Primary and Secondary Argumentative Research Paper: Please choose a law, either at the state or federal level, legislated in response to an issue of objectification (sexism, classism, racism, ageism, ableism), then argue for or against such law. You can look for inspiration for your topic in the readings from your textbook, from class handouts, or from cases being argued before the Supreme Court. The progress of any proposed federal law can be found at www.loc.gov, the website for the Library of Congress (Supreme Court opinions can also be followed at live.scotusblog.com). Argumentative thesis statements relating to points of federal and/or state law will allow you to begin your argument with language already on the books. Determine an arguable thesis applicable to that subject in the law (one that allows for a clear opposition with its own support in *personal observation, *appeal to
authority, and *evidence and statistics), and then argue the thesis clearly, logically, and dispassionately, keeping in mind that your most important audience is composed of those persons who disagree with you. Accordingly, it is essential that you neither insult nor condescend to your opposition in any way as you take the reader, premise-by-premise, through the structure of your argument. In fact, it should be apparent from your writing that you are well aware of both sides of the issue; use a formal, scholarly tone to establish your credibility (this means that you will avoid any self-reference in your text—“I,” “me,” “my,” “our,” or “us”) and then support each of your points with sufficient evidence in order to maintain your authority. Take care to anticipate and acknowledge your opposition, establishing your ability and, more importantly, your willingness to see the conflict from both sides—even as you remain committed to your own thesis.

Remember the difference between persuasion and argumentation—how persuasion is rooted in emotion in order to move a group of persons to action, while argumentation is based in logic with the goal of changing a person’s mind. You will, of course, need to research the latest information, opinion, legal ramifications (if any), and statistics regarding your topic in the library; and you are required to quote from a minimum of FOUR of these sources in your paper. In addition, your research must also include a minimum of TWO interviews (either in person, by telephone, or by email), one with a person of some established authority and experience who agrees with you and the other with a person of like credentials who disagrees with you; plan to ask each expert the same 5-7 questions. Please do not use Wikipedia as one of your sources.

Your argument topic and your potential interview sources must be approved by me before you begin. Your final paper is to be typed and documented (including, of course, in-text documentation) according to Modern Language Association (MLA) format, which is covered in your handbook (look this up at the beginning of the semester and learn it), and must be no fewer than six full pages (not including the Works Cited page); you will also turn in with your paper (1) a 250-word, first-person, introductory essay to your topic (the front-door essay), in which you describe why you’ve chosen your particular topic—personal observation, inspiration from a textbook reading, a news story, etc.; (2) a typed transcript of your two interviews; (3) copies of your remaining four outside sources so that I may check the accuracy of your quotes; (4) and a 250-word, first-person essay describing how the project went for you (the back-door essay), what you learned from it, whether or not you changed your mind/thesis during the course of your research, etc. Please write a serious, comprehensive argument, one that could perhaps be published in a professional journal or excerpted as a newspaper editorial