Humanities Homework Help
ENG Ashford University Unit 4 Michael McGough Discussion
Part 1
McGough and Charen
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Read these two selections from your World Views textbook: “A Mass Shooter’s Name is Part of the Story: Concealing It Is Silly and Self-Important” by Michael McGough (438-460) and “Don’t Name Mass Shooters” by Mona Charen (236-238).
Please compose one single paragraph in response to both readings in which you summarize each article’s main ideas, without making any direct statements implying your position. Instead, attribute the position to the author of each article and summarize the main ideas with neutrality. In the paragraph, find a middle ground between the two opposing arguments, asserting a position in which both sides could possible come together with some agreement. I recognize an agreement between these two sides will be difficult to figure out. Just brainstorm and do your best to come up with some middle ground; play the role of mediator in your imagination. Use a quotation from each of the readings within this paragraph, including an introductory phrase and citation for each quotation.
Part 2
“Annoying Ways People Use Sources” (Stedman)
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Be sure to follow the Important Guidelines for Discussions
The following article is not in your textbook. Use the link to read the following article:
Stedman, “Annoying Ways People Use Sources” – New Link Below. (Try right click if you have difficulty opening)
Annoying Ways People Use Sources (Stedman)
If the link doesn’t work, be sure you are logged into the library home page before you click the link.
Write about something that you learned or found helpful in this article about the research process. Have you ever been annoying in the ways Stedman illustrates in his article? If so, in what way(s)? Make sure that you include a quotation from the article to support your points.
part 3
Research Paper Plan
Topic overview: write a short paragraph describing your topic.
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- You might discuss why it is important or why it interests you. You could talk a bit about what you think you already know about the topic or your personal experience.
- What are the two sides, do you think, about this issue?
- You might not know clearly yet the two distinct points of view on this topic, but at this point, what do you think those two positions are?
- What issues with a middle ground to you foresee at this point?
- What are two sources that you might use for your essay?
- List your two or more possible sources in MLA format. For each of your two sources, you should write 1 sentence evaluating the source/ describing why it is academically strong, and 1 sentence that discusses how you might use the research in your paper.
- What is your preliminary/working thesis?
- After you’ve found a few potential sources, you want to answer your essential question. This will be your working thesis. As you read more about your topic, you might modify or change your thesis. For a Rogerian Argument, your thesis will essentially assert a middle ground position that the two sides might find agreeable.
- What are two points that you might make to defend each claim, two points per side, at this point in your research process?
- Start to brainstorm how you might support each side of the argument. You should begin to list a few points that you will use. Make sure that you have evidence from a strong source to support each of these points.
- Who is your audience? The Rogerian style of argument asks that you consider the effects that a polarized audience might have on your presentation of the information for your essay. Determine what sort of audience could benefit from your neutral and unbiased presentation of this material. For example, if you were to be writing about gun laws, it would be helpful in writing your Rogerian argument to imagine an audience for your paper to be some NRA members in combination with parents who are concerned with school shootings as readers of your essay. The audience would be polarized, thus requiring a delicate approach in the argument in order not to alienate each side. How could the audience gain from a balanced argument?
- What are you excited about learning?
- What challenges are you having?
