Paper #2

Assignment:

Your paper should address an existing or recent law, policy, or proposal concerning some controversial issue in a technical field of interest to you. Choose a topic for which public sentiment is ambivalent, i.e., public response, opinion, or interpretation can be divided into at least two groups defined, perhaps, by differences in culture, gender, economic class, or some special interest. Compare and contrast the arguments or claims made by the two (or more) interest groups. You can include your own opinion, but not at the expense of the bigger picture. Sample topics are listed below, but you are NOT limited to this list!

• The U.S. should not contain natural fires in national forests or parks.
• Water marketing is good for California.
• Logging is an environmentally-conscious and responsible industry.
• The U.S. government should institute a 100% increase in gasoline taxes.
• Caltrans and the Army Corps of Engineers should construct a bypass (or tunnel) near Devil's Slide on Highway 1 north of Half Moon Bay.
• Hunting (and/or mining) should be permitted within national parks and monuments.
• Development should not be permitted in areas of archaeological significance.
• The oceans are being over-fished.

Cite sources for information that is not common knowledge. For example, citations are not needed for definitions (e.g., deforestation, water marketing) but should be included when explaining the positions of various interest groups. Include a short bibliography of references cited.

Your grade will be based on:
Grammar (spelling, punctuation, usage, etc): roughly 1/3
Syntax (how sentences are constructed): roughly 1/3
Organization (paragraph construction and order): roughly 1/3

Remember: Content will not be counted, but your argument(s) will have to be developed, organized, and convincing.

Due date: