The Rise of Podcasts

Project 5: Issue Analysis

Length: 1000-1200 words

Assignment:

You will write a well-researched essay that analyzes an issue by explaining the multiple, possibly conflicting perspectives that comprise the problem and its solutions. Your essay will include background information that readers need to understand the issue as well as analysis of the opinions of various stakeholders* and subtopics of the larger issue. Your goal is to write a coherent, sophisticated analysis that will engage and inform your readers. Attempting to persuade them that a particular perspective or solution is preferable is not the focus.

Synthesis/Thesis Statement:

In your thesis, identify multiple perspectives and synthesize them (describe the relationship between the perspectives) so your reader knows what to expect from your paper. But, be sure that you are not arguing for a particular point of view. If your issue is the illegal use of prescription drugs, for example, your thesis should address the various stakeholders in this issue in a clear, specific and focused manner: While most doctors do not intend to contribute to the illegal use of prescription drugs, because of the pressure they receive from pharmaceutical companies, health insurance agencies, and patients, they may unwittingly perpetuate the problem. As a reader I can expect that every section in this paper will describe how pressure on doctors, health agencies, pharmaceutical companies, and patients perpetuates the illegal proscription drug problem. Your beginning thesis will be what we call a working thesis. That means that as you write your first draft of the paper, which may be a discovery draft, you will return to and change your thesis to include perhaps another perspective that you neglected (perhaps you forgot to include sociologists in your discussion of parties interested in the illegal use of proscription drugs). The thesis in your final paper will be a neutral, polished statement that synthesizes all of the various sub-issues or perspectives covered in the paper.

Analysis of Multiple Perspectives, Sub-Issues and/or Stakeholders (the body paragraphs):

Revisit the articles (mainstream media and scholarly works) that you collected in your annotated bibliography or find new articles that are better suited to your evolving project. As you read through the articles, identify patterns (sub-issues or perspectives) that your authors discuss. For example, in a set of articles on human trafficking, all of the authors may discuss the legal history of slavery, why women become sex slaves, and how men are able to purchase sex slaves in our country. Build your body paragraphs around these perspectives, clearly supporting any claim that you make about your topic with evidence from your sources. Ideally, your analysis will be sophisticated, in that it does not just see two sides of an issue, but sees multiple parts of a larger situation, while carefully examining or analyzing each part.

Organization: Your essay should follow a clear organization plan that is logical and easy for the reader to follow; your thesis statement should give readers a sense of this plan. Sentences and paragraphs should be coherent and focused, and transitions should help the essay to flow clearly.

Research, Support or Evidence:

Your aim is to persuade your audience of your deeper understanding of this issue, thus you must use credible sources to support everything you say. You can use your knowledge of ethical, emotional or logical appeals to analyze how various groups discuss their role in the problem. Use both direct quotes and paraphrases, cite all your sources correctly in the text, and prepare a Works Cited page to accompany the essay.

Of your six sources, three-four should be scholarly and the rest should come from respected sources like The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, etc. You should demonstrate your ability to evaluate ethos in your choice of sources. Selected information should always be relevant to the central argument as well as quoted paraphrased correctly to support each claim. Your sources should also be well integrated into developed paragraphs: not just dropped in but contextualized.

Formatting Requirements of the Paper:

Include an interesting and descriptive title that clearly announces the issue you are analyzing.

Use Times New Roman, 12-point font with 1 margins.

Number your pages in the upper right hand header.

Include Works Cited page (page seven) written in MLA style including 3-4 scholarly and 2-3 mainstream sources (for a total of six sources).