Previous essay topics - English 101 fall 2003


Essay 1

Read every word below carefully, more than once, before starting your essay.

Choose one of the following options and respond in an argumentative essay of 750-1000 words (in the body of the essay, excluding headers, name, date, title, works cited entries, etc.).  Raise a central question at the end of your introduction that the rest of the paper strives to answer in the persuasive format.

For details of the physical formatting of your paper on papermargins, headers, titles, etc.see the simple stuff handout.  For guidelines on quotation and documentation, see the quotes and documentation handout.  All options require that you offer quotes from the readings to illustrate or substantiate your claims, so a works cited page is required.

I encourage you to seek my help with your paper outside of class, of course. If my office hours don't mesh well with your schedule, let me know, and I'll try to make arrangements for other times. I also encourage you to seek help from the Writing Center on any aspect of the essay: arriving at a topic, outlining, developing the draft, revising, and editing. Be sure to take printouts of both this assignment page and the one on persuasive format with you to the Writing Center. If your tutors are uncertain about anything we've covered thus far in the semester, point them to my web page: <http://citadel.edu/faculty/rogers>.

Options:
1) According to many so-called experts, the American family is falling apart. However, it may be that the family is not disintegrating, but rather is evolving to meet the great social and economic changes of the last several decades. In current terminology, what were once called "broken homes" have become "single-parent households." More often than not, children are raised today either by single parents or in families including step-parents; many children have two separate homes, in a sense, according to a court-determined division of custody between biological parents. Argue that the "family" is not disintegrating, but rather is changing to a new and even better form than the traditional family model dependent upon biological parents living together "until death do them part." Hint: emphasize what is most important in all families. Cite any of our readings relevant to this topic, totaling at least three quotations minimum. You may offer quotes in support of the opposing view or in support of your own viewpoint.

2) "Coinciding with radical changes in the family structure as we have known it for hundreds of years is the modern 'liberation’ of women—liberation from a set of social conditions determined by and for men, which restricted women largely to the role of ‘homemaking,’ providing comfortable homes for husbands and children. With the growing scarcity of ‘homemakers,’ there is a directly proportionate scarcity of traditional families." These statements imply that the demise of the "traditional family" is tied to advances in women's rights. Argue either for or against this assertion that improvements in women's rights are responsible for the demise of the traditional family. Whichever side you take, be sure to account for the economic necessity which forces many families to rely on income from working mothers, which may not involve "women's rights" at all. Cite any of our readings relevant to this topic, totaling at least three quotations minimum. You may offer quotes in support of the opposing view or in support of your own viewpoint.

3) Construct an argument debating the issue of whether or not homosexual marriage should be legal in all fifty states.  Quote from any of the pertinent readings at least three times.

Note:
Unless you can prove that the religion in question is absolutely, categorically "the one and only true religion," do not bring religion into the discussion.  Unless you can prove that the Bible is 100% verifiable fact, do not base any significant points of argument on any teachings or passages from the Bible.

4) Develop an argument for either one (not both) of the following two topics arising from Elizabeth Joseph's article, "My Husband's Nine Wives": a) Should polygamy be legal? or b) Is plural marriage (polygamy) more beneficial for women than monogamous marriage?  In either case, quote Joseph's article at least three times in your discussion.

5) Refute the primary argument of any one of the Little, Brown Reader articles we have read, and develop an argument demonstrating how or why the article's author is wrong. Beyond pointing out specific faults in the author's logic, the rational, logical presentation of your own views on the central issue should be the primary focus of your paper. Naturally, you should restate the author's central ideas briefly—and with fairness—as the "opposing views" in the persuasive format. Quote the article at least three times.

6) We have seen how arriving at a comprehensive definition of "family" is difficult. Argue against a definition of "family" that you find outdated or too limited (or too broad), and offer your own definition encompassing the significant changes in typical family structure over recent decades. While your definition need not deal only with types of families recognized by law and tradition, you must restrict your definition to groups that include one or more parents and children—in other words, your Citadel company, your football team, your street gang, your AA group, etc. are off limits. Quote from the appropriate reading(s) at least three times.



Hint: The most important sentence in your essay will be the "intro question," because it sets up the lines of argument that the rest of the essay will address.  I encourage you to run your intro question by me before writing past the introductory paragraph.  Once you have a question in mind, feel free to see me during office hours, send email, or call me at home to make sure you start off on the right track.
I cannot respond to whole drafts through email, but I will be happy to respond to your specific questions about any particular aspect of the essay.


Works Cited info: If you are citing our edition of The Little, Brown Reader you have all the bibliographic info you need for works cited entries in the book itself. The articles on reserve come from the 6th edition of The Little, Brown Reader, which was edited by Marcia Stubbs and Sylvan Barnet.  This book was published by HarperCollins, in New York, in 1993.  You should have the page numbers for the articles on the handouts.  (If not, the articles' inclusive page numbers are listed below:

"My Husband's Nine Wives," 127-29
"Marriage as a Restricted Club," 708-12.)



Essay 2

Read every word below carefully before starting your essay.

Respond to one of the following options in an analytical or argumentative essay of 750-1100 words. Whichever option you address, your introduction should end in a central question that the rest of the paper strives to answer. For topics that call for argument, follow the persuasive format.

For details of the physical formatting of your paper on papermargins, headers, titles, etc.see the simple stuff handout.  For guidelines on quotation and documentation, see the quotes and documentation handout.  All options require that you offer quotes from the readings to illustrate or substantiate your claims, so a works cited page is necessary.

I encourage you to seek my help with your paper outside of class. If my office hours don't mesh well with your schedule, let me know, and I'll make arrangements for other times. I also encourage you to seek help from the Writing Center on any aspect of the essay: arriving at a topic, outlining, developing the draft, revising, and editing. Be sure to take printouts of both this assignment page and the one on persuasive format with you to the Writing Center. If your tutors are uncertain about anything we've covered thus far in the semester, point them to my web page: <http://citadel.edu/faculty/rogers>.

Options:
1) As we have noted, American education is discussed in almost exclusively negative terms. Our readings have condemned the pre-university education system in the U.S. as ineffective, especially in comparison with systems in Europe and Japan. Suggestions for reform in education range from "modest" proposals to radical extremes. Relying on your experiences in high school and here at The Citadel, construct an argument proving that our system of education is fundamentally sound and in need of only minor improvements. You might seek to clarify just what the primary aims of the American system of education are (or should be). Incorporate at least three quotations from our recent readings on education.

2) If you agree with the many critics who condemn our system of pre-university education, identify the primary flaws in the system and make thoughtful suggestions for improving American education. You may rely on any of our readings to support of your assertions, but your primary points of analysis should present your own thinking on the issue: bring in at least three quotations from the readings to support your views, not to make your primary points for you.

Note that this option does not necessarily call for argumentation—you can raise a question in the introduction and present only positive, direct answers that you agree with. In other words, an opposing viewpoint is not required with this option.

3) Argue for or against Paul Goodman's proposal to abolish grading at the college level. If you agree with Goodman, be wary of simply restating his argument—argue for Goodman's ideas, but concentrate primarily on explaining why you agree with them. Quote Goodman's article at least three times: you may also quote Diane Ravitch's article, "In Defense of Testing," but you are not required to do so.

4) What qualities and strategies make a teacher effective—that is, what makes a good teacher? This option does require argumentation, so in order to adhere to the persuasive format, you will need to view this question as a two-sided issue: consider as the opposing argument some quality or qualities others think important to effective teaching but that you disagree with.

5) Several of the readings suggest that the American education system places too much emphasis on computers and technology in the classroom. Argue for or against the use of computers and advanced technology in pre-university classrooms. Incorporate at least three quotes from any of our readings on education.

6) Two of our readings, Richard Rodriguez's "Public and Private Language" and Fan Shen's "The Classroom and the Wider Culture," point out some of the problems our educational system faces in the highly multicultural nature of American society. There are many other challenges our diverse society poses for the educational system as well. Quoting Rodriguez's and/or Shen's article(s) at least twice (two quotes total, minimum), discuss what you consider to be the three or four most pressing issues the multicultural nature of American society brings into our pre-university educational system. You may approach this topic in either argumentative or purely analytical fashion—i.e. with or without an opposing viewpoint.



Essay 3

Respond to one of the options below in an argumentative essay of 750-1100 words. Whichever option you address, your introduction should end in a central question that the rest of the paper strives to answer in the persuasive format.

For details of the physical formatting of your paper on papermargins, headers, titles, etc.see the simple stuff handout.  For guidelines on quotation and documentation, see the quotes and documentation handout.  All options require that you offer quotes from the readings to illustrate or substantiate your claims, so a works cited page is necessary.

I encourage you to seek my help with your paper outside of class. If my office hours don't mesh well with your schedule, let me know, and I'll make arrangements for other times. I also encourage you to seek help from the Writing Center on any aspect of the essay: arriving at a topic, outlining, developing the draft, revising, and editing. Be sure to take printouts of both this assignment page and the one on persuasive format with you to the Writing Center. If your tutors are uncertain about anything we've covered thus far in the semester, point them to my web page: <http://citadel.edu/faculty/rogers>.

Note 1: For reading quiz credit, on the date of peer response you will turn in a topic sentence outline beginning with the central question your paper strives to answer, followed by the topic sentence for each body paragraph as it appears in your paper and concluding with the paper's overall thesis (as in the second in-class exercise).

Note 2: You must turn in your paper both in hard copy and in electronic format (either on floppy disk or as an email attachment). Failure to meet this requirement will incur a letter-grade penalty.

Options:
1) Construct an argument between at least three different viewpoints in answer of the question, "Why do we work?"  (You may use this question, word for word, as your "intro question" without fear of plagiarism.)  You are not restricted to views expressed in our readings, but you must quote at least two of the articles on work, and you must incorporate a total of at least four quotes into your discussion.

2) Construct an argument between three or more different viewpoints in answer of the question, "Why are so many people such passionate sports fans?"  (You may use this question word for word as your "intro question.")  Here too you are not restricted to views expressed in our readings, but you must quote from our recent readings at least four times.

3) Argue for or against Pete Hamill's assertion that "Winning isn't 'the only thing'" in sports and in other aspects of life. Incorporate at least four quotes from Hamill's article and/or any of our other recent readings.

4) Construct an argument between two or more different viewpoints in answer of the question, "Why do we play?" Quote from our recent readings at least three times. Caution: this topic is by far the most difficult. Address this option only with great care. Even more than with the other options, I strongly recommend that you set up a conference for papers on this topic before submitting your essay for grading.

Works Cited info: The articles on reserve are from the 6th edition of The Little, Brown Reader, edited by Marcia Stubbs and Sylvan Barnet, published by HarperCollins, in New York, in 1993.

 


Essay 4

As usual, for details of the physical formatting of your paper on papermargins, headers, titles, etc.see the simple stuff handout.  For guidelines on quotation and documentation, see the quotes and documentation handout.  Since quotes from the readings are required, a works cited page is necessary.

This assignment differs from the previous three in several respects. For one thing, this essay will not be argumentative, so you will not present opposing viewpoints. Secondly, while you should still follow the same process of raising a question and providing direct answers to that question in topic sentences and the thesis in setting up the focus and structure of the paper, the question itself will not be incorporated directly into the essay. Thirdly, there is only one topic option.

The topic: In a well-developed essay of 800-1200 words in six or more paragraphs, explore the issue of how our culture's gender expectations make life difficult for both men and women. That is, explore different specific stereotypes or behavioral expectations our society places upon both men and women, explaining how each expectation you discuss either limits or causes suffering for the gender or sex in question. It would be simplest to deal with men and women separately, focusing on a single stereotype or cultural expectation per body paragraph. Incorporate at least six quotations from our readings into your discussion,

The outline (due on the day of peer response): Before you begin writing the essay, construct a topic sentence outline just as we have done in previous in-class exercises and essays: begin the outline with the central question your paper strives to answer, then give full topic sentences that answer the question directly for each primary point in your paper (i.e. for each body paragraph), just as they will appear in the essay itself, and conclude the outline with the the paper's overall thesis, answering the central question directly and combining the essential points from the various topic sentences. (For review of a topic sentence outline, see the third in-class exercise).

The introduction: Although you are using a central question (intro question) to develop your topic sentences and thesis statement at the outlining stage, your essay itself should not raise a literal question in the introduction as we have been doing: instead, the introduction should culminate in the thesis statement that ends your topic sentence outline. Again, the thesis statement is the full and complete answer to the question the body of your paper addresses even though the question is not incorporated directly into the paper.  As an alternative to presenting a thesis in the introduction, you may have the introduction culminate in a statement of purpose (e.g. "This paper will explore the issue of. . . .").  If you begin the essay with a statement of purpose, present the full thesis statement in the conclusion, just as you would in the persuasive format.

As always, I encourage you to seek my help with your paper outside of class. If my office hours don't mesh well with your schedule, let me know, and I'll make arrangements for other times. I also encourage you to seek help from the Writing Center on any aspect of the essay: arriving at a topic, outlining, developing the draft, revising, and editing. Be sure to take printouts of both this assignment page and the one on persuasive format with you to the Writing Center. If your tutors are uncertain about anything we've covered thus far in the semester, point them to my web page: <http://citadel.edu/faculty/rogers>.

Note: You must turn in your paper both in hard copy and in electronic format (either on floppy disk or as an email attachment). Failure to meet this requirement will incur a letter-grade penalty.

Options:

Works Cited info: The article on reserve was taken from the 6th edition of The Little, Brown Reader, edited by Marcia Stubbs and Sylvan Barnet, published by HarperCollins, in New York, in 1993.


Reminders:

Every body paragraph's topic sentence should answer the (unstated) central question directly.
Reiterate the key words from topic sentences throughout body paragraphs.
Sweat the details: use the GR, N, SS, and QD "handouts" and proofread closely.
Do seek my help outside of class.