Argumentative Essay: Social Problem: Unemployment in the U.S (6 pages)

Unemployment in the U.S

The assignment must have the following parts:

• A brief argument on why your topic represents a social problem (15 points).
• The identification of 5 sources (20 points).
• A list of rhetorical devices and fallacies that might and have been applied to your social problem (25 points)
• An argumentative essay regarding a social policy which might help address the social problem (40 points).

Parts 1 – 3 are very similar to Blog Assignments 1 – 3. It is expected that students will build on their work in these assignments. Part 4 is an essay and I strongly suggest that you watch the video on writing an argumentative essay before commencing.

In terms of paper organization, please begin with a title page which includes your name and the social problem you are addressing. Then, separate the paper into sections to address the four parts. I might suggest using the following sub-section titles:

1) Why [INSERT YOUR SOCIAL PROBLEM HERE] is an important social problem?,

2) Credible and Non-Credible Sources of Information on [YOUR SOCIAL PROBLEM],

3) Common Rhetorical Devices and Fallacies Applied to [YOUR SOCIAL PROBLEM], and

4) Addressing [YOUR SOCIAL PROBLEM] through [A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE POLICY YOU ARE ADVOCATING FOR].

Here are additional details on the four parts of this assignment:

• This should be a brief (about 1-2 pages) argument that explains why your topic is a social problem. It is likely that you can utilize much of the same language from Blog 1. Be sure that you present an actual argument – that is, there needs to be identified issue, a set of premises, and a conclusion. Although this is in essay format-not list format! For this part of the paper, the conclusion should be something like “therefore, this [whatever you are writing about] is a social problem” or “therefore, society should be concerned about [your topic] because it is a social problem.” This is not, however, the place to discuss potential solutions (that comes in part 4).

• Here, you should provide a list of sources that readers might reference if they want to gain more information about your topic. Specifically, you must present 5 sources. Be sure to provide formal citations (any style is fine). 2 of these sources must be peer-reviewed articles, 2 of these sources must be credible websites, and 1 of these sources must be non-credible sources of information. You should include a brief (4-6 sentences) summary of each source and 2-3 sentence explanation for why it is or is not credible. You must USE and CITE the credible sources you list here should when writing part 4. This part of the paper should be written as a list of sources with citations and summaries/explanations written below each citation.

• For part 3, you want to list at least three rhetorical devices or fallacies that you can envision people applying to your social problem. Briefly explain why you think EACH of these rhetorical devices or fallacies might be applied to this problem. For one, provide actual example (hyperlink REQUIRED) of how this has occurred for one of the fallacies or rhetorical devices you have selected. You do not need an example for each rhetorical device or fallacy (only one of them – the discussion of the other 2 can more hypothetical-how it MIGHT be used/applied to your social problem). This should be no more than 1 page.

• In part 4, you are writing a brief argumentative essay on how we, as a society, might start to address your social problem. Please view the online materials for this topic in this module. This essay should clearly identify your claim and provide a well-structured argument as to why your proposed social policy would help address the social problem. This essay should be built on credible sources (those you identified in part 2) and should include in-text citations. In order to succeed in this part of the assignment, you must propose a reasonable social policy solution (meaning, your solution cannot be about personal and family changes) – meaning, what can we, as a society do to address this problem and how might we make that happen? This should be 800-1000 words.

The assignment will be checked for plagiarism using the Safe-Assign tool. The paper will be graded both on content and writing, so be sure to proofread your assignment carefully. All papers should be written in a standard font and should be double-spaced.