What work or professional community do you envision yourself joining in the future? In this essay, you will have the opportunity to research your area of interest (possible major, targeted job, or potential career) and write a persuasive essay about it.
Assignment: What is a debate currently going on in your field of interest? What controversy is being discussed? Explain the debate and argue for your position.
Note: This is a summary of your assignment. Please refer to full assignment from your instructor.
Stage 1: Identify an occupation to research.
Stage 2: Explore controversies in this occupation, and choose one.
Stage 3: Develop your thesis and argument.
Stage 4: Find information that helps you . . .
Example: Health Science
Option #2: Find a Specific Occupation
Example: Nurse
Are there hints about a debate or controversy within your career field?
Examples:
| Career field | Controversy | |
| Nursing |
Should we do more to prevent prescription drug abuse among nurses? |
|
| Real estate sales | What is the the agent's responsibility for warning buyers not to become over-indebted? |
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Sample Search: I want to be a fashion model. What is a controversy or debate in this field?
Note: Unless you want to be a fashion model, too, you'll want to substitute a keyword or phrase for your occupation!
In the top box, enter a word of phrase for your career. Then click Search.
Now we want to focus on items that contain keywords that signal a controversy.
To find all variants of these words, we add wildcards (asterisks*) to the stem of the word.
In the second search box, type in the following:
NOTE: These keywords will work just fine for your search, too.
Before you search, click the pull-down menu (to the right of this search box).
After this, you'll be ready to search for a controversy.
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What are news sites saying about your career or occupation?
Once you have identified a controversy, work with your instructor to develop a provisional thesis and argument. "Provisional" means that it is a "working" argument that may be revised if new information turns up.
Controversy: [Can you state the disagreement in the form of a question?]
- Example: Should under-age models be allowed in fashion modeling for major labels?
- Remember: you need to explain the controversy to your readers before they can understand your argument.
Thesis: [In a persuasive paper, your thesis is your position on the controversial question.]
- Example: No, under-age models should not be allowed to work for major labels. Appropriate legislation is needed.
Argument: [What are the main reasons for accepting your thesis?]
- Example
- Under-age models don't have the maturity to manage in such a cut-throat business, as examples prove.
- The fashion industry is built upon attracting more attention than the competition. If teenage models become accepted, what will be the next move to gain attention?
- Deal with opposing arguments: What arguments has the other side made? What objections will your readers likely raise?
- Shouldn't the young models and their parents be allowed to decide?
- Doesn't the fashion industry have its own ethical and labor standards that govern this? Are new laws necessary?
Once you have a provisional argument. You can search for information to support each point in your argument.
Now see the directions in the box below.
To find sources that support the points of your argument, you can search MegaSearch in a more targeted way.
Here is a strategy:
Let's say I'm looking at the danger of being injured as a firefighter. My basic search looks like this:
(The asterisks are wildcards that pick up variant endings: firefighter or firefighers; injury or injuries
I find 223,000 items that mention both concepts.
Now I can focus the search to find specific supporting sources. I use the third search box.
Search 1: Add statistics to the third box: I find 11,000 things.
Search 2: Replace statistics with burn*: I find 75,000 things.
Search 3: Instead of burn, add: training: I find 31,000 things.
Notice that you can add more search boxes. Just click the Add Row link, to the right of the search boxes.
Now click for a hidden tab that shows how to limit your search to scholarly sources
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