Writing an Argumentative Research Essay: Requirements and Topics

Your assignment is to write an argumentative research essay, the topics and format of which are set out below.  It is expected that you will either know how to write a research essay or will immediately arrange with a writing centre of your college or one provided by the University to learn how to do so, including how to do citations and a Works Cited.Once a topic is selected, you are to clearly state your position and prove it using arguments validated by research-based evidence.See next page for information regarding Essay Requirements and penalties for Essay Requirement non-compliance. 

 

Requirements.  

This means that each and every Essay Requirement non-compliance will result in the deduction of five (5) marks from the overall mark given unless otherwise stated. For example, an Essay is required to be double-spaced. If it is not double-spaced, five marks will be deducted. This means that if the Essay is graded at 75%, five marks will be deducted, making the final mark for the Essay 70%.  Marks deducted for more than one Essay Requirement non-compliance will be cumulative. For example, if an essay has no Works Cited and is not double-spaced, that will result in a deduction of 10 marks from the graded mark.

Five marks will be deducted for failure to use 5 sources. See note below for more.    The essay MUST have: 
•    A total of five (5) sources. Of those sources:
•    Three (3) must be academic, ie. books, journals, periodicals, articles, etc, accessed via a university library, including Google Scholar. 
•    Two (2) sources may be from the Internet. The preference is to use fewer internet sources and more academic sources. 
•    You may use one (1) source from the course materials. The other four must follow the guidelines above.
•    You must use MLA format for your In-Text Citations. 
•    Citations are not included in your word count, but quotations are.

Note: Sources from the internet, must still be cited it in a complete manner. Content always has an author. Do NOT use Wikipedia, as it is not a credible source. 

I    WORKS CITED
* See note below    Your Works Cited must be in MLA format.
Your Works Cited is not included in your word count.
J    ESSAY DECLARATION (see below for further details)
*Five marks will be deducted for failure to comply FOR ALL ESSAYS, YOU MUST COMPLETE THE ESSAY DECLARATION set out in the NATS 1700 Essay Assignment Document. Your Essay Declaration is not included in your word count.
K    SUBMISSION FORMAT Your essays should be uploaded to Turn-It-In as either a PDF or Word Document (.doc or .docx). Turn-It-In does not recognize Pages documents. Essays submitted as Pages documents will not be marked.

Sources

Note: For (H) In-Text Citations and (I) Works Cited – Five (5) marks will only be deducted for not meeting an Assignment Requirement if you have less than five (5) sources. Marks for the use of MLA, use of in-text citations and inclusion of a Works Cited will be dealt with on the rubric.

 

VERY IMPORTANT:  Please note that, in my discretion, an Essay will only be graded if it contains a signed Essay Declaration. If I agree to mark an Essay which does not have a Declaration, five (5) marks will be deducted from the original mark granted as an Essay Requirement non-compliance. See below for the Essay Declaration

Each assignment will have the following Essay Declaration copied, pasted signed with your first and last name, and included as part of the Essay document:

 

I hereby agree that this essay shall be worth 35% of my course grade.  By submitting the within assignment for grading for Fall 2021-22, NATS 1700, Section A, I hereby acknowledge and agree that I understand fully the rules and regulations of the University regarding academic honesty, including those rules which both prohibit and provide sanctions for cheating, impersonating a student and plagiarism, and I hereby declare and agree to be bound by the said rules and regulations of the University.  I further acknowledge, understand, consent to and agree that if required by my course director, I shall submit my assignment to whomever or wherever my course director shall determine, and I further give my course director the authority to submit my paper to whomever or wherever my course director, in his absolute discretion shall determine in order that my course director may better determine whether my assignment complies with the above rules and regulations of the University. 

 

A research essay is meant to be argumentative. That means the essay chooses a position (clearly stated in what is called a thesis) and argues that position with independently researched evidence. Below, you will find a list of topics which you are allowed to write your essays on. After choosing your topic, you are to choose the position you are going to take, and then formulate your arguments. For all topics below, you are NOT to not submit a summary. You are to clearly state your position and prove it using arguments validated by research-based evidence.

1.  By definition the concept of technology apathy (which will be discussed in the lectures) applies to new technology only.  However, some would argue that this concept actually applies to all forms of technology.  Should this concept should be limited to new technology or extended to embrace all forms of technology?  Do not submit a summary. You are to clearly state your position and prove it using arguments validated by research-based evidence.

2.    Is the use of internet websites, and Social Media Apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok, etc., really harmful to social interaction or can it now be argued that they are an integral and necessary part of social interaction? Do not submit a summary. You are to clearly state your position and prove it using arguments validated by research-based evidence.

MLA Format for In-Text Citations

3.    Argue whether today, computer literacy (the knowledge of how to properly use a computer and its software applications) has become a fourth basic skill in addition to reading, writing and arithmetic (math). Do not submit a summary. You are to clearly state your position and prove it using arguments validated by research-based evidence.

 

4.    It has been suggested that sentience is earned.  That is, that something more than the simple development of cognitive skills is required to evidence sentience.  Is this correct? Do not submit a summary. You are to clearly state your position and prove it using arguments validated by research-based evidence.

5.    Argue whether the assertion that the use, by teachers, of new technology devices in the classroom has really made education easier with resultant higher grades. Do not submit a summary. You are to clearly state your position and prove it using arguments validated by research-based evidence.

 

6.     Do educators actually know how to integrate new technology into the classroom? Yes or no? Do not submit a summary. You are to clearly state your position and prove it using arguments validated by research-based evidence.

7.      One day we will see the rise of artificially intelligent machines which will either be sentient or border on sentience.  Should such a day come, argue whether or not human beings and these intelligent machines can co-exist. Do not submit a summary. You are to clearly state your position and prove it using arguments validated by research-based evidence. 

 

8.    It has been said that presently there is a marked absence of Global benefits of new technology, but that such benefits are currently being developed and should be forthcoming.  Conducting research into new developments in new technology, argue whether this statement is true. Do not submit a summary. You are to clearly state your position and prove it using arguments validated by research-based evidence.

 

9.    It has been said that if all of the money currently donated to charitable organizations by Western governments and populations was instead redirected to the continued development of new technology, issues such as global poverty could be brought to an end once and for all.  Looking at the amount of money donated by populations and governments and also at the cost of developing new technology(ies), argue whether this statement has any merit.  Do not submit a summary. You are to clearly state your position and prove it using arguments validated by research-based evidence.

Works Cited

 

10.    Is the use of internet websites, and Social Media Apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok, etc., become political tools? Yes or no? Do not submit a summary. You are to clearly state your position and prove it using arguments validated by research-based evidence.

11.     Argue who is responsible for policing Is the use of internet websites, and Social Media Apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok, etc.? Do not submit a summary. You are to clearly state your position and prove it using arguments validated by research-based evidence.

12.    When Social Media Apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok, etc., say a user can delete the user’s information at any time, are they telling the truth? Yes or no? Do not submit a summary. You are to clearly state your position and prove it using arguments validated by research-based evidence.

 

13.    Argue whether today, the benefits of the manufacture of integrated circuits outweigh the disadvantages of it.  Do not submit a summary. You are to clearly state your position and prove it using arguments validated by research-based evidence.

14.    Argue whether the technological developments and distribution of vaccines are fair.  Do not submit a summary. You are to clearly state your position and prove it using arguments validated by research-based evidence.

15.    If you would like to choose your own topic, you have until 2:00 p.m. Friday, October 1, 2021 to email a proposal of your desired topic to the Course Director. The Course Director will respond to your proposal within 48-hours. You must receive approval of your proposed topic from the Course Director in order to write your essay on it. If you do not receive approval, you must choose one of the topics listed above.

 

After the Essay due date, three marks per day will be deducted for each day that the essay is overdue to a maximum of 5 days. 

•    An essay not handed in within 5 days of the due date will not be accepted and a grade of zero will be given for it.  
•    For example, if the submission or due date is October 1st, but the essay is submitted on Oct. 4, a total of 9 marks will be deducted from the overall mark for the essay. If the essay is not handed in by Oct 6th, it will not be accepted and the student will receive a mark of zero. 
•    For students granted extensions, the same deductions will apply for each day the essay is overdue from the agreed upon extended due date to a maximum of 5 days. 
•    An essay not handed in within 5 days of the extended due date will not be accepted and a grade of zero will be given.

Essay Declaration

NON-COMPLIANCE WITH ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS: You must comply with all essay requirements; otherwise, you may be heavily penalized.  For example, if double spacing is a requirement, then ensure that your essay is double spaced.  Again, if in-text citations are required, then the essay must have in-text citations, etc. Five (5) marks will be deducted from your essay mark for each non-compliance unless otherwise stated.

 

I caution all of you that your Essays will be checked for plagiarism and cheating.  Thus, please ensure that you inform yourselves as to what plagiarism is.  Cheating/impersonating a student is having someone else write the Essay for you.  In this regard, I strongly suggest that students write the Essays from beginning to end in their own style, being very cautious about plagiarism.  The penalty for plagiarism, cheating or dishonesty at my level may be a failure of the course.  Heavier penalties can be imposed if the matter is taken further.

Academic honesty requires that persons do not falsely claim credit for the ideas, writing or other intellectual property of others, either by presenting such works as their own or through impersonation. Similarly, academic honesty requires that persons do not cheat (attempt to gain an improper advantage in an academic evaluation), nor attempt or actually alter, suppress, falsify or fabricate any research data or results, official academic record, application or document. Finally, academic honesty requires that persons do not aid or abet others to commit an offence of academic dishonesty, including intentional acts to disrupt academic activities.

 

During 2018-19 academic year, numerous students were found guilty of aiding and abetting in cases where they had uploaded assignments to websites like Course Hero, if their work was then submitted by a student who accessed this material. Members of the CEAS panel recommend that professors add the following to their course outlines in the section on Academic Honesty. 

 

Numerous students in Faculty of Science courses have been charged with academic misconduct when materials they uploaded to third party repository sites (e.g. Course Hero, One Class, etc.) were taken and used by unknown students in later offerings of the course. The Faculty’s Committee on Examinations and Academic Standards (CEAS) found in these cases that the burden of proof in a charge of aiding and abetting had been met, since the uploading students had been found in all cases to be willfully blind to the reasonable likelihood of supporting plagiarism in this manner. Accordingly, to avoid this risk, students are urged not to upload their work to these sites. Whenever a student submits work obtained through Course Hero or One Class, the submitting student will be charged with plagiarism and the uploading student will be charged with aiding and abetting. 

 

Note also that exams, tests, and other assignments are the copyrighted works of the professor assigning them, whether copyright is overtly claimed or not (i.e. whether the © is used or not). Scanning, redistributing, republishing or re-producing these recordings/documents electronically constitutes copying, which is a breach of Canadian copyright law, and the breach is aggravated when scans or re-productions of recordings/course documents are shared or uploaded to third party repository sites.