Introduction
Last week you wrote a thesis. The thesis, in a nutshell, sums up the entire message of your essay. You may be satisfied with the way your thesis turned out, or it may need a bit of refinement. One way to consider whether your thesis is going to do its job for you and your reader is to explore more deeply the purpose of your essay. It needs to be relevant and important to YOU, but it also needs to have relevance for your reader. In order to assure that happens, you need to determine what is most important about your arguement and how it pertains to your readers.
Every academic essay must have purpose. There must be a reason for someone to bother reading it. That is the "so what" of an essay.
What is the most important outcome? Each of you has selected from the list of propositions on the Final Project assignment. They include:
1543. (11-0071) Genetically Engineered Foods. Mandatory Labeling.
1530. (11-0057) Three Strikes Law. Sentencing for Repeat Felony Offenders.
1529. (11-0058) Reinstates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry.
1520. (11-0042) Nuclear Power.
1512. (11-0035) Death Penalty Repeal.
Since these are propositions that may well end up on the California ballot, the most obvious important outcome is to write an argument that gives a reader a well developed reason for voting for or against the proposition. You've already selected an issue or problem related to the proposition and used it to determine ...at least partially... how you would recommend someone vote on the proposition.
Have you read the proposition you've chosen? If not, you need to do that right away. You need to see how your position will relate to the overall proposition so that your argument has relevance to those who will be voting on the issue. You need to have a thorough understanding of the proposition because your ultimate purpose is to recommend whether or not someone should vote for the proposition and to provide reasons for your position.
In 6a discuss with others in the class how the ideas in They Say / I Say Part 2 can be used to establish your purpose within the debate about the issue you've selected. Keeping in mind the position you have taken so far and use one or more of the templates from Part 1 to state something that has been said in the proposition, and then use one or more of the templates in Part 2 to react to that statement.
Example:
In the California Cannabis Hemp & Health initiative, Michael Jolson and Berton Duzy propose that cannibis be regulated much as alcohol is regulated; however, they recommend that "for the purposes of distinguishing from commercial production, 99 flowering female plants and 12 pounds of dried, cured cannibis hemp flowers, not leaf, produced per adult, 21 years of age or older, per year shall be considred as being for personal use" (1544 California Cannabis Hemp & Health Initiative). This seems both excessive and counter-productive to me. Although I agree with the legalization and regulation of marijuana for recreational use, I do not think it can be properly controlled if individuals are allowed to grow their own. I think that would end up making marijuana far too accessible to teens. A better choice would be to require that cannibis be commercially grown.
After you have posted your example of using both the Part 1 and Part 2 templates to engage with an idea in the proposition you are addressing, discuss points brought up by others who are working on the same proposition.
In 6a you will find a sub thread for each proposition. You should post your example in that thread. You will need to make at least three well developed posts in the 6a discussion; however, you are not limited to three, nor are you limited to posting only within the sub thread for those working on the same proposition.
6b - Discussion: Quoting Others - Graded
It's time to consider how you are going to use the experts to bolster your credibility and to reveal important information relevant to your argument. In Week 3 you made a list of subordinate questions that needed to be answered about your primary research question. You've geen gathering sources for various tasks. Now it's time to see if any of your subordinate questions have been answered in any of those sources. If not, you should specificially look for an article that answers at least one of your subordinate questions. Then, using what you have learned from the assigned readings and tutorial, write a paragraph that includes a direct quote.
Choose the quote using ideas from Quotations. Use the quote in context within the paragraph. Provide a proper signal phrase. Punctuate the quote properly. Cite the quote properly in-text and provide reference citation, too.
Example: Subordinate question: What are the costs of policing current marijuana laws?
One of the more important reasons for legalizing marijuana is money. Governments have many financial obligations, and taxpayers are the ones who pay for those. Jeffery A. Miron, a visiting professor of economics at Harvard University and the author of "The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition," claims that "legalizing marijuana would save $7.7 billion per year in government expenditure on enforcement of prohibition" (Miron). About two-thirds of that would be state savings. This is a significant amount that does not take into account the additional revenue that would come to state governments through taxation of the legal product.
Work Cited
Miron, Jeffery A.. "The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition." (June 2005). ProhibitionCosts.org. n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.prohibitioncosts.org/mironreport.html>.
After you have posted your example paragraph, discuss the process with others in the class. Help one another to refine the use of quotes by offering ideas for effective signal phrases, corrections to punctuation, corrections to in-text or reference citations. You will need to make at least three well developed posts in the 6b discussion; however, you are not limited to three. Each post should demonstrate an understanding of a concept related to the use of quotes or should focus on assisting others toward greater understanding of this powerful tool for essay writing.
