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ENG 1213: The Basic Argument
READINGS
All readings plus supplemental materials are
available on the class website under
Unit 1.
RESEARCH
Use outside, credible
sources where required. If your argument is based on common
knowledge, you may not need outside support.
Your
paper must be a minimum of 2 pages (@ 600 words)
following correct MLA style formatting.
THIS
ASSIGNMENT IS WORTH 100 POINTS.
GUIDELINES
Read John Donne’s “XVII Meditation” and Robert
Frost’s “Mending Wall” in our anthology. Choose one of these to
work with, and identify one abstract principle in the text you
choose. Explain it to the reader, and then argue for or against
that view, arguing your case by giving your reader at least 3
points (topic sentences) to support your position. You must also
bring in examples to help clarify your position and provide
backing for your stance. Use current events to do so.
This is very similar to the “Cherries”
assignment. If we were still using that poem, I would identify
an abstract concept in the poem such as insensitivity. I would
explain how the author uses insensitivity, defining it clearly
to my audience. If I agreed that many people are insensitive to
the plight of others not only in other parts of the world but
just down the street, as Stryk argues in his poem, I would then
need to prove it to my reader by showing them examples and
explaining why this is so. I would not stop there, for I have to
have a reason for bringing this to the reader’s attention. I
would then want to offer some cautionary note about what the
repercussions for such actions may be. This cautionary note
usually goes in the conclusion, though there may be bits of it
in each body paragraph tied specifically to the example I am
using in those separate paragraphs. See example on next page.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS
The essay should have an introduction, at least 3
body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You must support your
position with at least three well-developed and well-supported
claims. These main discussion points will become the topics of
your body. In your thesis statement, you must make your position
clear with a clearly defined subject and attitude.
In addition, you must:
You may assume that your audience
for this assignment consists of intelligent, college-level
readers.
Sample Paragraph:
Lucien Stryk clearly sees insensitivity
in the way modern people only look at the world through their
own problems. He writes, “I want / to care, I mean to, but not /
yet, a dozen cherries / rattling at the bottom of my bag” (565).
The speaker obviously knows that he is being selfish, yet he is
easily distracted by the cherries in his own bag. Like him,
people are too often so consumed by their own needs and desires
that they lose perspective and compassion for others. CEOs are
good examples of this. Corporate America is full of top-level
administrators who earn millions of dollars a year. According to
United for a Fair Economy, a non-profit, bi-partisan group,
CEO’s earned 344 times what an average worker did in 2008. Yet
when companies suffer financial setbacks, rarely do CEOs take a
paycut. Recently, Americans have been shocked and outraged at
the stories of corporate executives receiving perks even as
their companies ask the government for bailout money:
Last week, as former Merrill Lynch CEO John
Thain was agreeing to resign from Bank of America, news
broke that he had spent more than $1 million redecorating
his office, including paying $800,000 for a celebrity
designer and spending $87,000 on an area rug. All this while
Merrill was collapsing -- the bank reported a loss of $15.31
billion in 2008 -- and the newly merged Merrill Lynch-Bank
of America was requesting more aid from the government.
Thain had also doled out $4 billion in executive bonuses to
favored Merrill employees just before the merger. Just last
week, the Treasury Department agreed to give Bank of America
$20 billion in additional aid. Separately, it was revealed
earlier this week that Citigroup was in the final stages of
purchasing a $50 million private jet -- after receiving $45
billion in public TARP funds this fall. (Shakir, et al)
To make matters worse, Citigroup announced in
late 2008 that it expects to lay off 52,000 jobs by early 2009
(Dash). The money Citigroup planned to spend on that jet could
have been used to keep those 52,000 workers employed. This is an
all too common scenario today in corporate America, and until
corporations begin operating under fair practices, America’s
economy will always be susceptible to the problems it currently
faces. If the corporate model is to excessively reward the very
few at the top and not to even provide reasonable cost-of-living
pay and benefit increases to those at the bottom, then people
will not be able to spend money that will stimulate the economy
and keep businesses thriving. It’s also a simple matter of
respect and compassion. Why would we want to support a system
that encourages the very worst sort of greed and crassness?
Making sure that American workers get paid a fair wage, and
keeping corporate salaries reasonable is not a threat to
capitalism as some suggest. Rather, it is a way to prevent the
current insensitivity that leads to the problems in Stryk’s
poem.
(This essay would include a works cited page that
lists the full info for the 4 sources cited in this paragraph:
Stryke, United for a Fair Economy, Shakir, and Dash).
ADDITIONAL
You may make an appointment with me (or email me)
at any phase of your assignment to discuss any ideas or problems
you may be having. I am more than willing to look at drafts at
any stage of development.
Please consult the information in your syllabus
about scheduling appointments in order to do so. You may also
schedule an appointment in SSC’s Student Success Center with a
writing tutor to gain valuable feedback on your draft.
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