Sung Ohm, Instructor
Purpose
The documented researched essay allows you to understand the fundamentals of an academic conversation. In many respects, this essay is your entry into the conventions, methods, and rhetoric of an academic dialog. Participating in this conversation means that you will have to look carefully at the various positions academics and other experts take on a particular subject matter—especially when they differ from your own. You will need to negotiate and analyze the various arguments and eventually formulate your own stance. However, this must be a critically and ethically informed position—one that is substantiated by credible evidence. In order to successfully determine what a credible position is, you will need to rely on your rhetorical analysis skills. Not only will you analyze your sources ethos, pathos, and logos, but you will also analyze the persuasive nature of your own paper. You will need to make logically sound arguments—one that speaks to others who are in the same academic conversation and that seeks to persuade them responsibly.
Research is essential in academics. A well-researched paper creates new knowledge—one of the basic premises of a university such as ours. A well-constructed and well-researched essay reveals that the writer has become an authority on a particular topic. To become an authority, you will determine and rely on the experts in the field so your readers can see that you have a well-informed and critical perspective.
The Assignment
For this assignment, you will research an issue that we have discussed in class. You will write and rewrite an out-of-class essay that uses your research to develop an argument on your topic. To help you research this essay, you will be required to write a short research proposal that draws upon your readings in this and other courses and an annotated bibliography.
Proposal: The proposal is a way for you to begin the research process as well as a way for you to articulate your own interests in this project. In other words, the proposal allows you to create or negotiate the assignment according to your own interests. You may want to begin by asking critical questions that may lead you to refine your topic even more. Remember this essay is relatively short for a research paper so a more focused topic will serve you better. I strongly encourage you to ask questions rather than state a position at this point.
Clay County was created by the Tennessee General Assembly on June 16, 1870. The county was formed from the secluded northern parts of Jackson County and Overton County. The citizens believed that, with this new county, they would have more opportunities to participate in self-government rather than continuing to be a part of larger county with which they were only connected to by a few trails and no roads. The first session of the county court assembled in Mary Robert’s store in the Butler’s Landing Community where the city of Celina was chosen as the county seat by a narrow margin.1 The name Clay County originates from American statesman, member of the United States Senate, and United States Speaker of the House Henry Clay.2
The Stases and Other Rhetorical Concepts from Introduction to Academic Writing. N.p.: n.p., n.d. PDF.
Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings. 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2012. Print.
Research papers are something that is included in almost every writing course. To convey what the research paper was originally produced for, Davis and Shadle’s writes, “Anyone, according to this modern mythology, was capable of making a breakthrough, given the right disposition, intelligence, and training,” on page 423 of “Building a Mystery.” The research paper was originally made to display new knowledge. However, as time went on it, It transformed into students just spitting out boring facts that they have found on paper. Davis and Shadle’s essay is essentially about taking a different route from normal research papers.
What are the main ideas and/or issues of the article as it relates to the chosen topic?
- Unfortunatly, all research papers have a limitation to their studies. Some of the limits I may come across is, lack of information, lack of respectable and trusted articles or books. These two will be my biggest concern when writing this paper. The way I plan to try and overcome this obstacle is by gathering all the information I have before hand, and understand the limitations I may occur before I begin writing my paper. This way, I will know my limits while writing my paper and not overstep my boundaries.
In this assignment I will introduce my research project and examine some of the issues surrounding my topic, take an initial look at the research papers I have chosen for my literature review and consider the wider context that the research took place in.
Palmer, William. "Rhetorical Analysis." Discovering Arguments: An Introduction to Critical Thinking, Writing, and Style. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2012. 268-69. Print.
The author begins his argument by retelling the story of his youth to build his ethos but the results are poor as it presents more questions on how he is a credible source on this argument as his only evidence is his own story. However, through the same means his pathos is built as his anecdote conveys feelings in the audience, making them more willing to listen. Graff finally, gives a call to action to schools to use students’ interests to develop their skills in rhetoric and analysis, which reveals the logic behind his argument. The topic about how students are taught rhetoric and analysis brings interest but with an average argument only built on pathos, a low amount of logos, and questionable ethos it can fall on deaf
...en in absolute danger, and keep it out of reach. Gun control laws aren’t taking away the right to bear arms, but should be made to restrict violence, accidents, and tragedies. The U.S. government needs to make laws that will make it harder for a criminal or anyone with an untreated mental illness to buy a gun. There have been enough deaths from gun violence. Nobody wants anymore kids to die. Neither do they want anymore incidents where guns get into the wrong hands, causing the lives of many to be at risk. Creating stricter gun control laws lead us into a world that is secure, a world where kids play outside or walk home from school without their parents worrying if they will come back alive. John F. Kennedy once said, “Change is the law of life.” It is about time we emphasize on gun control and create laws to make it possible for people to, at least live a life.
Connor, Michael. "Toyota recall: Five critical lessons." business-ethics.com. N.p., 2010. Web. 28 Feb 2012. .
Justify your research question and explain why this topic has been chosen. Why is it significant and worthy of a discussion?
The Enlightenment was a cultural movement of reasoning and intellect which began in the late 17th century in Europe emphasizing individualism and reasoning rather than tradition. The purpose of this movement was to modify society and apply reasoning to challenge the ideals of faith and tradition and advance the traditional knowledge through the scientific method. This stimulated scientific reasoning and thought as well as human thought. This enabled inte...
Writing can be very frustrating; laying your ideas out on paper so that others can grasp the concept you are trying to convey is a very difficult task. In Writing 101 I have learned how to formulate good theses that are arguable and also how to validate articles that have to do with my topic. The most important element of a paper is the thesis statement. It captures the reader's attention and tells them what the essay is about. Having a well-structured thesis along with evidence to support that thesis are the main ingredients to a well-written essay. I have also learned how important it is to research an author’s background to ensure their credibility. This is a very important step in writing because today we can find information on a topic, however, it is not valid. By researching the author, we can see if he or she is an expert in the area and so this would make his or her information more credible. There is a ...
Toyota’s new structure introduced in 2003 reduced the number of directors, and introduced senior managing directors, who link management with on-site operations. This has led to prompt decision making that also reflects the opinions of on-site personnel.