Assignment #2: Argumentative Research Paper

WRT 102

Assignment #2: Argumentative Research Paper – minimum 8 pages

 

An argumentative research paper needs to support your stand on an issue. An argumentative research paper is analytical, but it uses information as evidence to support its point, much as a lawyer uses evidence to make her case.

 

The argumentative essay allows writers to express their opinion on a topic and support that opinion with strong logic and evidence.

 

As we have for each required assignment this semester, please select a theme related to Social Media and Its Impact on Society. You may select an issue from the list below (or a combination thereof), or you may request approval for another related issue to examine and argue for or against.

 

Potential Paper Topics (you are not required to select from the following suggestions):

1. News media and social media can and should intermingle/coalesce. Why or why not?
2. Teens are/are not losing out on the ability to learn about and read social cues. They can/can not learn to read non-verbal behavior properly if most of their interacting goes on in the virtual world.
3. Data mining positively/negatively affects social media users and society in general. How so?

 

4. The Presidential administration’s fixation on fake news overshadows/creates waning trust in real reporting. Why or why not. What is the effect on society?

 

4. Americans need to be inclusive rather than exclusive and segregating. There are many more opportunities to learn to be inclusive in real life than there are on the internet, OR the internet provides users more opportunities to be inclusive (how, why, etc.).
5. In July 2012 Americans spent 74.0 billion minutes on social media via a home computer, 40.8 billion minutes via apps, and 5.7 billion minutes via mobile web browsers, a total of 121.1 billion minutes on social networking sites. Americans need to learn how to deal with free time without staring at a screen. With less screen time, they will have more opportunity to learn how to relax and use leisure time. OR Internet use is a valuable use of free time, and why.

 

6. The First Amendment ensures freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly. In what ways, if any, are allowances of these first amendment rights for citizens being breached by the current administration?
7. Social networking sites spread information faster than any other media, making it a useful platform for sharing all public information and providing a forum for open discourse.

OR Social media enables the spread of unreliable and false information, allowing users to disassociate with those who disagree, creating more polarization than ever before.

 

8. Politicians can and should personally utilize all forms of social media to inform the public of important cultural and social policies and issues. Using examples from the recent election and current and past presidents, persuade why or why not this is/is not beneficial to national and global affairs.

 

9. Being a part of a social networking site can increase a person’s quality of life and reduce the risk of health problems. OR The use of social networking sites is correlated with personality and brain disorders, such as the inability to have in-person conversations, a need for instant gratification, ADHD, and self-centered personalities, as well as addictive behaviors.

 

 

Paper Requirements

• This paper should be in MLA format, using 12 pt. font, double-spaced throughout, with 1-inch margins on all sides, and a works cited page.
• The final paper must have an original, creative title that catches the reader’s attention and simply reveals what the paper will likely be about.
• This paper requires that you incorporate a minimum of 4 outside sources, which must be cited within your paper and on your works cited page.
• The final draft must be a minimum of 8 pages, exclusive of the reflective essay and works cited page.
• As modern writing is multimodal, feel free to insert relevant pictures that emphasize your opinion and/or experience of the matter at hand (Pictures must be cited as sources if not your own).
• The final draft must be free of spelling and grammatical errors, and effectively demonstrate your ability to successfully write an Argumentative Essay with supporting scholarly research. The essay must include a well-developed argumentative thesis, identified and refuted opposing arguments, effective use of textual research to support assertions with evidence, and obvious planning and organization in order to receive a passing grade.

 

Rough Draft due:  6/17

Revised draft: 6/24

Final Draft due: 7/1