War in Iraq
Written Assignment | Readings | Planning | Revision | Proofreading
Assignment Overview
Abstraction.
How do you understand an idea? A concept? A way of looking at the world? And why? Why is it necessary to do this?
On one level, the "how to" is easy: first read up on the subject and then, to truly understand it, write about it; second, you have to want to understand the idea or concept.
Why is that desire to understand so important? Because without it, you will not devote the necessary mental energy needed to feed your imagination. And your imagination and intellect -- the left and right side of your brain -- are necessary to fire off the neurons that will get you to understand abstractions. That understanding lies at the core of the college endeavor. It is this ability to understand connections between seemingly disparate ideas or evidence that mean the difference between a job with a corner office ("I'm presenting at the London conference") -- and a job in a grease trap ("Where does this used lard go?")
Purpose of Essay
This next assignment is designed to get you in that corner office. It will show you how to understand, form an opinion on, and then write about an abstract concept.
Topic of Essay
For the last six years or so, our country has been engaged in a war. Public opinion has shifted radically, from a strong support for the war in Iraq to a strong rejection of the war.
This will be the main essay for this semester and as "The Intellectual Free Lunch" made clear, it's essential to understand an issue before you develop an opinion about it.
Of course, you can, as most people blithely ignore the war and its consequences.
There's a problem with that. And it involves the Cement Truck of Life
In life you have to make choices. You can live the unexamined life, like Calvin (the little boy in the cartoon) above. But why not do both? Why not live for the moment and watch the road (a cement truck is one of the best examples of kinetic energy -- particularly when it hits a pedestrian). Hobbes's (that oh so intelligent tiger) motto "Look down the road" suggests that foresight and knowledge are necessary to truly enjoy life -- and to avoid being buried in an envelope.
These choices often involve examining ideas that make your brain tingle. Just how safe are we? Is a military solution the best option to pursue? What about the legality of the war? What about the costs, both in money and in lives?
Of course, mentioning the words " Iraq war" and you too often get a knee jerk " America : love it or leave" or "Bush is an idiot." Unfortunately, some take the passive way out. "What's it matter" they might say with a jaded air, "I can't do anything" or "It doesn't really effect me." Too many people, like Calvin, try to avoid issues by ignoring them. But the problem is the Cement Truck of Life has a way of rumbling through and nailing you just when you think everything was going fine.
Why am I talking about cement trucks and showing you pictures of dead possums you ask? Well, it's to show how something as seemingly distant and removed as the Iraq war effects every decision you make in life. Notice that I used the verb "make" here. It's better to make decisions then to have them foisted upon you by the powers that be . . . whether these powers are the government, your boss, friends or family.
And speaking of other powers, begin thinking early -- and asking classmates, other professors, family, friends, random people on the street, etc., questions about this topic.
Discourse
Sunni, Shia, jihad, imperialism
These are some of the terms you've heard about: now you'll get a chance to understand them.
Write an essay which argues that America was right or wrong to invade Iraq. This is an academic essay, so the tone is formal, but remember that you need to keep the reader interested. Follow the suggestions for planning, revision, and proofreading below. As stated in the Assignment sheet for essay #1, for this and all essays, assume your audience is college educated (or getting there) -- but in this case (like most Americans) doesn't know much about the war.
Requirements
Final draft, minimum of 1,150 words. In addition to at least three of the assigned essays, you need to include a minimum of one other source (which means a minimum of four works cited entries and at least four in-text citations): most good essays use five-six sources. That said, the emphasis is on your reasoning: it's what you actually do with the sources that makes a good essay. Essay must include introduction (with thesis and division statement), body paragraphs, counter-arguments and rebuttal, and conclusion.
Note on sources
See "How Do I Find Sources" ( I&C) for help on, well, finding sources. If taken from the internet, sources MUST be from the libraries databases, which can be accessed through the "Library Links" on the course site through our library's home page. ANY other internet source MUST (that's MUST) be approved by me before (that's BEFORE) you include them in your essay. The penalty? A substantially lowered grade (i.e. in the "D" range).
Learning Objectives
After successfully completing this assignment you will have learned how to
Directions
Follow suggestions below and in I&C. The essay #3 in I&C is on civic stances: you can still use the (many) examples, but will have to make allowances on the changed topic).
Grading Criteria
To receive a passing grade, you must successfully complete the following:
Organization : A thesis statement which clearly states the subject, your position and the divisions of your essay. A counter-argument and rebuttal.
Content : Overview of issue you're discussing; clear and balanced arguments, developed with examples, descriptions and narratives, and a full and persuasive development of the reasoning behind each of the examples.
Proofreading : Sentences that are clear and no more than 5 major errors (major errors include sentence fragments, run-on sentences, verb-tense error, subject-verb agreement error, unclear phrasing, documentation and spelling/wrong word error).
Things to Watch for
Lack of explanation. Your examples do not speak for themselves -- in fact, your argument lies not in the evidence, but in why and how the evidence supports your point. And since examples can't speak, it's up to you to connect them to the point of your paragraph and the larger point of your essay.
Readings are found below.
You should make up your own writer's notes. If you like, you can copy and paste the following as a template:
____________________________________________________________
MLA works cited entry
Background information and stats on ______ (blank being your topic)
Why the author thinks the ___ helps ____
Why the author thinks ___ hurts ____
Connections among essays
Iraq Discourse
Assigned Readings
Readings #1
Readings #2
Suggested additional essays
Most students suggest rereading selected parts of the essays. Look over your notes for specific reasons for or against war in Iraq.
More specifically, look over the following quick outline and the more detailed examples below.
It ain't easy, is it? If you're not a demagogue, you should have conflicting opinions: you probably find that there is both good and bad elements of any issue. This is as it should be. Your goal now is to winnow out the positives and negatives and decide which, on the whole, is best for America .
"How do I winnow?" Glad you asked. Remember essay #2? After some pre-writing you generated a list of different reasons for an against a topic. Same thing here. Using the ideas in the readings, your new-found (or tried and tested) knowledge of current events, the "How Do I Come up With Reasons " in I&C, and considering both short and long term effects, generate a list of reasons for and against your topic. Putting this on paper should help you determine which position is best for America .
The main point here is to choose your divisions and practice persuading your reader why these divisions prove your position is valid. Again, try, whenever possible, to relate your position to "real-life" to illustrate its relevancy.
A general idea? Okay.
The war in Iraq helped/hurt America because of ________, ________, and _________.
For ideas on divisions, look over the specific reasons you've developed, both through the readings and (gasp!) through your own thinking on this issue.
When introducing (providing a context) your examples or explaining them, use the verb list in the "Citing Sources" section of I&C (143) to shift your language into an argumentative discourse.
You could also try the following:
"The problem with ___ is that _____."
"This ______ helps American workers/industry/rich because __________"
The advantage/s of ________ is/are _______."
It's your job to prove why your view on the war in Iraq helps America . Using argumentative discourse will help ("This will" "These statistics prove") shift your essay into, well, an argument.
Should you use personal examples? Yes. Should you use examples from the readings and or from textbooks from other courses? Yes. Should you use examples from "real life"? Yes. Could you invent scenarios? Yes. Should you tell your readers that these scenarios are invented? Yes. Most importantly, should you remember that this is only the first of many drafts and the most important thing to do is finish the darn thing? Yes. Are you tired of me asking "yes" questions?
Consider, finally, a more traditional outline such as the example below
See foreign policy packet for suggestions on revision. The examples deal with a similar topic, but they apply for this topic as well.
See foreign policy packet for suggestions on proofreading. The same caveat on making allowances for different topic applies.
© 2008 David Bordelon