Controversy Analysis

Essay # 2: Controversy Analysis

Task Description (purpose):

To begin your Unit 2 Controversy Analysis, you get to choose your own topic. It should be a local topic and it should be something controversial, or about which people have differing opinions. I suggest you choose something you’ve wanted to know about but haven’t explored much but have a curiosity or interest in, or something you feel very strongly about.

· This essay is called a controversy analysis because it explores the many interactions between conflicting perspectives, rhetoric, and factual support in difficult social questions and debates.

· Your essay should contribute to the larger conversation about the issue with which you engage and will objectively present the information on the multiple sides and perspectives of the issue.

Each research-based essay should contain the following:

· Title—A thoughtful, descriptive title, that would make this paper stand out to a reader

· Introduction—A crafted, descriptive, and engaging introduction to your topic.

· Thesis-- Your thesis should be a research question that presents the controversial topic.

· The Discussion—From the following categories or others, you will identify a local (UA/Tucson/Arizona), controversial issue for your essay: Educational (standardized testing, quality of education, quality of food service, social media and academic writing, technology and learning, ethnic studies, etc.); Environmental (sustainability, recycling, water conservation, solar power, community gardens, etc.); Sports-related (high school, college); Economics (poverty in local schools, etc.).

· Research (5 current sources minimum) should address the multiple perspectives on the controversy without explicitly making an argument about it; however, your analysis will ultimately weigh the strengths and weaknesses of all the evidence in order to present a rational conclusion to your essay. **For strong examples of this type of essay, see WPL Ch.11.

· Conclusion—Try to respond to the following questions: So what? Why might this matter to general audiences? Where do we go from here? Any lessons to be learned? The conclusion is a point of emergence from your essay, not a resolution of the issue, and should attempt to tie together the most significant aspects of the controversy as you see them.

· Works Cited—use correct MLA format (alphabetical order, complete citations). As in any analysis, be sure to back up your assertions with direct evidence (i.e. quotes with reference to your Works Cited page) from the sources you find relevant.

· Essentially, this essay should serve as a brief scholarly analysis of a complex debate. The point is not to “solve” the issue, but to present its complexities in a thoughtful way that raises new questions just as it provides insights. Readers should finish your essay with a clearer sense of the controversy and a desire to delve further into it in order to satisfy their own questions.

Requirements (30% of final grade):

· 5-7 pages of research-based writing that would have real value for real audiences. An essay that is less than five pages will not receive full credit.

· Your essay must follow MLA guidelines for format (see Rules for Writers). You must correctly cite material inside your essay and create a Works Cited page according to MLA. Otherwise your essay will be marked down a letter grade.

· The use of at least five quality, varied sources (books, journals, magazines, memoirs, interviews, websites, etc) **Must be current research (in the last 3 years) and include at least 3 of the sources from the Annotated Bibliography.

· Final draft must be submitted with Proposal (unless on D2L), Annotated Bibliography, and Rough Draft included. Additionally, you must submit photocopies of your research along with your final essay. Otherwise the sources won’t count. **Only the pages that have the material you quoted. **Be sure to write the author’s name and title of the work at the top of the first page.

· Note: To “use” a text means that you quote the source or paraphrase it at least once. Dictionary definitions are too basic to count as sources, but feel free to include them in your paper as extra information. In addition to your current research, feel free to include older sources if they help you explore your topic. **Ask me for approval of a source if you are not sure it will count.

· To avoid losing credit, compose your essay in STANDARD WRITTEN ENGLISH. Take the time to edit carefully, giving special attention to the items we reviewed in class.

Website Resources:

For more academic sources:

http://www.wanfangdata.com.ezproxy2.library.arizona.edu/COJ/advanced_search.asp

To browse some controversial topics:

http://library.cqpress.com.ezproxy2.library.arizona.edu/cqresearcher/

(on the left, click on “Browse by Topic”)