constructing the News
Length: 1200 words minimum (please include a word count at the end of your paper)
Assignment
Please choose one major ongoing public issue that is widely covered in the news (from 2017 or 2018). For your chosen event, conduct online research (using the library database) to find a substantial argument based article about the subject. Your paper will be an analysis of the article in terms of its accountability, bias, evidence and rhetorical strategies.[unique_solution]
Possible options:
- The failure to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
- The opioid crises and its health and legal implications.
- Mass shootings and gun policy in the US.
- Issues related to DACA, refugees, or the deportation of undocumented immigrants.
- Racial tensions – Black Lives Matter and white nationalism.
- A topic of your choice (you need to discuss with me and get approval for it).
- Your introductory paragraph should give background information about the event and its historical significance. Your thesis should be the last sentence in your intro paragraph and should reflect your position about the article’s effectiveness in making its case.
- Each of your body paragraphs should provide support for your main point. Each body paragraph should start with a topic sentence (indicating the topic that your paragraph will discuss) and should address issues such as accountability, credibility, kinds of evidence, signs of bias, argumentative strategies and fallacies.
- Consider your audience and purpose. Who are the potential readers of your essay, and why would they read your work?
- Remember to include both quotes and paraphrases into your writing and don’t forget the in-text citations (the late name of the author or the title in parenthesis)
Formatting:
All essays in this course MUST be typewritten using .doc or .docx format and the font Times New Roman, pt 12, double spaced. Please do not use a cover page. You will need to upload your final draft including a Works Cited page