English paper.

Minimum number of sources: 6 (at least 3 must come from library databases)

Thus far, this semester you have evaluated our University and your generation. In a sense these papers have been “all about you (or U?).” So, we continue this trend in your final semester project which is also all about you, but this time within a much larger context.

One of the major complaints or accusations made about the millennial generation is the sense that they “lack the kind of empathy that allows them to feel concerned for others” (Stein 29). The perception is that they have become so self-centered and isolated in their entitled upbringings and digital worlds that they do not care about anything outside of themselves, including issues that affect their community, if not the world. In this regard, the millennials share a similar charge that was made against the Generation X’ers: apathy. For your final project, your task is to not necessarily challenge this perception, but to argue for a specific social cause that many, especially millennials, should care about.

Whichever cause you choose to focus on is up to you, so long as it is a debatable issue that affects millennials and the larger community as a whole. This project should be applying the principles of rhetorical analysis that we have gone over thus far, which means that you need to be making an argument. This analysis will operate on two levels: the argument that millennials should care about the issue and the argument(s) within the issue itself. Imagine your millennial reader asking, ‘why should I care about this?’ This is where ethos, pathos and logos, as well as deductive or inductive reasoning applies. Explore the debates within the issue itself and make an argument for a particular position. Use anecdotes to illustrate the debate. Utilize either the Toulmin or Rogerian style of argument. Identify logical fallacies in your counter-arguments and explain why they are fallacies. Demonstrate your proficiency of what we went over this semester because this is the standard by which your final work will be evaluated.

Research Requirements:

For this project, you must have at least six (6) outside resources. At least three (3) of these sources must come from the library databases. The rest can come from the databases or from whatever other sources you deem academically relevant. You may use essays from the textbook as one or all three of these non-database sources. If you decide to use online websites, make sure you cite them correctly, both parenthetically and on the Works Cited/References page. Paraphrase carefully! Go in fear of paraphrased plagiarism.