Contemporary Issues Paper Name ______________________________
Humanities 8
2003-2004
Paper Requirements:
This will be a four to six page paper (exclusive of works cited) on a current domestic/international issue of your choosing. Your grade will count in both history and language arts. The paper should be done in the same format as the atomic bomb paper you did earlier in the year and conform to the MLA style for documenting sources. You must have a minimum of six non-encyclopedia sources. Because of the contemporary focus of the paper, a majority of your sources must be drawn primarily from the current media (newspapers, newsmagazines, etc.) within the past two years. A special point of emphasis in evaluating your paper will be your ability to integrate evidence into the body of your paper. The paper should fully discuss the problem, including appropriate historical background, and present all major viewpoints in regard to the issue. This should not be an opinion paper or a country profile. Time permitting, you may be asked to make a brief presentation on your issue after the due date of the paper.
Due Dates:
·
Topics are due by Wednesday,
December 17.
·
A synopsis of your paper with
thesis statement and at least six sources is due by Friday, January 30.
·
Rough drafts are due Monday,
February 23.
·
The final paper will be due on Monday,
March 22. Papers and rough drafts are
due regardless of whether you are in school on that date.
Procedure to Follow:
1. Educate yourself on the topic before you begin to do specific research. It would be a good idea to conference with a teacher if you have questions. Good background sources are encyclopedias, television documentaries, or a good general book on the subject. Forums and special reports from major news sources (New York Times, Washington Post, BBC, CNN, etc. can also be very helpful—there are links to these sites on Mr. Stroebel’s web page). Take notes for the background portion of your paper and try to identify major issues on which to do specific research.
2. Research major sources (examples below) for current information. Be wary of a general net search. Try to update your background and look for specific evidence that you can incorporate into your paper.
3. Compile an intended works cited list and outline your main points.
4. Write a two-three page background on your issue. This may have limited cited information.
5. Bring your issue up-to-date with current sources. Include numerous pieces of evidence in your
paper to support the positions and ideas presented. Remember that all quotes, controversial
information or statistics, or extensively paraphrased information require
citation references (MLA format) in your paper.
6. Read over your paper carefully before submitting it. It is also a good idea to have someone else
read your paper. Remember to take advantage of the opportunity to conference.
7. Update your paper after you receive comments on your rough draft. Do not hesitate to schedule a conference to go over your draft.
Be aware of these potential problems:
·
INADEQUATE BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO WRITE
· Lack of “mainline” current sources (i.e. over-reliance on general internet content; newspapers and magazines from the past two years will be some of your best sources)
· Discussion of issues that does not move from the general to the specific
· Lack of evidence (both directly quoted and paraphrased)
· Improper citation of evidence and works cited format
· Evidence that is not well introduced so that it flows neatly into your narrative
· Failure to identify speakers when first introduced in your paper
· Failure to write in third person and primarily in past tense
· Poor word choice and unclear writing (wrong words, rephrasing required, tense errors, run on sentences, awkwardness of ideas presented)
· Failure to adhere to proper MLA formatting
Internet Resources: (Many of
these are available on the Internet page of Mr. Stroebel’s
website)
Newspapers (You can access a list of all newspapers on the web
through www.newspapers.com):
New York Times www.nytimes.com
Washington Post www.washingtonpost.com
Chicago Tribune www.chicago.tribune.com
Los Angeles Times www.latimes.com
Many newspapers have special reports sections that can be accessed through their national or international pages.
Magazines (You can access a list of all magazines on the web through http://www.ecola.com/news/magazine/):
U.S. News & World Report www.usnews.com
Newsweek
www.msnbc.com/news/NW-front_Front.asp
Time www.time.com/time/
Other Sources:
CNN www.cnn.com
BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk
If you have an
Topic Selection:
All topic selections must be made before December 18. No students may choose the same topic, but we are open to proposals that would cover different aspects of a topic. The list of topics is by no means comprehensive. We are willing to listen to alternative proposals as well as those listed. Choices will be essentially first-come-first-served although we reserve the right to give a priority to students who have a personal connection to an issue.
Affirmative Action/Racial Preferences/Quotas
Budget Deficit
Capital Punishment for Juvenile Offenders
Changes to the Tax System (flat tax, etc.)
Charter Schools
Civil Liberties and Domestic Security
Cloning
Corporate Scandals
Democratic Presidential Candidates (Choose one)
Drug Enforcement Policies
Drugs in Sports
Educational Testing (This could focus on the SAT or public school accountability testing)
Effects of Welfare Reform
Future of Social Security or Medicare
State-Sponsored Gambling
Gender Equality Issues (This will probably need to be more specific)
Genetically Modified Foods
Growing Rich/Poor Income Gap
Growing
Minority Populations (Especially in the
Gun Control
Hate Crimes Legislation
Judicial Appointments Deadlock
Legislation
to Establish English as the
Managed Health Care/PPO Regulation (Patient’s Bill of Rights)
Mandatory Sentencing Laws
Medical Research on Prisoners
Medicare Revisions/Proposed Pharmacy Prescription Assistance
Medicinal Marijuana Laws
Microsoft Antitrust Case
On-Line Education (Both for high school and college)
Physician Assisted Suicide
President Bush’s Re-election Campaign
Public Funding for Controversial Art
Puerto Rican Statehood
Same-Sex Marriage Laws
Schism
between Fundamentalism and Liberalism in
School Choice Vouchers
Single-Sex Public Schools
Stem Cell Research
Underemployment (People losing jobs then taking jobs at a much lower level)
Foreign Issues:
Chinese Economic Transition
Democratization in the Arab World
Economic Transition of
European Economic Integration (Euro)
Expansion/Future of NATO
German Post-Unification Difficulties
Human Rights in
India-Pakistan Conflict
International AIDS crisis
Internet Revolution in
Iranian Nuclear Development
Islamic Fundamentalism
Kurdish Nationalism
Missile Defense Systems
Modernization vs. Fundamentalism in
Nuclear Proliferation
Peacekeeping in Kosovo/Bosnia
Progress of the War in
Prosecuting Crimes against Humanity
Reform in
Saudi Arabian Ties to Terrorism
Stem Cell Research
The Future of
Democracy in
The post-communist experiences of any non-Russian former
Transition to Democracy in
U.S. Relations with Arab Countries
U.S.-China Policy
World Trade Organization (WTO)