Social Media Role in Stopping False News

The final paper must be at least 4 full pages long but must not exceed 6 pages. Papers that fall short of the required length will incur the following penalties: 31/2 pages-5 points; 3 pages-10 points; 2 pages -50 points. A position paper presents an arguable opinion about an issue. The goal of a position paper is to convince the audience that your opinion is valid and worth listening to. Ideas that you are considering need to be carefully examined in choosing a topic, developing your argument, and organizing your paper. It is very important to ensure that you are addressing all sides of the issue and presenting it in a manner that is easy for your audience to understand. Your job is to take one side of the argument and persuade your audience that you have well-founded knowledge of the topic being presented. It is important to support your argument with evidence to ensure the validity of your claims, as well as to address the counterclaims to show that you are well informed about both sides. In writing this essay, you should consider all of the rhetorical techniques that we have discussed: ethos, pathos, logos. Examine your reasons carefully to avoid fallacies. Remember, they don’t argue the issue and are poor arguments. Qualify your claims and statements and control your language. In the heat of debate over strongly-held values and beliefs, we are prone to sweeping generalizations and verbal attacks on opponents, but these strategies rarely persuade audience. Once you have made your pro and con list, compare the information side-by-side. Considering your audience and you own viewpoint, choose the position you will take. In considering the audience, ask yourself the following questions: Who is your audience? What do they believe? Where do they stand on the issue? What evidence is likely to be effective with them? Do you have enough material to support your position on the issue? The final paper must follow the MLA style for documenting your sources in the essay and for creating a Works Cited page. • Begin with an opening paragraph or two that introduces your topic in an interesting way. Possibilities include the following: (1)A statement of the issue’s seriousness or reasons why this issue is currently being debated (2) Use a story that made the headlines, which is relevant to your narrowed topic .(3) You may also begin with a startling statistic or a provocative question. Make your introduction naturally lead to a compelling thesis statement that will communicate the main message(claim) of your essay. Please check to see if your claim needs to be qualified (narrowed) to make it more effective. Organize your reasons in a meaningful way. One good plan is to move from the least important to the most important, followed by rebuttals to at least two important counterarguments. Each body paragraph must support one major reason (grounds) for justifying your claim with explanations and research evidence (statistics, surveys, expert opinions, examples, interviews, personal experience, etc) from credible sources. Remember to consider the importance of logos, pathos and ethos in your essay. All your evidence must be reliable, relevant, accurate, and sufficient. Responding to opposing arguments: After supporting your viewpoint in the body paragraphs, you must devote two paragraphs at the end for rebutting at least two important opposing viewpoints or objections that others may have to your argument. You can rebut the opposing viewpoint either by providing counter evidence to disprove the opponents claim or by pointing out the weaknesses in the opposing view point.Remember to argue against the issue and not against the person making the claim. Your conclusion should reinforce your overall thesis and end the paper with a call to action or any important fact about the issue that you want the readers to consider. Do not introduce any new topics or information that does not follow logically from your argument. Research Tip When you draft your essay, don’t let your citations or direct quotations overpower your own argument. Two tactics will keep you in control of your argument: First, always avoid “unidentified flying quotations.” Introduce quotations by referring to the author, the source, and/or the author’s credentials. Follow quotations with a sentence explaining how the author’s evidence supports your argument. Second, keep your direct quotations short and incorporate the quoted material in the flow of your own language. Third, avoid beginning a paragraph or ending a paragraph with a quotation. In addition to quotations, any borrowed material that has been summarized or paraphrased must also be documented with the author’s name and page # in the essay and the bibliographic information entered in the works cited page. There must be 100% correspondence between the number of sources used in the essay and the number of sources mentioned in the Works Cited page. All papers must include 1 source from the articles assigned, at least one from an academic journal, and one or two from books, newspaper, or other news magazines like Time, Newsweek, US news and World Report, etc (print or online versions). You need a minimum number of 4 research sources and a maximum of 5. Papers that do not cite any sources from one of the assigned articles will    not receive a higher grade than 60%. ANY FORM OF PLAGIARISM WILL RESULT IN A ZERO FOR THE PAPER AND A FAILING GRADE IN THE CLASS. Topics for Paper 2: Select one of the topics below and then choose one of the questions from the list below the topic. Now take a position on the issue being addressed, and develop an argument to support your claim. Remember, your essay must use at least one of the articles provided in the link below the topic as a research source for your argument and the other three sources must be a product of your own research. 1.Police brutality and racism    Recent protests prompted by controversial police encounters with African Americans have led to calls for police reform, changes in police training and a claim of the institution of policing being intrinsically racist. Here is the question you need to consider: Is police violence towards African Americans mostly explained by cops’ racial prejudice? Take a position on the issue and develop an effective argument to support your claim. If you select the above topic, at least one of the following articles must be used as a research source and documented in your essay. “What the data say about police brutality and racial bias — and which reforms might work” by Lynn peeples “The Problem with research on Racial bias and police shootings” by Brenton Mockhttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-06/the-debate-around-police- violence-and-racial-bias DACA and Dreamers • In June 2020, The Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump in his effort to end the Obama-era immigration program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. According to reporter Tucker Higgins, “The ruling will protect hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who have been shielded from deportation and allowed to receive work permits under the program. There were about 700,000 DACA recipients at the time Trump ordered the program to wind down in September 2017 “(CNBC). Do you think the Supreme court made the right decision to continue to defend DACA? Take a position and defend it. DACA lives for Now by Elizabeth Redden https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/06/19/supreme-court-rules-trump-administration- cannot-immediately-end-daca    If you select the above topic, at least one of the following articles must be used as a research source and documented in your essay.   Are DACA and the DREAM Act Good for America? https://www.procon.org/headline.php?headlineID=005384 3. Social Media’s role in stopping fake news Pew research suggests 38 percent of Americans get their news online, namely from social media outlets. Given their wide influence, should social apps and websites have a responsibility to thwart fake news? Websites like Google and Facebook have taken actions to help consumers spot fake news and remove sites or users peddling misinformation. Is it their job to ‘police’ the information shared on their sites or is it considered free speech? Arguments should also include the definition of fake news, how it affects society, If you select the above topic, at least one of the following articles must be used as a research source and documented in your essay. From Fake News to Free Speech: Social Media and Censorship The Grim Conclusions of the Largest-Ever Study of Fake News twitter/555104/ Below is a generic guideline for a position paper: I. Introduction ___A. Introduce the topic in an interesting manner ___B. Provide information on the controversial nature of the topic ___C. Assert the thesis (your view of the issue) II. Your Argument ___A. Topic sentence clarifying the first reason for your claim. __   _____1. Explanation of the reason _____2. Provide strong support or evidence ( keep in mind the use of logos and pathos) ___B. Topic sentence clarifying the second reason for your claim. _____1. Explanation of the reason _____2. Provide strong support or evidence ( keep in mind the use of logos and pathos) ___C. Topic sentence clarifying the first reason for your claim. _____1. Explanation of the reason _____2. Provide strong support or evidence ( keep in mind the use of logos and pathos) III. Counter Argument ___A. Summarize at least two opposing viewpoints (one in each paragraph) ___B. Provide supporting information for the opposing viewpoint.(main reason provided by the opponents to justify the claim). ___C. Refute the counterclaims by pointing out weaknesses in the argument or providing counter argument (with evidence) to show why you disagree with them. IV. Conclusion ___A. Restate your argument ___B. Provide a plan of action/leave the readers something to think about.