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This paper assignment connects not only with Wilson’s The Future of Life but also, probably, with Nosich’s chapter 3 (on thinking in a discipline) and, possibly, with a point of view that arises from your major and that informed your group presentation. In fact, what you will say about your chapter in Wilson may help you zero in on a topic. Reading Wilson’s whole book is not necessary to getting started. Read the index that starts on page 221. Read your group’s assigned chapter. Doing these two things provides a quick way of identifying a topic.
Preamble
You will work on your research paper while we are discussing Wilson’s book. Accordingly, you will pick something that he mentions–most likely an environmental topic–and write your paper about a focused topic within it. Does something intrigue you? Do you agree or disagree with something? Did Wilson get you thinking in a whole new direction? These are the kinds of questions that can steer you toward a suitable topic. Even if you choose something other than one of Wilson’s topics, you still have to have a connection to TFOL.
Whatever your topic may be, it is a very good idea to run your focused topic by me (preferably in writing). It is best to pick a Wilson-related topic. If that does not work for you, pick a topic within the paranormal, an area of inquiry that I know works well because I have used it before for this assignment. At the end of this assignment sheet, you will find some guidelines for this alternative.
The Assignment
You will write a classical argument supported by a minimum of five sources plus Wilson and Nosich. This time, in other words, your paper will look at the opposition/objections and will use research to support various parts of your paper. You should use mostly peer-reviewed sources. I do not want you using only electronic sources; at least one of them must be a book other than Wilson’s or Nosich’s. Do not just Google a bunch of sources and, for heaven’s sake, do not use Wikipedia! Since you are writing this paper within a discipline, find out about authoritative sources within that discipline and consult them.
As with your first two papers, you must focus your topic. My colleague Dr. Koster emphasizes the importance of focus in this engaging comment: “Narrowing your topic will be key. ‘We need to develop renewable sources of energy’ is going to be too vague and broad for your paper; ‘We need to put windmills on the Winthrop campus to power the blue security lights’ is probably too narrow. But you’ll need to be closer to the windmills thesis than to the vague thesis to make your paper successful.” You know me, though: I always want you to say more about less (what WA calls “10 on 1″). I would love a paper about windmills on the WU campus or about angus beef hamburgers at the Johnson dining hall or solar panels on WU rooftops or recycling in the residence halls. Make sure that your paper is narrow and that it proposes something constructive, something useful.
Here is a list of focused topics that worked well for previous students: the giant panda, pollution of the Haihe River, turning the university’s front lawn into a parking lot, light pollution, making the Thompson cafeteria all-vegetarian, cane toads, the Vancouver Island marmot, damming the Mekong River, the kissing bug (Triatoma protracta), toucans in the Amazon rainforest, recycling at Winthrop, exotic animals on the loose in Ohio, the purchase price of land in the Amazon rainforest, alternative energy at Winthrop, what to do about overpopulation in the United States, lights at Winthrop, the Sumatran rhino, Hydrilla Verticillata in Lake Wylie, and light sensors at Winthrop, giant pandas, the Venus Project, electric cars, the Yangtze River drainage, the Xiaowan dam, the Hawksbill sea turtle, overpopulation in the US, vehicle emissions inspections, deforestation of frontier forests in South America, alternative fuel lawn equipment at Winthrop, the Catawba River, the Yucca Mountain facility for storing nuclear waste, shahtoosh shawls, GMOs, the Florida Everglades, fracking, Monsanto’s patented seeds, liberty gardens.
A Preliminary Step
I strongly suggest that you submit to me (in hardcopy please; and put your e-mail address on it) a 1-page proposal that includes as many of the following items as possible:
•Your connection to Wilson (if you are working on an environmental topic).
•Your area of inquiry, topic, focus, and Q @ I.
•The sort of disciplinary assumptions and concepts that relate to your Q @ I (Nosich, ch. 3 is highly relevant here).
•Some idea of what you might like to advocate (i.e., say something that looks ahead to a thesis; and if you already have a thesis, then by all means tell me what it is).
•Your paper’s audience (ask yourself who can effect the solution that you want to propose).
•A preliminary annotated bibliography (you have to use 5 sources minimum, so it is a good idea to have more than that at this stage). Be sure to use MLA format and to write in complete sentences. Annotations answer these questions:?What is your source about? (information)
?Why do you think it is credible? (evaluation)
?How will it help you? (strategy)
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