how the media uses rational/emotional/ethical appeals to get its point across

how the media uses rational/emotional/ethical appeals to get its point across

Your first two writing assignments were designed to focus on specific critical thinking and writing skills. You learned to understand and summarize authors’ ideas, and you also learned how to use personal narratives to develop and strengthen your essays; then you argued whether social networking was positive or negative for American society. Also, you were asked to analyze someone else’s argument, specifically a visual argument made by an advertisement.  You learned to analyze an argument using the rhetorical triangle – showing how the media uses rational/emotional/ethical appeals to get its point across.

Your third assignment, an argumentative research paper, will incorporate the skills you have developed throughout this course, and will develop new skills in research.  For this assignment, you will:

• Address the topic: Social Media
  • Technology is transforming how we make connections with others.  The refinement of smart phones and growth of social networking sites are changing our ideas about friendship, intimacy, and privacy.  Over half of American youth between twelve and seventeen have a social network account (Rosen 47).  Write an essay exploring several of the benefits and/or dangers social networks present to American teens.  Use a mixture of your own ideas, personal experiences, and at least 5 secondary resources to support your points.Technology is transforming how we make connections with others.  [unique_solution]The refinement of smart phones and growth of social networking sites are changing our ideas about friendship, intimacy, and privacy.  Over half of American youth between twelve and seventeen have a social network account (Rosen 47).  Write an essay exploring several of the benefits and/or dangers social networks present to American teens.  Use a mixture of your own ideas, personal experiences, and at least 5 secondary resources to support your points.Technology is transforming how we make connections with others.  The refinement of smart phones and growth of social networking sites are changing our ideas about friendship, intimacy, and privacy.  Over half of American youth between twelve and seventeen have a social network account (Rosen 47).  Write an essay exploring several of the benefits and/or dangers social networks present to American teens.  Use a mixture of your own ideas, personal experiences, and at least 5 secondary resources to support your points.Technology is transforming how we make connections with others.  The refinement of smart phones and growth of social networking sites are changing our ideas about friendship, intimacy, and privacy.  Over half of American youth between twelve and seventeen have a social network account (Rosen 47).  Write an essay exploring several of the benefits and/or dangers social networks present to American teens.  Use a mixture of your own ideas, personal experiences, and at least 5 secondary resources to support your points.Technology is transforming how we make connections with others.  The refinement of smart phones and growth of social networking sites are changing our ideas about friendship, intimacy, and privacy.  Over half of American youth between twelve and seventeen have a social network account (Rosen 47).  Write an essay exploring several of the benefits and/or dangers social networks present to American teens.  Use a mixture of your own ideas, personal experiences, and at least 5 secondary resources to support your points.
• Make an argument about your topic. This argument must be clearly stated in a working thesis statement.  All body paragraphs must be focused and organized, clearly relating back to your thesis.
• Research sources appropriate to your topic, and create an annotated bibliography of five of those sources.
• Effectively use those sources as evidence to support and prove your thesis. Although you may use articles in your reader, you must research and use at least three outside sources that you annotated.
• Cite all sources using MLA Format. Your paper must include proper parenthetical citations and a Works Cited page.

Your research paper must be 4-7 pages, typed, double-spaced, in 12 point font, and in MLA format. 

*A Few Notes about Required Sources:  Your sources must be reputable and reliable.  Good sources include the following:

• newspapers (San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times, etc.)
• magazines (Time, Newsweek, etc.)
• books
• scholarly journals
• some websites

Remember that a well-researched paper will include a variety of sources.  Also, remember that for academic papers, books and scholarly journals tend to provide the best information.

• At least one of your sources must be a current (2012 or later) book or article from a scholarly journal.
• While you are encouraged to reference primary sources (song lyrics, advertisements, television shows, movies, photos and other art, etc.), these cannot count toward your three required sources.

Due Dates and Other Information Important for this Paper

1. Wednesday, October 18th- You must submit your thesis for approval.
2. Friday, October 27^th–  Annotated Bibliography of at least five possible sources due.
3. Monday, October 30^th– Writing Plan Due

It is mandatory that you go to the Writing Center at least THREE times before you submit the final draft of this essay. No exceptions! 

1. Tuesday, November 8^th–  Final draft due.  Turn in both drafts of your essay, along with the revision response forms your peers completed for you.  Late second drafts will receive no credit, but I will give you as much feedback as I can in the time allotted.  Failure to turn in a second draft will result in automatic failure of this course. 

THIS ASSIGNMENT IS IMPORTANT!  No matter what discipline you are in, you will have to write well-researched papers.  Sometimes, you will have to generate your own topics.  Other times you may be given a broad topic that you have to narrow and focus for research.  You need to get used to finding good sources (not just whatever pops up first in a google search), and figuring out ways to effectively integrate those sources into your own writing.  Research papers are the cornerstone of many upper-division and writing intensive courses.

Make every effort to produce a well-written, well-researched set of drafts now to reduce the amount of work you have to do later.  Embrace the process, because as I have said so often, that is what this class is all about.