Rhetoric
Prof. G. Steinberg
Types of Arguments
Papers often focus on one kind of argument or another. Look at the following paper assignments. What kind of argument is each asking for?
From Economics
200: To complete this course, you must read a book related to economics and write a paper about the book. The paper should be 5 or 6
typed, double-spaced pages (excluding cover page, references, tables, charts, etc) and in the format of a book review. I have attached
a list of acceptable titles. If you want to use a book that is not on the list, you must clear it with me in advance. I will not accept papers on unapproved
titles. The due date for the paper is Monday, November 5.
In the paper, you must discuss the thesis of the book and analyze the argument. To analyze the argument, you must consult and cite at
least one other source. Your best bet is an article from an economics journal or a newspaper. Consulting other sources will enable you to
comment on specific aspects of the book or describe some of the strengths and weaknesses of the
book's argument. To find articles, I suggest that you use Lexis-Nexis or Ebsco Host.
Lexis-Nexis and Ebsco Host are databases of newspaper and journal articles. They are
available on the library's web page.
From Biology
312: The Laboratory is set up to familiarize the student with the techniques necessary to grow and
identify microorganisms. . . . The student will then test his or her knowledge by using the
above information to identify a mixture of two unknowns in the last section of the course. A
research report of the unknown identification will be required, and will count for 20% of the total
grade in the course.
From Political
Science 291: You are the President's senior advisory on internet policy. She has asked you to develop a 4 page proposal for
the federal government's role in regulating illegal content on the web. Indicate your priorities (i.e. hate speech,
government secrets, personal information, bomb making information, copyright violations, etc), explaining why
some issues are more important that others. How would you implement regulation: what role would law
enforcement play versus industry self-regulation or protection offered to consumers? Why? How successful
would you expect the policy to be? You should primarily rely on material covered in class for this assignment, I
do not expect you to do a great deal of additional research. In particular, I do not expect you to become an
expert on the legal environment around these issues. I am more interested in your sense of how important these
issues are relative to each other and the means with which they should be dealt. Cite your
sources.
From English 345: Select a major theme taken up in the course (immigration, assimilation, identity, "talking back to the tradition," or the holocaust) and discuss a novel, collection of poems, or collection of short stories not covered in the syllabus as an additional text on that theme. Compare and contrast your novel or author to authors and texts discussed in class as part of your paper. Your paper must have an intelligent thesis that you substantiate with compelling textual evidence.
Click here to go to the course syllabus.