English HW

REQUIREMENTS LENGTH: 4-5 pages (6 if you need it), double-spaced, 12-point font, 1 inch margins. Choose conventional fonts only (Times New Roman, Arial, Helvetica, etc.)

CITATIONS: Please follow proper MLA formatting guidelines. This requires proper citation of all direct quotes and a works cited page.

SOURCES: Please include at least three credible sources in your paper. Feel free to seek out more than three. Try to find credible information – newspaper articles, magazine articles, book excerpts, academic essays, professional publications, statistical evidence, etc. Do not quote Wikipedia, the dictionary or unprofessional blogs. If you'd like to use a source that may not seem credible, talk to me as early as possible about it. One of your sources should come from a peer-reviewed Academic Journal, or a formal report (i.e. government data, something prepared by a think tank, an academic study, etc.). Your academic source should NOT come from a newspaper or a magazine. Use these sources to find concrete data pertaining to your research topic question.

TOPICS:

Choose one of the following questions to respond to:

1. How should we consider the ethics of unpaid internships? Are companies abusing internship programs to save money? Or are they providing valuable, real-world experiences to motivated students? Are our current labor laws or industry practices in need of reform?

2. To what degree are college degrees a worth-while return on investment (ROI)? Should we be taking more aggressive measures to make college more affordable? Are tuition funds being allotted in meaningful ways? Are grants and scholarships being used effectively? Are there cost-cutting measures that could be wisely implemented?

3. Are the opportunities within certain markets or industries being threatened by free “prestige labor” or insecure freelance work? Consider fields like journalism, academia, college athletics, and the music industry. Is it ethical to expect people to work for free – or on short-term freelance/independent contracts – in return for the “prestige” of representing a credible company, organization or institution?

Is the flexibility and independence associated with freelancers and independent contractors a worthwhile trade-off for job security?

This assignment will ask you to develop an argument about this topic. Inform yourself. Come up with some ideas about this issue, and defend them with evidence from credible sources.

KEY QUESTIONS

• What are the important things to consider from an ethical perspective when confronting this issue?

• What are your specific feelings about this topic?

• Can these feelings be backed up with credible evidence?

• What will you need to consider to develop an argument about this topic?

• What might someone who disagrees with your position say about this topic?

• How would you defend yourself against critiques?

SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER

• Make use of the resources we have available through the PSU Behrend John M. Lilley Library (among others). Use the “CAT” to search for articles and books that might be relevant to your paper. Search our databases for essays and articles to support your claims.

• Use our research guides to find information specific to your field or your inquiry. Visit this page, and choose the appropriate discipline:

http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/researchguides.html

• Your paper needs to have an argument. Don't simply summarize different points of view. Come up with a stance of your own, and introduce it clearly with a thesis statement at the beginning of the essay.

• Nuanced arguments are always preferable to broad generalizations. A complex position with a nuanced understanding of the issues at hand is always preferable to a simple yes-or-no argument.

• Read your texts carefully, and avoid oversimplifying an author's ideas. If you are seeking out a source and you find lots of terminology you don't understand, you may need to find something written for a less specialized audience.

• Make sure you understand a claim before you develop an opinion in response to it.

• Pay attention to spelling mistakes, type-os and grammatical issues. WHAT I EXPECT IN AN ACADEMIC PAPER

THESIS – What is the central claim of your paper? What is the “umbrella idea” under which the others will fall? Describe it briefly at the beginning. REASONS – Why have you come to believe this? EVIDENCE – Find relevant, credible information to support or back up the reasons you provide. Use concrete data, specific examples and direct quotes from sources whenever possible.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND RESPONSE– Are there any limitations to your argument? What might someone who disagrees with you say about this paper? How are you prepared to defend yourself?