-1-

ENGLISH 201-05
POSSIBLE RESEARCH PAPER IDEAS

Testing to Improve Educational Achievement

Thesis Statements:

To strengthen educational standards and improve academic achievement, high school

students should be required to pass a standardized test to receive a high school
diploma.

Requiring students to pass a standardized test to receive a high school diploma will
not improve the educational standards or academic achievement in our schools.

Some of the issues in this argument:

What are standards and how should they be applied?
How do standardized tests effect curriculum?
Do standardized tests discriminate against some groups of students? How?
What is assessment and what forms of assessment are valuable?

Reforming Education through Student Centered Schools

Thesis Statements:

Personalizing the learning experience by creating student centered schools that

engage learners will result in improved academic achievement.

Student centered, progressive approaches to education demand too little of students

and do not ensure that students master basic skills.

School Choice - charter schools & vouchers

Thesis Statements:

Choices like as charter schools and vouchers will lower the public expenditure and
drive reform of public schools.
School choice in the form of charter schools and vouchers result in the public
funding of private schools and are not satisfactory methods of reforming public schools.

Some of the issues in this argument:

How are schools funded and does this affect educational quality?
What is school choice and how would it affect public schools?
Would competition from privately operated schools improve education?
 -2-

Intercollegiate Athletics and Ethics

Thesis Statements:

Intercollegiate athletics is an excellent public relations and fund raising arm for
colleges, while providing education and training to future professional athletes.

Intercollegiate athletics corrupt their educational institutions by creating a double

standard and devaluing scholarship in favor of athletic competition.

Some of the issues in this argument:

What do colleges owe the student athlete?
Would financial compensation compromise academic and institutional integrity?
Should colleges be training grounds for athletic careers?
Should colleges lower the admission standards for athletes?
Is the huge amount of money spent by colleges on athletic programs justified?
How do winning teams benefit the university or college? the athlete?

Genetic Testing
Thesis Statements:

Genetic testing will improve the quality of life.

Genetic testing will not improve our quality of life and may result in discrimination,
invasion of privacy, and harmful gene therapy.

Some issues in this argument:

Should genetic testing influence medical treatment, life style, and social decisions?
Should prenatal and carrier testing be used influence reproductive decisions?
Should children undergo genetic testing?
Is genetic tesing reliable?
Can genetic testing maintain confidentiality?
Is discrimination an inevitable result of genetic testing?

Intellectual Property & Piracy

Thesis Statements:

• Intellectual property rights should be respected and defended with strong laws and
punishments enforced by the government.

• Current intellectual property rights laws are inadequate and unenforceable in the
electronic environment and will negatively impact the development of new
technologies.
 -3-

Some of the issues in this argument:

What is intellectual property and who owns it?
What is fair use?
Can traditional copyright law be applied to digital media? Does it address the issues of
new technology?
Should intellectual property be protected under the law?
How important is content to the development of new technologies?
Has the technology revolution progressed so rapidly because of the lack of regulation?

Cybercrime and Privacy

Thesis Statements:

• Changes need to be made in the law to increase internet security, and find and
punish cybercriminals.

• Additional laws to stop cybercriminals are unnecessary, unenforceable, and could

infringe upon internet users' rights to privacy and the growth of the internet.

Some of the issues in this argument:

What level of privacy can an internet user expect?
Should we regulate private businesses' use of information about their consumers?
Do laws meant to catch and punish criminals infringe upon the rights of law-abiding
people? In what ways?
Should the right to privacy be sacrificed to thwart criminals?
Should laws exist about what can be said or done over the internet?

The Electoral College System

Thesis Statements:

• The United States should support and retain the current Electoral College system
of electing a President and Vice-President.
• The Electoral College system of electing a President and Vice-President needs to
be replaced with a method that better represents the will of the American people.

Some of the issues in this argument:

Is the direct election of the U.S. President a dangerous option due to the possibility of
majority fraud?
Does direct election makes minority rule even more likely than the present process.
Would any other method of election be an improvement?
What is the likelihood that the Electoral College will frustrate the popular will in the
selection of a president and a vice president?

Gay Marriage
 -4-

Thesis Statements:

• Granting legal marriage rights to gays and lesbians would threaten the stability of
the family, a pillar of our society.
• Granting legal marriage rights under the law must extend to gays and lesbians to
ensure that all citizens enjoy full human rights.

Some of the issues in this argument:

Should society encourage traditional values and traditional forms of family life?
Should employee benefits be offered to people with domestic partners?
Should we tolerate discrimination against gays and lesbians in employment or housing?
Should our government enact legislation to strengthen and support traditional families --
like a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a
woman?
Should we provide the same rights to gay and lesbian couples that are currently only
afforded to heterosexual couples -- the right to marry, adopt and receive benefits?

Animal Rights

Thesis Statements:

• Animal testing is necessary to develop new medicines

and advance scientific knowledge.
• Animal testing is unethical and should be outlawed.

Some of the issues in this argument:

What rights do animals possess?
What rights do humans have to use animals as they wish?
Can new medicines and vaccines be safely developed without animal testing?
Is it human nature to eat meat?
Do humans exploit animals when they keep them as pets and/or in zoos?

Gambling

Thesis Statements:

• The positive aspects of organized gambling far outweigh the harmful side effects
that occur.
• The harmful side effects of organized gambling far outweigh any positive aspects.

Some of the issues in this argument:

What are the social and economic effects of legalized gambling on a community?
What is the relationship between gambling and crime?
Can the gambling industry regulate itself?
 -5-

Social Security Reform

Thesis Statements:

• Social Security reform is essential to ensure retirement benefits to all Americans.

• The federal government should not modify the Social Security system and should
continue to administer social security benefits.

Some of the issues in this argument:

How serious is the social security crisis?
Can legislators and politicians be trusted to administer benefits?
Can individuals be trusted to establish and administer retirement accounts?
Can voluntary privatization be successful?

Are Airlines to Blame for Passenger Air Rage?

It's been a long day. Your flight was delayed for mechanical reasons. Then it was the weather. You've missed your
connection and might not make it home until tomorrow. Passengers are getting unruly, shouting at the gate attendants
and demanding to know what's going on. If and when you finally do get on board your plane, you might feel like a drink
or two. Or more. And that's often where the problem starts. Tired, frustrated travelers who've been bounced around,
delayed and have had their patience tested start drinking and then they snap, yelling at flight crew members or even
assaulting them.

Should Using A Cell Phone While Driving Be Illegal?

Though once considered rare luxuries, cellular telephones have become a commonplace possession over the last decade.
Thanks in part to advances in wireless technology and immense public demand, cell phones have been made affordable to
almost anyone wishing to pay for the phone and cellular service plans. With various designs, features and faceplates,
ranging from simple black to dark metallic green and Mickey Mouse, the American public now uses over 95 million cell
phones.

Are Sleep Requirements for Truckers Too Stringent?

Sleepy drivers are dangerous, some claim they are as dangerous as drunk drivers. And when those drivers are behind the
wheel of an 80-ton truck, the damage they can cause is staggering.

Are SUVs Destroying The Environment?

Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) have been dominating the roads since 1990 when Ford found this panacea for the ailing
U.S. auto industry. Currently, SUVs, minivans, and pickups account for 50 percent of auto purchases in the United States.
But what has been good for automakers may not be as good for the ozone layer.
Are SUVs a Menace to Other Cars on the Road?

In early May 2000, the Ford Motor Company shocked auto industry watchers by acknowledging in its annual corporate
citizenship report that sport utility vehicles (SUVs) have more safety problems than cars. Ford Chairman William Ford, Jr.
explained to shareholders that Ford had to admit the problems with SUVs or risk having a reputation for dishonesty like
tobacco companies.

ISSUES Society, Culture & Values

Prepubescent Pixies: Should There Be A Higher Minimum Age For Olympic Gymnasts?

In 1972 Russian Olga Korbut won the gold medal and the hearts of the world with her full rotation back flip on the
balance beam. She was 17 years old, she wore pony tails, and she was the youngest, cutest competitor in a sport where
the average competitor was usually in her low-to-mid twenties. With her spectacular performance, she ushered in the age
of the pixie gymnasts: young, prepubescent girls who are able to use their tiny frames to perform flips and feats that
their elders would never have dared.
 -6-

Are the IOC and NBC Unfairly Prohibiting Internet Coverage of the Sydney Olympics?

When over 10,000 athletes from around the world file into the Olympic Stadium before 110,000 spectators to celebrate
the opening ceremonies of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, American sports fans will be watching the event on NBC,
CNBC or MSNBC. The same will remain true for each event and the closing ceremonies on September 15, as the network
has purchased all broadcasting rights for the U.S. television audience from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for
$705 million. Over the next two weeks, NBC will be recording thousands of hours of Olympic events and then
broadcasting condensed, tape-delayed segments in the evening. This is due to the time difference between Australia and
the U.S. — New York is 15 hours behind Sydney — and NBC's intention is to attract the largest number of TV viewers
during the prime-time market.

Olympics in the 21st Century: Is Corruption the Name of the Game?

Just as the games' governing body, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) thought things were settled down, they
fired back up again the week before the start of the Sydney Olympics. The government of Indonesia sharply criticized the
body for lobbying for the release of IOC member Mohamad Hasan so he could attend the summer games. Hasan, a track
and field official, is an associate of former Indonesian President Suharto and is in jail awaiting trial on charges that he
embezzled $87 million in state funds. In addition to leaning on the Indonesian government for the release of a Suharto
crony, two IOC members were denied entry into Australia for their alleged ties with organized crime.

Is the International Olympic Committee Doing Enough to Stop Doping?

In a scathing report released just weeks before the start of the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, the White House Office
of Drug Policy criticized the International Olympic Committee's drug testing program. The report, based on a two-year, $1
million study conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, concludes that
that the financial windfall available to medal-winning athletes motivates many competitors to use performance-enhancing
substances. The report also highlights the IOC's conflict of interest in conducting drug testing: while the organization
claims to want drug-free competition, the image of the Games, and their ability to attract lucrative corporate sponsors,
would be damaged if star athletes were eliminated from competition by positive drug tests. The body responsible for
overseeing drug testing at the Games, the World Anti-Doping Agency, is a part of the IOC. A new worldwide anti-doping
agency, independent of the IOC, should be established to ensure fair and effective testing of athletes, the report
concludes.

ISSUES Science & Technology

 -7-

Should We Use Surveillance Software To Combat Online Infidelity?

All happy families are happy in the same way, but no two unhappy families are alike.

Will Record Companies Be Able to Profit From the Napster Phenomenon?

The record industry scored a major legal victory on July 26, when a federal judge issued an order to shut down Napster,
the popular music swapping site. But the industry's elation was short-lived, as two federal appeal court judges granted
Napster's request to stay the order, which had been scheduled to go into effect at midnight on July 28. Napster's appeal
of Judge Marilyn Hall Patel's ruling will be heard in mid-August, and the site can continue operations in the meantime.

Should the Federal Government Prohibit Internet Gambling?

In the early 1970's, legal organized gambling in the U.S. existed only in the glitzy casinos of Las Vegas, Nevada and
Atlantic City, New Jersey. But due to significant public demand and massive revenue generating abilities, numerous
forms of organized gambling ranging from horseracing to state-operated lotteries have blossomed across the country.
Operated either by state governments or regulated private entities, some form of legalized gambling exists in 47 states
and the District of Columbia.

Will Digital Signatures Benefit Both Businesses and Consumers?

With the Senate unanimously approving the Millennium Digital Commerce Act (MDCA) on June 20, 2000, the concept of
digital signatures on the Internet being as legally binding as conventional pen-and-paper contracts stands a pen stroke
away from becoming a reality. Unlike similar digital, or electronic, signature legislation that failed in Congress last
November, the House has already passed their version of the MDCA and President Clinton has promised to sign the bill
into law. Digital signature supporters have long held that the creation of such an item will revolutionize how business
and legal transactions are completed in the global economy.

Are Employers Violating Worker's Privacy With Electronic Monitoring?

With the development of affordable computer technology over the past two decades, coupled with the need for
increased and faster communications, the American office place has experienced a significant metamorphosis. While it
was once a luxury to have your own office phone extension, it is now common for workers to have voice mail, personal
computers, e-mail and Internet connection. While these advances have aided productivity and business growth, they
have also created new concerns over corporate security efforts and the privacy rights of employees.

ISSUES Poverty & Welfare

Is the Democratic Party Ignoring the Homeless?

From 1987 to 1997, the demand for emergency food and shelter indicate that despite the booming economy and the
new prosperity, the number of homeless and those living in extreme poverty in the United States has increased.
According to a recent White House press release, the number of homeless at any given time has now reached
750,000.

Should the Government Do More to End the Affordable Housing Crisis?

The past few years of non-stop economic growth has brought prosperity to many, and has led to skyrocketing
housing costs that prevent some two-income families from finding a home. Many stories have been written about
dotcom millionaires with unlimited resources who cannot find a house to buy in Silicon Valley, and Wall Street
warriors who are out-bid on Park Avenue apartments.

The ADA at 10: Is It Working?

On July 26, 1990, President George Bush signed the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law, calling the law
powerful in its simplicity. But the ADA has proved to be far from simple, and advocates on both sides of the issue
have struggled with its vague language about who is and who is not disabled. The Supreme Court has been left to
decide those questions. In 1999, the Court ruled that ADA does not protect people with physical corrections that can
be corrected, such as poor vision or high blood pressure.

Poverty: Is it Time to Redraw the Line?

When Mollie Orshansky created a poverty line while working for the Social Security Administration in 1963, she used
a U. S. Department of Agriculture-created minimum food budget for a family, and multiplied it by three. By 1969 that
measure was being used by the Johnson administration in its War Against Poverty, and, although adjustments have
been made for inflation, the government still uses it to define poverty in America. Roughly 35 million, or one of every
eight Americans, now lives below the poverty line.
 -8-

acid rain
arms control celibacy consumer-
accounting industry bankruptcy reform
regulation artificial cell phone safety
intelligence contraceptive drug
adoption censorship implants
athletes and drugs
affirmative action census 2000 copyright and the
attention deficit Internet
age discrimination disorder charter schools
corporate mergers
aggressive driving automobile safety cheating in schools
corporate scandals
AIDS B-2 bomber chemical and
biological weapons corporate subsidies
air pollution bilingual education
child abuse cosmetic surgery
airline safety binge drinking
child labor courts and the
airport security biodiversity media
child poverty
alcohol advertising biotech foods crimes against
child support humanity
alcoholism birth control
children and crop circles
Al Qaeda blogs and blogging divorce
Cuban embargo
alternative blood supply safety children's legal
medicine rights cults in America
Bosnian
Alzheimer's disease peacekeeping children's television cyber-crime
mission
Americans with China's future cyber-predators
Disabilities Act brain research
chronic fatigue date rape
Americorps breast-cancer syndrome
research day care
Amtrak's future church-state
breast implants separation Dead Sea Scrolls
animal
communication budget deficit citizens' police diabetes epidemic
review boards
animal rights Bush presidency digital divide
cloning
antidepressant caller ID dinosaurs
drugs college tuition costs
campaign finance direct democracy
antiquities trading reform Colombia's civil
war disaster relief
anti-stalking laws cancer research
comparable worth distance learning
antitrust policy capital gains tax
Confederate DNA databases
Arab/Israeli conflict capital punishment symbols
 -9-

drinking on campus euthanasia gay rights illiteracy

drug abuse evolution and gays in the military immigration reform

creationism
drug testing gene therapy income inequality
executive
drunk driving compensation genetic engineering India's future

earthquake research exotic animal global warming infomercials

smuggling
eating disorders grade inflation information
extreme sports superhighway
ecofeminism grandparents'
fad diets visitation rights insanity defense
e-books
faith-based grazing fees Internal Revenue
e-commerce initiatives Service
Gulf War Syndrome
education reform farm subsidies International
gun control Monetary Fund
elder abuse FBI
gun industry international space
election reform feminism lawsuits station

Electoral College flag-burning hate crimes Internet regulation

electric cars flat tax hazing Internet taxation

electroconvulsive Food and Drug herbal supplements interracial marriage

therapy Administration
high school Iraq crisis
electromagnetic food irradiation dropouts
fields judicial activism
food labeling Holocaust
electronic privacy reparations jury system
food safety
endangered species home schooling juvenile crime
forest fires
energy policy homeland security Kashmir conflict
foster care reform
energy security homeless killer bees
freedom of
English as official information homosexual Kosovo
language parenting peacekeeping
future of libraries mission
ergonomic homosexuality
standards gambling labor unions
Hong Kong's future
ethics in gangsta rap land mines
government housing shortage
garbage and waste legalization of
ethnic conflict human genome drugs
gated communities project
European Monetary logging in the
Union GATT hunting Pacific Northwest
 - 10 -

lotteries physician-assisted refugees

national forests suicide
mad cow disease reparations
national plea bargaining movement
magnetic levitation identification cards
trains Pledge of reproductive
national parks Allegiance technology
male/female roles
national service poaching right to die
managed health
care NATO expansion police brutality right to privacy

mandatory needle-exchange police corruption robots

sentencing programs
political correctness RU 486
manned mission to neo-Nazism
Mars political scandals same-sex marriage
New Age
marine pollution movement polygamy school choice

mass transit no-fault divorce pornography school funding

medical malpractice North Korea-South Presidential school uniforms

Korea relations election, 2004
Medicare reform school violence
nuclear fusion prison privatization
media violence school voucher
nuclear power prostitution programs
medical marijuana plants
Prozac search for
Mexico's future nuclear extraterrestrial life
proliferation public funding for
military the arts September 11, 2001
preparedness nuclear waste
disposal public broadcasting sex discrimination
military tribunals in sports
obesity epidemic Puerto Rico's future
militia movement sex education
occupational safety racial
minimum wage gerrymandering sex research
Osama bin Laden
missile-defense racial profiling sex-offender
programs ozone hole notification
racism
multiculturalism panic disorders sexual abuse and
radioactive waste the clergy
NAFTA parental consent disposal
and notification sexual harassment
NASA's future laws radon
sexually-
national patients' rights rain forests transmitted diseases
achievement testing
pesticides recycling sick houses
National
Endowment for the pet theft redistricting single-sex
Arts education
 - 11 -

transportation of
sleep disorders steroids telecommunications hazardous materials
reform
smoking stock market truck safety
telemarketing
social promotion student-athlete twelve-step
compensation televised executions programs
Social Security
reform students' rights television and UFOs
politics
solar energy supercomputers United Nations
television-ratings
South Africa's supernovas codes urban sprawl
future
surrogate terrorism U. S.-Mexico
space shuttle motherhood border enforcement
testing in schools
space telescope tabloid television utility deregulation
third-party politics
spam tanning vegetarianism
three-strikes laws
speed limits tax reform video games
tobacco industry
sports-stadium teacher shortage virtual child
funding tort reform pornography
technology export
sportsmanship controls toxic wastes vitamins

state income tax teen curfews trade deficit voter participation

states' rights teenage pregnancy traffic congestion War in Afghanistan

stem-cell research teenage suicide War Powers Act

water pollution whaling world population

water use in the American women in combat World Trade Organization

West
women in sports year-round schooling
welfare reform
worker retraining youth gangs
West Nile virus
workers' privacy zero tolerance policies
wetlands loss and
degradation world hunger