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Description: For your paper, you will choose a current topic of your choice within psychology, sociology, geography, medicine, or anything related to the sciences that addresses a current issue and take a side for debate. Although you may present your opinion in the paper and must support it with sources, do NOT use first person “I” – use third person (he, she, it, they, them). You are making a case for your topic and must do so in the third person as you would in all academic writing.
Topics: In order to find enough sources, your topic needs to be one on which there is currently a great deal of study. The issues that work best are those that deal with social or ethical questions. I will need to approve all topics if you decide not to use the suggested topics below.
Examples:
You should be able to state your topic as a yes-or-no question, as in “Should X be allowed?” or “Should we ban X?” or “Is X unconstitutional?” or “Should X be funded with government money?” Any topics that cannot be stated as a yes-or-no question are probably not acceptable. Also, please note that people sometimes colloquially refer to a problem as an “issue”: identity theft, for instance, is a problem, but not a debatable issue.
Source requirements: You will need 8 sources as explained in the Research Essay Topic Proposal (see the module “Research Essay Submission” in Canvas). The sources should be viewpoint articles; in other words, the author should be taking a stand on something, not reporting the opinion of others. The sources should have some authority and not just be some random guy’s blog somewhere or an angry letter to an editor of a newspaper. Use peer-reviewed sources (reviewed by experts in the field) for this assignment. You are to use sources that make an argument (be persuasive) about the issue you have chosen.
There are some websites you can use from legitimate organizations that exist such as ACLU, NORML, or the NRA. As per the “Research Essay Topic Proposal” instructions (see the “Research Essay Submission” module in Canvas), you are to use specific types of sources from the Galveston College Library – it is important that you see the list of sources. Overall, the GC Library databases are your best place to find sources, and for free.
Length and other requirements: This paper should be 4-5 pages in length, not including the References list, which will begin on a new page. The assignment must be typed, double spaced, and must use APA citations for the quotes (Purdue Online Writing Lab – OWL - website is helpful, as is Pear Deck’s Tutor Me link in Canvas). You will need to submit your paper into the submission link in Canvas by the deadline.
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