Identify the author’s central arguments and examples

Social Studies by Geoffrey

REVIEW ASSIGNMENT #2

Description

The purpose of this assignment is to develop skills that will be frequently required throughout your undergraduate career, including reading comprehension, critical analysis, and writing. In this assignment, you will expand on these skills by incorporating additional research. You will carefully read one of the readings as outlined below. You will then research a scholarly journal article that is relevant to your chosen reading. You will then write a 1,250-1,750 word review essay that compares and contrasts the two readings. Your essay will make an argument that answers the following question: should the reading you have selected remain on the course syllabus next year? Or should the reading from the syllabus be replaced with the reading you have found in your research?

The following skills will be developed in this assignment:

  • Write, edit, proofread with clarity.
  • Concisely summarize an author’s main arguments.
  • Evaluate an author’s sources of information/evidence.
  • Formulate and express your own analysis of an author’s contribution to a field of study.
  • Paraphrasing and correctly attributing (with citation) an author’s argument or idea.
  • Locating and incorporating relevant scholarly research.
  • Comparing and contrasting the merits of readings under consideration for the course syllabus.

Instructions

1)  Reading for review

-Diane Crocker and Marcus A. Sibley, “Transforming Campus Rape Culture”

2) Identify the author’s central arguments and examples

Carefully read the selected article. Take note of the author’s central arguments. What examples does the author provide to support these arguments?

 

3) Investigate the sources used by the author to support their arguments

Carefully read the citations (footnotes or endnotes) found in the article you have chosen in step 1. Take note of the types of sources the author has used to support their central arguments and examples.

 

4) Using research skills, locate and read a relevant scholarly journal article

Select an appropriate database (such as Google Scholar). Ensure the article you select has been carefully chosen and could be a candidate for inclusion in the course. The article must be recently published (not older than the year 2000). Use various search terms, filters, and sort functions to narrow your results. Follow the analytical questions in steps 2 and 3 for the article you selected in your research.

 

5) Consider your own evaluation of the readings

Consider the quality of the readings you have selected in steps 1 and 4. Compare and contrast the merits of these articles. Should the reading you selected in step 1 remain on the course syllabus next year? Or should the reading from the syllabus be replaced with the reading you have found in step 4? Use these questions to formulate an essay outline and thesis statement.

6) Write a Review Essay

Using the notes you created in steps 1-5, compose a review essay of around 1,250-1,750 words (excluding direct quotes and references). Double-space your essay and use a standard, 12-point font.

 

Your essay must be divided into paragraphs, each focused on one main idea. Your paragraphs should be clear, concise, and no longer than ¾ of a page. Your essay must have an introductory paragraph that establishes the context of your topic and a conclusion that reinforces your own analysis. Your introduction should conclude with a central thesis statement. Your central topic statement must answer the following question related to the article you selected for review in step 1 and the article you discovered in step 4:

  • should the reading you selected in step 1 remain on the course syllabus next year? Or should the reading from the syllabus be replaced with the reading you have found in step 4?