two topics on my major paper
two topics that you would like to write about for your Paper Four: Argument in Your Profession essay. Paper Four is your short argumentative research paper taking a position on an issue that people disagree on in your major or future professional field.
Many of my students have submitted topics for research papers before for other classes, and I frequently get students who follow whatever directions a past teacher gave. Some will send me two or three word phrases. Some will just send me a sentence. Because this assignment is so short, it should be an easy “A” for everyone. However, it is only easy if you follow the directions below exactly. two topics on my major paper
Remember, your topic must be related to your major or what you currently believe will be your future profession. You cannot use overused and cliche topics, even if they are connected to your major. For example, you cannot use abortion, legalization of marijuana, the death penalty, changing the drinking age to 18, gun control, or other issues college freshman often write essays about. You need a solid issue that is debated in your field currently. I often have students who will say they don’t thing there are controversial issues in their major. Every field has controversies. If you just Google search your field or major and the word “controversy” or “debate”, you will usually find several. You can also write me. I have had students from every major on campus over the years, so I can always offer you a few topics past students have had success with.
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For each of the two topics you present, you need to write f all paragraph containing these things.
1. First, identify in one sentence what your major is or what profession you intend to pursue after graduation. I will need that information to determine if your topics match your major or profession.
2. Explain the issue and controversy in detail. I will likely not have heard of the issue or know the specifics of it, so explain it clearly and for someone with little knowledge of your professional field or its terminology. Explain the importance of the issue and generally what different positions people take on it. Let’s say you are a Criminology major, and you want to choose the issue of requiring all officers have functioning body cameras. You would talk about when the issue became debated, why people want body cameras, and why some people don’t want body cameras. If you are Nursing major, you might choose the topic of requiring all students to be vaccinated or they cannot attend school. You would explain both sides of the issue and what the central debate is about. Spend a few sentences explaining the issue to an audience that may not be familiar with it. two topics on my major paper
3. Third, you will explain what specific position your Paper Four will take on the issue. This is basically the thesis statement that will control your entire essay. Remember a thesis is a complete sentence that gives a clear and detailed statement of the argument. It is not a fragment or phrase. Referring back to my examples above, you might have a thesis like these: “All police officers should be required to wear and use body cameras in order to insure their actions are legal and to protect officers from false accusations” or “It should be required that all students attending public schools be vaccinated or they will not be allowed to attend.” Each captures the specific side you would take on the issue clearly, in a strong thesis sentence.
4. Finally, explain how much knowledge you have on the issue already. You are required to check to see if there are sources on your topic on the Cunningham Memorial Library main page. Check to see if there is plenty of information on the subject by doing an initial search under Books and then one under Articles in our databases. You may do a Google search as well, but focus on what peer-reviewed and printed soures are available first. At the end of each paragraph, tell me how many books and articles you found, and whether you feel that there are enough sources to write your final paper. Review what kind of research you found and whether you feel confident moving forward on this topic based on the research you have done. By confirming that the sources are there, we won’t waste time with topics that do not have enough source material to write the paper.
You won’t number this information in your paragraphs.
This paper should be one page in length. This paper needs to be in MLA Document format (see link under the “MLA Citation Information” tab. It is the first link at the top of the page. two topics on my major paper
