The+Truth+Research+Paper

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Students must have topics approved by Mrs. Overly. Only one student per class can have the topic.

What the Government Got Wrong [|GMO Debate] [|Energy Drink Analysis Example]

What we do and what we put in our bodies has never been more controversial than today. With the increase focus on 'healthy' living and even our own government encouraging Americans to 'get fit', the argument is no longer about what you aren't doing, but rather, what you ARE doing and why it is wrong, unhealthy, leads to cancer, or worse, will have no long term benefits at all.


 * Rhetorical Fallacy Final Project **

At this point, we have studied how rhetorical fallacies can be very distracting (and in some cases dangerous). The purpose of this lesson is to help you develop your awareness that the truth of a message relies on logic and source. Often, it is very difficult to uncover the truth of a news story or a popular product on the market today. With millions of dollars spent on ad campaigns and powerful lobbyists influencing both news and politics, most Americans are too inundated with information to recognize the contradictions, the motivations, or the bias in the words that are shaping their attitudes. The task of separating truth from fallacy is a daunting challenge and most people are too busy or simply don’t have access to identifying the truth. That may be true for most people...but not you.

Your assignment will be to pose a very simple question about a specific product, ingredient, claim, or popular belief and challenge the truth of the matter. Every day in class we will work on a part of the paper. Bring your laptops if you would like so you can work right in class. I can lock them up for you. You will need to answer the questions that we have focused on over the course of this unit: ** What is being said? ** ** Who said it? ** ** How does the source benefit from this claim? ** ** Why do audiences believe this as true? ** ** What confuses the truth? ** ** What is the truth? (Will need research.) ** ** What is the impact of this claim? ** ** YOU WILL NEED... **
 * Cover Page: ** With Running Header, Original Title, Times New Roman, Font 12...look up APA cover page design.

**Annotated Bibliography:** You will need all of your sources written in an annotated bibliography where you cite the source information in APA format and also include a brief paragraph justifying the credibility of the source. Justifying credibility includes verifying the author/source expertise on the subject, impressing upon your audience the number of published works in their name and/or the experience they have gained which lends to speaking about the topic.

**Thesis:** Your thesis will be created AFTER you are done researching. I mean, honestly, how can you know what the conclusion of your research will be before you are done researching. While researching you will change your mind on the topic a lot (or at least you should). Your research should fairly defend both sides of the argument and not show bias. Your thesis will derive from the TRUTH and not just what you want the truth to sound like.

**Development Process:** After you have completed researching and identified your claim, it's time to develop this research into a reader-friendly paper that clearly moves your audience through what is important to know about this huge topic.

**Notetaking:** You will need to use Linoit.com to set up your own canvas which you will use to organize your own paper. This assignment is worth process points and will help you SEE your paper laid out before you. YOU will decide how to group/organize your sticky note colors. YOU will organize your information by tags. YOU will include your parenthetical source information on each tag which will help you in correctly citing your paper.

Come prepared and use your time out of class to stay on top of this paper.

We will practice and you will be graded upon this rubric:


 * Using in-text and parenthetical citations. **
 * Structuring your paper with clear topic sentences and controlling key words. **
 * Building momentum and flow with transitions. **
 * Writing a really high interest introduction. **
 * Closing with a smart and forward thinking conclusion. **

*Of course, sentence variety, word choice, spelling, commas, and all of the other basics of writing are expected to be perfect. Don't lose points in these categories. Find an editor or step up your game yourself. I don't care how it's done, but those expectations have to be met.