W6 Purdue Education Sports Health Insurance Narrowing Topics Assignment
Humanities
Narrowing Topics
What is an argumentative paper? This week, your readings included an excerpt from the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL). Here is their explanation of an argumentative paper:
“An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.” (Tardiff & Brizzee, 2014)
Reference Citation
Tardiff, E. & Brizzee, A. (2014). Tips and examples for writing thesis statements. Retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/1/.
Through this assignment, you will sharpen your skills for writing your researched argument paper:
1.Practice narrowing a topic so that sources can be found and a clear thesis can be developed
2.Practice writing a thesis statement
Part A: Narrowing Topics
Example 1: Violence in schools
1.What causes violence in high schools?
2.Is there a developing trend in frequency or type of school violence?
3.How should violent school children be punished?
4.What can be done to prevent school violence?
Example 2: Drug use
1.Which drugs should be illegal?
2.What kinds of drugs are the most dangerous?
3.Is there a correlation between childhood exposure to drugs and use of drugs in adulthood?
4.What kind of penalties should there be for the various kinds of illegal drug offenses?
Example 3: Immigration
1.What are the effects of illegal immigration?
2.What are the effects of legal immigration?
3.How should immigration laws be enforced?
4.What’s the driving force behind illegal immigration?
After reviewing the three examples, write six narrowing questions for each of the four topics listed below.
1.Is it necessary to go to college in order to be successful?
2.(Your turn – narrow this topic)
1.Are professional athletes paid too much?
2.(Your turn – narrow this topic)
1.Should health insurance companies be able to charge higher rates depending on a person’s age?
2.(Your turn – narrow this topic)
1.Are people spending too much money in order to keep up with the latest gadgets?
2.(Your turn – narrow this topic)
