Essay 3: Persuasive Essay – Controversial Topics

Over the next four weeks, you will be writing a Persuasive Essay. In a Persuasive Essay, the writer:

• Presents an issue.
• Takes a position on the issue.
• Develops an argument to convince the reader that this position is correct.

Your topic will be provided in the list found on Blackboard. You must choose from this list, but if you feel like there’s a topic you think is controversial and not on the list, you must ask me first to see if it is a viable option. Fair warning: I do not tend to approve topics outside of this list.

Your goal is to convince your readers that your opinion about an issue (your thesis statement) is valid and important. To accomplish this goal, your essay must state your opinion about the issue clearly. Your introduction should:

• Grab your readers’ attention with a hook.
• Clearly introduce and define your topic.
• Give any necessary background information.
• Make a claim about the issue (thesis statement) this presents a strong argument and clearly indicates your purpose for writing.

Then you must persuade the readers that this position is right. Your body paragraphs should:

• Clearly present the main arguments that support your thesis statement.
• You must use the three rhetorical techniques (ethos, logos, and pathos) in your argument, along with sources to back up your main points.
• Include facts, evidence, and examples that support each main argument.

• Present one or more counterarguments to show that you have considered opposing opinions.

• Acknowledge counterargument(s) where appropriate and respond to them with refutations.

Finally, your conclusion should summarize all the arguments you have stated. It may also give a warning, a prediction, or a suggestion about what should happen next.

Persuasive essays often require research: you must collect evidence that relates to the topic, such as facts, statistics, and quotations from expert sources. You are required to conduct secondary, academic research for this assignment. Any secondary sources you consult must be cited, both in the text and on your Works Cited page. The text you analyze must be cited thoroughly and correctly, regardless of whether you perform any outside research or not.

Your essay should incorporate no fewer than four and no more than seven secondary sources that are properly introduced, cited, integrated, and explained in terms of your argument. You must also include a proper MLA Works Cited page for the text you analyze. Do not forget to include a descriptive title; please don’t simply call your essay “Analysis,” or “Essay 3.”

This essay must be between 4-6 pages with a Works Cited page. The Work Cited page is not included in the page count.

Rough Draft Due: 4/12

Final Draft Due: 4/19 before 11:59 PM

Points: 200 or 20%

Criteria

Upon completion of this assignment, the student should demonstrate the ability to:

Task: What do I need to do?

Write a 1-2-page letter to a government official or community leader advocating for or against legislation or public policy connected to gender and/or sexuality.

Follow the directions below. The finished product should be a Word document submitted in Blackboard. The first two pages will contain your letter. The third page is a bibliography of sources informing your stance in the letter.

Directions: How do I do it?

First, you need to locate a piece of legislation or public policy that could have a real impact on individuals’ lived experiences in the areas of gender and sexuality. Search for your chosen topics and scroll through the results. Examples might include women, gender, sexuality, maternal health, reproductive rights, victims’ rights, Title IX, transgender, intersex, Equal Rights Amendment, and other topics that we’ve studied this semester. Here are some good sites to get started:

• • • • Congressional actions search page
      • Kentucky General Assembly search page
      • National Women’s Studies Association statements
      • ACLU’s list of LGBTQ-related legislation
      • ACLU’s list of women’s rights, gender bias, and domestic violence legislation
      • Kentucky Fairness Campaign issues

Next, you’ll choose an actual government official at the local, state, or national level as the recipient of your letter. You may write in support or in opposition to any issue. However, your stance needs to be informed by the critical reading of relevant texts. You should not feel compelled to agree with the stance of a particular organization or political party. Research your chosen issue using the EKU Libraries Research Guide developed for WGS students.

Your letter will not read like a research paper. No long quotations or academic speak. You may want to reference sources in the text (i.e., “data published recently in the Journal of Gender Studies shows that women and marginalized individuals…”), but mostly paraphrase what you know by writing in a style suitable for non-researchers. You may also draw upon your lived experience or your family’s history. For help in writing advocacy statements, see Change.org’s “Create Your Petition” guidelines.

Include a bibliography of 10 sources you consulted as you prepared to write the article. At least five must be from scholarly sources found in the EKU Libraries databases and the remaining sources may come from credible internet sites (when in doubt, ask the instructor). The bibliography should be formatted properly in APA or MLA style. You would not include this page within an actual letter, but it shows you researched the issue.

Criteria for Success: What constitutes a “good” letter?

Use the checklist below to ensure that your letter meets expectations:

• Is your letter addressed to a real government official, newspaper, or community leader as shown in the recipient’s address at the top of the letter?
• Is your letter formatted neatly, containing all the hallmarks of professional correspondence such as a salutation and a signature?
• Does your letter pertain to a real issue or phenomenon shown in the legislative priorities of feminist organizations or bills under consideration by local, state, or national government? The letter must reflect specific reference to and accurate knowledge of the chosen legislation or issue.
• Do you take a clear stance on this issue and back it up with knowledge gained in the course?
• Is the style of your letter appropriate for the genre and audience?
• Did you include a bibliography on a separate page containing at least 10 sources consulted as you researched the issue?
• If asked, would you feel confident putting the letter in an envelope and mailing it to the listed recipient with your name on it? (You are not required to send the letter, but encouraged.)

Solving problems with an interdisciplinary approach typically requires using information imbedded in a range of perspectives. In the process of understanding how knowledge is personally, culturally, and disciplinarily constructed, we must understand what we believe. Identifying exactly what we believe, particularly in the contemporary political and social climate we live in, can be a vulnerable endeavor. Yet making our convictions known can help spawn social movements and drive successful change.

In this final culminating assignment, you will articulate your chosen “This I Believe” position (selected earlier in the semester and used throughout the mini-writes in this course) in a way that accounts for domain-specific considerations. Need some inspiration? Check out NPR’s This I Believe podcast (Links to an external site.) to get inspired about sharing your belief for the world.

In this 5-6 page paper, you will articulate your chosen belief, identify why it is so significant to you, and describe that belief in a multi-dimensional way through the lenses of the major disciplinary domains that we have explored this semester. Your job is to tell us what each of the disciplines or perspectives have to say about your topic or how seeing your position through those lenses provides different layers of inference. As you explore your topic through these lenses, you are expected to identify biases inherent to your own thinking and the lens. You will then revise your belief (or how it is framed) to account for biases, assumptions, or alternative ways of seeing the issue that emerged when applying these disciplinary perspectives. Our end goal is to see your belief in a multidimensional way. You should emerge from this assignment with a clear understanding of how your belief would likely be seen by a variety of others who have not lived the same experiences as you.

You are expected to use 12-point, Times New Roman font and your final document should be double spaced. The preferred citation format for this course is APA; however, your instructor may give you other options or requirements for preferred citation method.

Required elements:

• Articulate a personal ethos/define your belief
• Identify inherent biases in your perspective and belief
• Identify multiple disciplinary perspectives and the way they enhance understanding of your belief
• Articulate key variables of major disciplinary domains as they apply to your belief
• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your belief through the application of multiple disciplinary lenses

For those that are more process-driven, the following structure is recommended:

• In 1-1.5 pages, clearly articulate your belief, identifying its development and how it has become such a significant part of your personal or professional philosophy
• In .5-1 page, identify the role that this belief plays in your chosen degree program and/or future profession
• In 1 page each (for approximately 5 pages total), identify how each disciplinary domain(Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics; Social Sciences; Humanities & Arts; Business & Communication; Health Professions) “see” or understand this belief. Be sure to explain the key variables that define these disciplinary perspectives, particularly as they relate to your chosen belief.
• In 1-1.5 pages, synthesize your findings, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your “This I Believe” statement in light of the disciplinary domains. Be sure to identify assumptions, biases, alternatives, and implications of your statement.
• In .5-1 page, revise your statement to account for any biases or limitations.
• My believe is “I believe in a better life”

All Informations and reading materials is upload for you.

The first part will be short answer questions asking you to identify the meaning, significance and issues connected to or raised by these concepts/ideas we have examined. The second and third parts consist of ONE essay question each .

PART 1

For the short answer questions remember that you need to identify & explain the definition/meaning of the term (its conditions & what it involves) and also Why it is important or significant? In other words, what issues/problems/conditions does it raise, produce or connected to?

Some of these will have more content in their definition or conditions than others and you can raise any number of issues and problems raised or connected to the term/phrase but make sure you identify the main or key ones.

PART 2& 3

You need to answer all parts of the question in a thorough and concise manner. Again you are looking to

identify and explain the key aspects in answering each part of the question.

For both part1 and part2&part 3:

So to use analogy, think of the questions as similar to playing baseball. You have to put your foot on and touch each base as you proceed around the field . Each base represents the key aspects of the question. (of course there are only four bases in baseball but more than that in these questions). In the same way you have to put your foot on the key aspects relevant to answer the question.

So to give an example if you spend all of your time on a short answer question on all the key aspects of the meaning and definition of a term but don’t identify and explain its significance/issues/ problems its connected to then you have missed important key aspects of the question and have missed half of the question asked

In the essay questions, again you want to identify and explain the key aspects of each part of the question. Key aspects were discussed, explained and raised in the lectures. You can use both LECTURES AND READINGS and obviously your notes. Again, IF YOU SIMPLY COPY or REPRODUCE WHAT IS IN THE READINGS YOU WILL HAVE DIFFICULTY ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS ASKED. LECTURE MATERIAL (based on the readings but not reducible to them ) IS CRUCIAL SINCE THIS IS WHERE ALL THIS WAS DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF RELEVANCE FOR THIS COURSE.

You are expected to make use of course readings and lectures in formulating your answers. No bibliography is needed (see the other separate instruction sheets regarding this). USE COURSE MATERIAL ONLY. NO OUTSIDE SOURCES !!!

ANSWER LENGTH :

PART 1 )Answers to each short answer question should be a maximum of 1.5 pages double spaced (see

below)

PART 2) & PART 3) Answer to the essay questions should be a maximum of 3.5 pages double spaced (see below)

NO BIBLIOGRAPHY IS NECESSARY.

1)USE COURSE MATERIAL ONLY TO PREPARE YOUR ANSWERS.

2) WRITE OUT YOUR ANSWERS IN YOUR OWN WORDS TO INDICATE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE MATERIAL. DO NOT MERELY COPY AND PASTE WHAT IS IN THE TEXTS/LECTURES.

3) HOWEVER, IF YOU SIMPLY COPY WHAT IS IN THE READINGS YOU WILL HAVE TO USE CITATIONS (APA). YOU WILL ALSO HAVE DIFFICULTY ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS ASKED.

4) LECTURE MATERIAL (based on the readings but not reducible to them ) IS CRUCIAL SINCE THIS IS WHERE ALL THIS WAS DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF RELEVANCE FOR THIS COURSE.

And Two more reading links :

https://zh.ca1lib.org/book/836995/c0c472

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/g…

Critically reflect on one of the resources videos or articles from this unit’s module and address the following by Sunday of each unit in at least one page (around 500 words) or a video response up to 5 minutes:

What are the highlights of this resource?

Are there new insights you are learning in the resource that apply to your personal or professional life? Can you make personal connections to this resource or the concepts? If so, please share the key takeaways so far. 

How are you able to apply art historical ideas and concepts from a diverse range of cultures? Share any insights that may apply. If your resource doesn’t seem to intersect, share that as well. 

Please feel free to reflect using the questions above or reflect in a way that is more meaningful to you.Want more? KCET Episode: Artist and Mother (Watch this Video)
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Zanele Muholi
Please view the art21 segment on Zanele Muholi.

In this section, we have three articles that take a focused dive into three areas of European history as it pertains to: the nude in art, gender roles in art and the presence and erasure of queer history.I have decided to focus on Europe because of the magnitude of influence that it had on Western society and the Americas. To this day, European art history has formed how we (as a western society) thinks about art, what we value in art, and what it should look like. We are still seeing some of the same European artworks in popular culture to this day- that also includes European ideals of what Christianity looks like. These are major influences of how we “see” the world and it sets our expectations (whether we like it or not).The first two articles discuss works in the time of the Renaissance; a blooming time for culture and society centralized in present day Italy from the late 1400’s to mid 1500’s. This was a prolific time for the arts, which was funded by the Church and wealthy aristocratic families. That meant the art was made for them, with themes that were approved by them. The theme of the time was anything Christian. That said, this was a time of complete exposure (and exploitation) for the female body in the arts. These were not forgiving times, nor were they open-minded times. So, artists had to be very careful that their images of nudity were not too “vulgar”, and were always made to be idealized and even puritanical.  The last article takes on a contemporary look into Medieval art history that was not always discussed. Cultural and social traditions and expectations play a role in this suppression of history. The artwork of the Italian Renaissance (yup, there was a Northern Renaissance), created expectations, traditions of what art should look like and be about. For nearly 500 years, European representation of art was idealized in a fantasy-reality. For some context- remember the Nazi’s “Degenerate Art” exhibit? Well, all the work that they hated was made after those 500 years of idealism.The centuries long traditions in art are reflecting social expectations and norms. Consider this when you see a repeated motif or style/image in a culture and just think about how that reflects the societies values. What does it say about the roles of men or women in that society? This section is also about following the rules of a society and gender power dynamics, including violence.