ENG 124 Grossmont College Is America the Greatest Country Research Paper

Is America the greatest country in the world? This essay asks you to agree or disagree with this statement and draft an essay exploring your assertions about America’s strengths and/or struggles

Using the clip from The Newsroom as your lens, please consider one of the positive/negatives about America that Will McAvoy (the main character in the clip) presents as the starting point of your essay. (feel free to choose a topic not mentioned as well).

This paper asks you to focus on our discussion boards about the power of one voice to facilitate change and its impact on a particular social, political, cultural, or humanitarian issue in America. Please concentrate this proposal or presentation paper on one of the struggles you see in America (i.e. poverty, mass incarceration, defense spending etc.). Your choice is to shine light and celebrate an element of American society and bring its elements to a new focus, or you will break down the struggles within a particular topic and offer actions to improve it.

Proposal/Policy arguments are most often a call for action or used to introduce an audience to see an issue in a new light. When the audience reads a proposal/presentation argument, one is asked to make a decision about the proposal and then, act on it or consider the positive aspects of an argument.

For this assignment, you will have the option to choose one of the following:

Choose one:

Practical Proposal and Policy Essay: This will propose an action to solve or improve what you see as a struggle within America. (Your proposal to change an issue you see as a problem).

Argument to Convince: Or propose that what others may see as a negative aspect of America, that you believe is not a problem and why. Choose a topic that you wish to present in a positive light and celebrate its elements to your audience.

Consider:

Showing that a problem exists, explaining the proposed solution(s), and justification of why it matters or show that a community often looked at in a negative light has very real positive elements to be considered.

The need for presence – Your purpose is to persuade people to act. You will want to appeal to the audience’s hearts, imaginations, and even their intellect. This is where you employ the rhetorical moves we studied in paper one. (Ethos, Logos, Pathos) Perhaps the use of provocative statistics, dialogue, illustrative narratives, and compelling examples that show the reader how important the issue you choose is or perhaps the consequences of not acting.

Overcome preconceived notions: There is often an issue with proving that an issue needs to be fixed or improved. You must initially persuade the audience to consider there is a problem in order for them to be open to your ideas for resolution or improvement.

Possible future consequences: Use the possibility of negative consequences if no action is taken as a way to support your argument.

Page Requirement: 1250 – 1750 (about 5 to 7 pages)

Source Requirements:

2 academic /peer edited sources

2 Op Eds or other articles

1 final source of your choice (consider: songs, poems, murals, visual art, YouTube or other media related source

5 Total Sources

MLA format with a fully realized work cited page.

Structure: Remember to visit the handouts and class discussions we have visited

Due Dates: See Canvas for paper timeline and due dates

“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” Robert F. Kennedy

Social Justice Outline Template

Is America the Greatest Country in the World?

Introduction:

Format Ideas for Outline:

Introduce and develop the problem:

• Hook: Engage the readers’ interest in your proposal/problem
• Introduce the issue, the history of it, current status of it, etc.

provide background, including previous attempt to solve the problems Presence:

• Who is affected and what is at stake
• Discuss the problem(s)you will present /or discuss why there is no problem.
• If you are using one source throughout the essay, introduce it here (introduce the rest fully the first time you use them).
• Clear thesis about what this paper will argue

Body Paragraphs:

• Topic Sentence (on of your claim that supports the thesis)
• Talk about the claim a bit
• Introduce (MLA format) and present quote from one of your sources
• Discuss how and why and what makes this quote support what you say in the

topic sentence and thesis

• Transition to next source (relationship between sources handout)
• Introduce (MLA format) and present quote from one of your sources
• Discuss how and why and what makes this quote support the first source, what

you say in the topic sentence, and the thesis

• Transition to more sources for this topic in a new paragraph or transition to a new topic

Repeat this format for all main claims/topics you present

Respond to Objections or alternative proposals: (this can appear anywhere in your paper (avoid using it as your last claim)

• Anticipate and summarize possible objections or alternative ways to solve the problem
• Respond through rebuttal or concession

Conclusion:

• Remind the audience about the issue
• Remind the audience why this issue matters
• Remind them what happens if we don’t make changes or change the way we think

• Call to action