Nature of Reality

ESSAY 3 PROMPTS: Research Paper
PROMPTS:
Your research paper will address ONE of the prompts below. You will have the freedom to choose among
the “Classical” “Rogerian” or “Toulmin” method of argumentation for this research paper. Once you
decide on the prompt, you will decide which argumentation method is better suited for your topic. No
matter which prompt you select, you have to address the following:
1. The Innocence Project—According to the Innocence Project, 367 people have been exonerated for
crimes they did not commit. For this topic assess the nature of the criminal justice system as it
relates to this case. How is it that so many people end up in jail for crimes they did not
commit? Think about these important elements:
a. Jailhouse informants, inadequate defense, misused forensic science, false confessions,
eyewitness misidentification, access to postconviction DNA testing.
b. Wrongful convictions among minority groups
c. Social services to help rebuild lives after exoneration
2. Third-World Surrogacy—Outsourcing has become common practice for major corporations,
moving jobs and services to third world countries where labor is cheaper, and laws are more
lax. For this topic, argue whether it is ethical to outsource pregnancy. Is surrogacy a
legitimate service that benefits biological parents and the surrogate or is it a case of the
biological parents exploiting poor women in order to save money? Keep in mind these
important components:
a. exploitation of low-income women
b. providing a life-changing amount of money to women in developing countries
c. challenges in gender norms
d. experiencing parenthood for wanting parents
3. History or Propaganda—In college, students tend to experience a sort of shock when they begin
to study history, asking themselves, “Why didn’t we learn this in pubic school?” For this prompt,
ask the question: Are public schools teaching history or propaganda? Are students being
indoctrinated with one-sided perspectives? As you answer that question, focus your analysis on
three or more of the following issues. Think of how these thematic elements are taught in high
school and how they are taught in college; you will focus on the college level:
a. The religious opinions of the Founding Fathers (the framers of the constitution)
b. Treatment of Indians and how they lost their lands
c. History of slavery, segregation, and racism
d. History of immigration and attitudes about immigrants
e. CIA involvement in Latin America and the Middle East
5. Nature of Reality—Politicians claim news is fake, celebrities photoshop pictures to make
themselves more appealing, movies like The Truman Show and The Matrix imply that we may not
know the difference between reality and fantasy. Children tend to be more gullible to what is false
and not real because of lack of experience and because their imaginations are unlimited. For this
topic assess to what extent adults today still struggle to know the difference between reality
and fantasy, and answer the question: what can society count on as reliably and
fundamentally true? As you explore the topic focus on ALL of the following:
a. the cognitive transition from childhood to adulthood
b. the consolidation of media and sources of information
c. the growing trend to distrust government
d. the prolonged exposure to social media
e. the growing trend to believe conspiracy theories
f. the theoretical possibility that the universe has multiple dimensions as explained by string
theory
CONSTRAINTS:
✓ Use either the Classical Method, Rogerian Method, or Toulmin Method of argumentation. It is
your choice.
✓ Essay will contain an A.P.A Style cover sheet with a Running head.
✓ Your essay should contain a References page as the very last page of your essay (on a separate
page) (follow A.P.A guidelines).
✓ Essay will implement A.P.A. Style to cite sources.
✓ Essay will be 2-pages for Essay 3A (not including the cover sheet, nor References page) in
length, nothing more or nothing less.
✓ Essay will be 3-pages for Essay 3B (not including the cover sheet, nor References page) in
length, nothing more or nothing less.
✓ Essay will be written in 3
rd person point of view (no “I” “we” “us” “my” “my father”).
✓ Essay will be written in Times New Roman font, 12-inch font, double spaced, 1” margins all
around, left-justified.
✓ Use at least 4 Sources:
• 1 – STC Database article (Academic Search Complete/Ebsco)
• 1 – Website
• 1 – eBook or hardcover book
• 1 – Online newspaper article (The Monitor, The New York Times, The Washington
Post, Boston Globe, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, etc.).
✓ All sources must be incorporated into your essay and quoted directly at least once.
✓ FOR INTERNET SOURCES REMEMBER: DO NOT use (.com) websites. For these sources
make sure that they are (.gov)(.org)(.edu) – government, organization, educational.
✓ Be sure that the mechanics of your essay are strong. Punctuation, spelling, and grammar will
count. By now you should know how I feel about sloppy essays. It is my pet-peeve if the computer
is already telling you that something is wrong, and you do not go back and fix it. Remember I can
identify a sloppy essay very quickly.
✓ TUTORING: For this research paper it is MANDATORY that you submit your essay to be seen
by a tutor before the rough draft is submitted. You will be given ample time and the essay with
feedback from the tutor needs to be submitted with the Essay 3A rough draft.
✓ No contractions, No 2
nd person point of view (using the word “you)
✓ COMPONENTS OF THE METHOD YOU CHOOSE NEED TO BE UNDERLINED
WITHIN YOUR ESSAY: (FOR EXAMPLE – TOULMIN: CLAIM, EVIDENCE, WARRANT,
REBUTTAL). (ROGERIAN: OPPOSING VIEWS, STATEMENT OF UNDERSTANDING,
STATEMENT OF YOUR CLAIM/POSITION, ETC). (CLASSICAL: BACKGROUND,
POSITION STATEMENT, POINTS OF EVIDENCE, REFUTATION). Points will be taken off if
the essay is not underlined.