For PhD doctorate only

Essay 3: Argument - Civic Awareness

Assignment: Thomas Jefferson one said that “eternal vigilance is the price we pay for liberty.” Vigilance is defined as “the action or state of keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulties.” If Thomas Jefferson is to be trusted, then We The People of the United States have the responsibility to keep a watchful eye on our government and their doings. It implies that if our government begins to stray from its duties and responsibilities that we are keep them in check. And while that is true, it has much farther reaching implications. Any people of Any Country must keep a watchful eye on their government. In a 6+ page essay, you are to explore what this means, how we can eventuate this, and why it is important to do so.

Write an essay in which you (1) explore the responsibilities of any person living in a free society, (2) demonstrate your mastery of analysis, synthesis, evaluation, critical thinking, and reasoning, (3) explore how the people of any culture can exercise their responsibility to keep their government under control, and, lastly, (4) detail what your role in all of this will be in the years to come: what will you do to keep a watchful eye on your government? What will you do to keep them in check, and to get them under control when they get lose? Consider carefully what readers may already know about the particular are of civic awareness you select to explore and define (or redefine), and how your essay can effectively add to their knowledge. Please keep your focus narrow by exploring and writing about detailed and specific examples. Keeping your topic as narrow as possible helps keep your essay on track. Also, you absolutely must consider the social impact involved in this topic. Why should it matter to your reader? In what ways are you as the writer advancing our knowledge of ourselves and what is going on around us, or, perhaps, that we, in effect, may be contributing to the problems we as a nation experience by becoming complacent. How are you going to reconcile truth and perception?

Objectives: As the writer, you will be able to—

—Ameliorate your diction and avail yourself of locution suitable for a scholar entering into “The Conversation” that transpires at this institution. (Improve your word choice) —Gain insight into a concept, issue, event, and field in which members of society or a society find themselves to be losing something or to be severely lacking in some way 
 —Gain further experience in conducting academic research 
 —Analytically examine subject matter, think critically about your topic, and utilize a variety of rhetorical strategies 
 —Write thoughtfully with thorough detail and supporting examples to substantiate the claims you state
 —Write with purpose and direction that demonstrates mastery in the rhetorical technique of argument 
 —Inform a reader of something new and/or surprising that they may not have previously known about your subject of investigation 
 —Persuade the reader of the need to consider your opinion as valid and true 
 —Affect the reader emotionally through use of compelling situational examples and case studies

—Use language cleverly and charmingly, with an eye to sustaining reader interest throughout the length of your essay

Research:

Our class readings, videos, discussions and lectures provide a springboard for you to decide upon a topic or subject worthy of investigation. You are expected to exercise 100% agency in your decision making. We have read several essay that cover this topic in detail during class. Your challenge now is to decide upon a specific issue that you will investigate in detail. Your paper will incorporate (a) a general discussion of the civic issue you are exploring via an anecdote that exemplifies that issue, (b) a specific claim about the issue that reflects your thoughts about what should happen concerning this issue, (c) several cases that exemplify the issue as well as the context surrounding your specific case, (d) the location where this specific issue resides in local society AND where this issue crops up around the world, (e) how the media functions within the issue you are exploring, and (f) how you intend to exercise some agency in this. You are expected to describe what you are going to do about it. Will you take up a cause? Will you aid those who do? Will ignore it completely? Will you engage in a silent protest? What can you do? What will you do? Conduct library and online research to find a minimum of 6 sources. Then consider how you can interest readers in your argument.

Planning and drafting:

Review your notes from all readings, videos, and class lectures. How can you present your argument clearly to readers and engage their interest? How much do they already know about it? What points do you need to sell to reader? How will you manage counterarguments throughout the body of your essay? How will you start your argument, ensuring reader interest? Make a plan for your essay and begin outlining and drafting it. To get the best result, writing requires 60% revision; you’ll need time to rethink and redo. Start early.

Critical Reading Guide:

What are your draft’s strengths and weaknesses? For example, does your focus seem too broad? Would visuals or better transitions make your explanation clearer? Get a classmate, a friend, a writing center consultant, or someone else to read and respond in detail to your essay, focusing especially on the parts where you are most unsure of your writing.

Editing and Proofreading:

As you consider your essay again in light of your reader’s comments, how can you improve it? If the beginning failed to engage the reader’s interest, how else could you begin? How could you integrate quotations more smoothly into your own text? Go through your draft systematically, making changes wherever necessary.

Revising:

Have you checked for errors that are especially likely in explanations of concepts? Have you forgotten to include commas around adjective clauses that are not essential to the meaning or around phrases that interrupt the flow of a sentence? Look for and correct these and any other errors.

Formatting: Your paper should—

--Be 1500+ words in length, not including Works Cited page 
 --Be typewritten, stapled, double-spaced, and use 12 point, Times New Roman font 
 --Contain margins with no more or no less than one inch of space on all four sides 
 --Be thoughtfully titled 
 --Adhere to current MLA formatting standards for heading a paper and citing sources 
 --Cite a minimum of 5 sources from our texts. An additional 6 reliable, scholarly sources are necessary. All of these 6 sources shall be from outside our class materials. At least 3 must be hardbound sources (i.e. from a book, journal, magazine). You are required to integrate 11 sources minimum into your exploration of how eternal vigilance is still necessary today.

Possible areas of exploration:

1. There are several instances of civic issues in your textbook. Here are a few that you might review to get you started on your own topic: “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, “Why Don’t We Complain”, “Civil Disobedience”, “The Declaration of Independence”, “The Allegory of the Cave”, “Shooting An Elephant”, and “A Modest Proposal.”

There are a myriad of possible areas that you can focus on. But keep yourself within the field of why “eternal vigilance” is necessary, how can we assure that our government is under control, what we the people must do to enforce it.

Due Dates: 18, 16, 11, 9


—Essay 3 first draft: 11/09 (Turnitin & Forum) —Summary (respond w/ 500-word response): 11/11 (in class) 
 —Annotated Bibliography (6 outside sources minimum): 08/16 —Peer Review: 8/18 —Final Draft Essay #1: 11/25. You are expected to submit all of the above pieces of writing to Turnitin submission via Moodle

Grading: I use this prompt and the separate file on moodle: Essay Rubric, Summary Rubric, Annotated Bibliography rubric, etc.