafts (all of them) 3. Outline 4. Optional: LRC slip (10 points extra credit)

DON’T  FORGET  TO  ATTACH  THE  ESSAY  COVER  SHEET  (ON  NEXT PAGE) TO YOUR FINAL ESSAY!