Finnan,150

Choosing a Topic

Choose a controversial issue in the news and express your position on it. Whatever issue you choose, make sure that it is sufficiently specific so that you can explore it adequately in a three-page paper. There are many issues you may wish to investigate. Perhaps the most important consideration when selecting a topic is also the simplest: choose one that interests you.

Here are some issues that are controversial in the U.S. currently:

Should immigration to the U.S. be drastically reduced?

Should the death penalty be allowed?

Should gun control be further tightened?

Should physician-assisted suicide be legalized?

Should experiments on animals be banned?

Should the U.S. limit trade with countries that violate human rights?

Should women soldiers be excluded from combat?

Should homosexuals be banned from the military?

Should the government regulate violence on TV?

Should the government ban human cloning research?

Should same-sex marriages be legal?

Feel free to choose a controversial issue in your country as well.

Generating Ideas

The more you know about a subject, the more you will understand reading about it and the easier it is to write about it. When writing about an issue in the news, you might want to begin by examining what you already know before you search for information and ideas in other sources. Use the following suggestions as a guide to help you explore the information and ideas you may already have about the topic you have chosen. Feel free, however, to consider anything related to the subject.

Identify the specific issue and examine why it is noteworthy.

Define words and phrases that are central to your investigation.

Discuss your personal connection, if any, with the issue.

Draft a thesis statement of your position on the issue. Clearly state reasons that support your position.

Respond to arguments made in favor of the opposing position.

Include any recommendations you may have and discuss their expected outcomes.

Assignment

This essay requires you to discuss your position on a controversial issue in the news that you have researched. You might find it helpful to begin by generating some of your own ideas and organizing them into an essay before you go on to your library research. Even if you find that your position changes as a result of the material you uncover, having a preliminary version of your essay can provide you with a starting point from which to operate. As you become more experienced, you may decide to go directly to doing library research without writing the preliminary version. The steps of the two approaches are summarized below.

Writing an Essay about Your Position on an Issue in the News

Two Approaches

One way .... Another approach ....

Generate ideas Generate ideas

Prepare an outline Do your research

Write a preliminary version Prepare an outline

Do your research Write a first draft

Prepare a revised outline Revise and proofread

Write a second version

Revise and proofread