argumentproject

Argument Project
HIST 122: summer online course

This project is intended to be an exploration of a controversial aspect of the relationship between technology and society. No two students can write on the same topic; please check the topics already posted before deciding on yours. You need to pick a topic that is in the right stage that you can make a policy recommendation--something the U.S. government should do about this issue. Let me give you an example that is a little bit outdated. You could write a paper on the question of whether automobiles should be required to have automatic seatbelts. The argument could be that not enough people wear seatbelts and trying to persuade them to by advertising campaigns doesn't seem to work very well. Your policy recommendation would be that the government should require automatic seatbelts in cars.

Research can be primarily on the web, but note that some of the books and many of the journals in the Clemson library are available electronically. For books go to http://libcat.clemson.edu/ and change "view entire catalog" to "electronic resources." For electronic journals go to: http://hw4sm7zh5k.search.serialssolutions.com/

Project steps:

Step 1 (20 points): post a topic statement and an annotated list of at least 8 sources on the Blackboard discussion board.

Step 2 (20 points): write and post a controversial argument about your topic. Back up your argument with web links.

Step 3 (20 points): write replies challenging at least two of your fellow students' argument postings, including links to web sites giving a different point of view than that of the argument initially posted. One of your posts must be the first reply to another student, while the other must reply to a student who already has at least one reply.

Step 4 (10 points): write a critique of a web site cited by another student. You must pick one that has not yet been critiqued.

Step 5 (100 points): write a paper of 1000 to 1500 words that considers both sides of the issue and submit it using the Blackboard assignments link. Due Aug. 2

Step 6 (20 points): write and post a proposal for a new law that should be passed to deal with issues raised by your topic

Step 7 (20 points): write and post two responses to two other students' recommendations of new laws. One of your posts must be the first reply to another student, while the other must reply to a student who already has at least one reply.

The paper (step 5) may be organized either to consider both sides and then drawing your own conclusions or to making a coherent argument for one position. However, if you write a paper that argues one side throughout you must explain in detail the objections raised by the other side (you may go on to disprove them). I want to see an understanding of both sides demonstrated in your paper even if your argument is all for one side.

In your paper, you must provide footnotes or references to your sources (not just for quotes but also for specific information and arguments) in the text of the paper and provide at the end an overall list of the sources you used to write your paper (not just the ones you cited but all sources that you read that you found useful). You may use any standard format (that is, one that is published or available from a reputable page on the web). You can find standard formats at: Writers Handbook . In most cases I would expect six or more different sources on your list of sources.

The higher grades will go to papers that exhibit logical thinking, an analytical framework, accurate scientific information, specific evidence, the ability to inform and communicate, sound organization, and a concise and coherent argument. In this paper the premium will go to those that make a persuasive argument. Late papers will be penalized ten points for each calendar day late. Very late papers will be penalized no lower than a 65 if the paper merits at least a 75.

Information on doing web research:
I am going to let you use the web to do research for your argument papers. Please don't get the wrong idea--historians still believe in the importance of books. But I want you to struggle with opinion in this paper, and the web is a wonderful source of opinion. You are more than welcome to use books and articles as sources for your paper if you want to, but in this special assignment I am willing to accept papers written only from research on the World Wide Web (I would not do that for a longer term-paper requiring more in-depth research, except for certain topics where primary source material is available on the Web).

Now, you must be careful about doing research on the World Wide Web. Before a book is published, the publisher normally sends the manuscript out to experts in the field for evaluation. That doesn't mean that books are always right, but that plus fear of lawsuit means that the information published in books is screened for accuracy. On the other hand, anyone can put anything on the World Wide Web--there is no screening at all. So you must evaluate the information for yourself. This is one of the skills that I want you to learn.

You may want to ask yourself:

Is the person or organization who created this page an authoritative source of information on this topic?
Are they representing a particular political position (eg., are they liberal or conservative) or do they have a particular interest in the topic (you wouldn't expect a company that pollutes to argue that there should be tighter regulations on pollution)?
What is the purpose of the page (eg. entertainment, advertising, political advocacy)?
Does this page give only brief facts (like an encyclopedia article) or more in-depth information?
When was the page last updated? Does it cover only a limited time period?

For more information on evaluating web pages see: Evaluating Web Sites. For more useful sites see Links for English 102 .

Checklist for a good paper:

Does your introduction focus on the assigned topic and give an overview of how you will address that topic?
Is your paper organized around the assigned topic?
Is your specific evidence selected to fit your particular argument rather than telling random facts?
Have you found specific examples or statistics to prove your points rather than simply asserting them? Have you pinned the events you discuss down to specific dates and places and shown how things changed over time?
Have you considered both sides of the issue in detail?
Are the sources of specific points acknowledged with references or endnotes, even if paraphrased rather than quoted?
Do you have a bibliography or list of sources set up in a correct form that lists all sources that were useful, not just the ones you quoted? Have you proofread, looking particularly for those mistakes that a spell-checker doesn't catch? Remember also that the best grammer checkers are right only 80% of the time.