Any topic (writer’s choice)

The purpose of the research is to argue the causes and consequences of some problem so as to find the solution.  I’ve provided more guidance below but please email me if you have additional questions.

Here are the details:

Length: Between 2000 to 3000 words

At least 10 sources

MLA documented

Rough Draft Due: Friday, December 4 (20 points)

Final Draft Due: Friday, December 11 (80 points)

Link:

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_sample_paper.html

Feel free to include visual aids such as a picture, graphic, table, chart, etc. in the research paper and make sure to cite it. 

GUIDANCE:  The purpose of the research paper is to argue your position on some issue/problem in the larger society.  I’ve listed below a few topics that you must choose from. If neither topic interests you, email me other topics that you think might work for this paper.  Keep in mind that you must choose a problem which has specific causes and consequences because the larger goal of your paper is to come up with solutions.

Topics

1) What are the causes and consequences of the rejection of scientific evidence regarding global warming?

2) Why do American high school students perform poorly on science and math? What are the causes and consequences?

3) Is social media a major source of mis- and  disinformation about science and what are the causes and consequences?

4)  Why is the rate of animal extinction accelerating? What are the causes and consequences?

5) Is ADHD over-diagnosed in the US? What are the causes and consequences?

6) Why are people manipulated by pseudoscientific claims? What are the causes and consequences?

7) What are the causes and consequences of the gender wage gap especially in stem related professions?

8) Why are more and more parents homeschooling their kids–even before Covid–and what are the causes and consequences of this cultural trend?

9) To what degree are social media responsible for the growth in conspiracy theories and what are the causes and consequences?

10) Is there a correlation between education and longevity? What are the causes and consequences?

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Here’s the outline for the paper:

1) Introduction and thesis: In the introduction, try to get the reader’s attention by introducing some facts that might shock him or her.  The purpose of the introduction is to convince the reader that the issue you’ve chosen is an important one. At the end of the introduction, provide your position which should say something like the following:

Homelessness in the US is rising for three reasons: A, B, and C.  The consequences of growing homelessness are X, Y, and Z.  The most effective way to fix the problem is by doing A and B.

Your thesis must provide arguable claims.  Avoid using cliched language such as good or bad or pro or con.  Be specific about what you are arguing.

2) Facts regarding the problem: In this section, you should give facts that prove the existence of the problem.  Provide statistics and summaries of studies to prove that the problem exists. Feel free to use tables and graphs but make sure to cite them. Make sure your facts show the complexity of the issue.  For example, don’t just say that X number of people are homeless; be specific about who these people are.  How old, what ethnicity and so on.

3) Opposing Viewpoint: In some cases, there may be an opposing viewpoint. Take homelessness: does everyone agree about the causes of homelessness? Clearly no because research shows that close to 50% of Americans blame the homeless for this suffering.

So, if there’s an opposing viewpoint to yours, tell us what it is and argue against it.

3) Argue THREE causes of the problem: In this section, you should provide three causes of the problem and support those causes by evidence.  Make sure to discuss each cause in a different paragraph and start each paragraph with a topic sentence.

One major reason for growing poverty in the US is A.  According to the CDC, millions of people became homeless after the 2008 recession….

4) Argue THREE consequences of the problem: In this section, you should argue what the three consequences of the problem are and provide evidence to support each in a different paragraph.

5) Discuss pragmatic solutions: In this section, you should discuss pragmatic solutions.  Don’t just say, Let’s all help those who are struggling: hoping for people to do X or Y is wishful thinking, so come up with specific solutions that you think have a chance of working.

Email me if you have any questions.  Thanks