Essay Prompt - Essay 2

Essay 2: Argument and Synthesis

Goals:

1. To create and defend an argument of your own.

2. To be able to synthesize information obtained from different sources.

3. To be able to locate some of your own credible sources.

4. To integrate clearly several different authors' voices, stances, and arguments within one paragraph or section of your paper. This is what we refer to as "synthesis," the synthesis of various sources with coherence and clarity.

Our topic focus is: Issues in Global Citizenship.

Your task is to devise a stance on an issue in global citizenship, and then to write a paper showing what others state, and what your stance is, and why. You will need to support your stance with some logos, pathos, and/or ethos. And you will have to locate a source that supports your stance as well, or decide to argue in support of a specific stance.

What issues might one write about under the topic of Issues in Global Citizenship?

Here are a few ideas for a thesis/argument/stance which you can use or modify. You can also devise your own.

You would select one of these for the entire paper:

What role should young people have as global citizens?
Why is it important to offer education for young people to become global citizens?
Is there a flaw or drawback to the concept of global citizenship?
Is it appropriate or fair to expect global citizens to solve problems of climate change?
What should a global citizen's agenda or focus be?
What expectations should we have of those who self-identify as global citizens?
What would an education in "global citizenship" look like and why?
Are there some clear, apparent benefits to being or identifying as a global citizen?

As you research and write the paper, you'd be expected to answer the question you choose or devise, and that answered question becomes the thesis you are eventually arguing in your paper. Here is what the above topics would start to look like as each becomes an actual thesis or stance:

Young people should have access to leadership roles in order to become global citizens.
It is important to offer education in world organizations like the UN and World Bank, and in current events, for young people to become global citizens.
Yes, the flaw or drawback to the concept of global citizenship is cultural appropriation and elements of colonialism.
Yes, it is appropriate or fair to expect global citizens to address problems of climate change, and this is why we have to listen to them.
A global citizen's agenda or focus should be . . .
We should fairly expect self-identified global citizens to have a greater attachment to global issues than to local, parochial, or nationalistic ones, for these reasons: ...
An education in "global citizenship" would include these things for these reasons: ...
The clear benefits of being or self-identifying as a global citizen are: ...

Sources we are using:

1) D'Antoni, Dinah, and Clifford Mayes. Becoming a Global Citizen : Traditional and New Paths to Intercultural Competence, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/templeuniv-ebooks/detail.action?docID=7151359.

We are reading Chapter 2. Here is the link to Chapter 2:

Becoming_a_Global_Citizen_Traditional_and_New_Path..._----_(Pg_16--31).pdf

Characteristics of a Successful Essay:

1. Understanding of course readings: The essay should reflect a good understanding of the topic selected and the evidence presented should be relevant to the topic.

2. Understanding of academic argument and debate:

· The essay should have an engaging introduction with some context about your paper's focus and the thesis.

· The thesis statement should state your overall argument/stance about the topic or an overall conclusion about the topic.

· Body paragraphs should have a topic sentence, and be carefully organized, fully developed, and well-supported.

· In this particular essay, supporting details are best organized by your own observations, rather than by authors. In other words, your essay should not be a series of summaries of the individual sources you have read. In a synthesis essay, you should combine separate pieces of information to form a whole, often drawing conclusions from the information offered by the authors. So consider organizing the paper by coverage of major or important topics.

· Both quotes and paraphrases should be integrated coherently into the writer’s argument, adhering to the MLA style; excessively long direct quotations should avoided.

3. Understanding of the conventions of academic writing: The essay should have a minimum number of errors in syntax, grammar, mechanics, or usage.

4. Improvement across drafts: The essay should demonstrate significant improvement in discrete writing skills and overall excellence. Revisions should be substantive, addressing both peer and instructor feedback.

5. Adhere to the course rules on generative AI use:

· Using generative AI such as ChatGPT, Quillbot, DALL-E, DeepL, Google Translate, etc. are not permitted in this class; therefore, any use of AI tools for work in this class may be considered a violation of Temple University’s Academic Honesty policy and Student Conduct of Code, since the work is not your own.

· Ideas, entire sentences, or paragraphs should not be generated using such tools. Ideas should be generated based on class discussion and your own independent reading and thinking. The draft should reflect your own abilities in reading, thinking, and writing. Later drafts should show improvement in your reading, thinking, and writing skills.

Possible Format:

Introduction to your topic;
Introduction of authors/sources;
4 paragraphs discussing topics that make up your focus, using those authors;
Summary of your main points;
Conclusion.

The Usual Suspects: Format and Length

Length: 5 pages when done (1000-1350 words), plus a Works-Cited page. Include a word count (E.g. 1100 words) at the end of your conclusion. Use Times New Roman size 12, double space. Put your name on your work. Add page numbers, Write a good, apt title that fits the paper's focus.