Homework due 7/15

Dum dum duuuum! Topic day is imminent! How can I prepare and fortify myself, you ask? Easily, comrades, if you follow the instructions below!

Assignment:
Part 1: Choose 2 potential topics for your final paper. You DO NOT need to have a fleshed-out thesis or argument for them--a general thing you're interested in is plenty! For example, the articles we've read this week about discrimination are things that I found as I got interested in the topic of subtle discrimination, especially discrimination with "disparate impact." At this stage in the game, I haven't even narrowed down that topic, let alone come up with an argument to go with it. On Friday, we'll talk more about how to evaluate topics to see if they'll be good for a research paper. The key idea though, is to always start with something you're interested in.
Part 2: Briefly describe the rhetorical situation for you and that topic. The questions below can help you get started in your description.

• What occasion brought you to the topic (if there is one, other than just being interested)?
• Who are you? Why are you or will you be qualified to write about this topic?
• Who is your target audience (people who disagree, people who can implement change, etc.)? This one might be tough--just think about who you would want to listen to you on this topic.
• What genre will it be? (Well, this one’s easy—an academic paper. BUT are you imagining it as a narrative essay? A scientific report? A polemic?)
• In what context are you writing (21^st century America, lots of people talking about this, etc.)? This will probably be a hard one to write--if it helps, think of it as overlapping with the author question. What is your context that will affect how you write about this topic, as opposed to how other people write about it?
• Why are you writing? Describing your purpose may overlap with describing your occasion. Either way, just think deeply about what you get out of writing about this topic. Since you likely don't have an argument yet, you can't tell me your persuasive purpose, but you can tell me why this topic appeals to you or what kinds of change you hope to see arise from exploring and explaining this topic to others.

I'm super excited to hear what you guys are thinking about~!!!#!@