Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Media Ethics Article, The Feminist Ethic of Risk, The Trouble With Normal, or One of Your Own
Media Ethics Article, The Feminist Ethic of Risk, The Trouble With Normal, or One of Your Own
Writ340
Dr.
Fall2016
Purpose:Thisassignmentrequiresthecompositionofanethicalargumentrelevanttoyour
chosenprofession,major,orsocietyatlarge.A2givesyoutheopportunitytoimplementskills
centraltoeffectivewriting,includingselectinganappropriatetopic,makingapparentits
significance,providingclearpoints,offeringcompellingevidence,andanticipatingobjectionsto
yourargument.Youshouldaimtocommunicatewithconcision,makingthetoneofthepiece
appropriatetotheaudienceinthiscasereasonablyeducatedlaypersonswithaninterestinthe
subjectwhoseekargumentstohelpthemmakeuptheirminds.(Oriftheylackaninterestinthe
subject,interestthem,andthenhelpthemmakeuptheirminds.)Butneverforget,theirattention
isbeingwooedbymanyothersourcesthanyou.Keepit.
Methodology:Besuretobaseyourargumentuponanethicalprinciple.Useoneeitherfromthe
MediaEthicsarticle,TheFeministEthicofRisk,TheTroublewithNormal,oroneofyourown
choosing.Asthisisnotaresearchpaper,noothersourcesarerequired;however,inestablishing
thetopic,youmayfinditusefultoperusenationalnewspapers,professionaltradejournals,or
popularpressandInternetsources.Becauseyouseektopersuadeaparticularaudience,youwill
wanttoconsidercarefullywhattypesofevidencewillbemostusefulforyou,includinganecdote
andanalogy.Besuretodocumentanyoutsideideasusedinthefinaldraft.
Thisargumentmustalsousetheclassicalrhetoricalappealsoflogos,pathos,andethos;their
presenceshouldbeapparentinthetext.Andbesuretoanticipateobjectionstoyourargument,
dismantlingthemwithcounterpoints.Finally,makesuretheeditorialreadsmuchmore
compellinglythanthisboringessaytopicdoes.Usefigurativelanguage,analogy,vividdiction,
variedsentencelengths,rhetoricalquestions,directaddress,repetition,etc.
Task:Visualizeyourselfasamemberofoneparticularcommunity,perhapsfellowprofessionals
inafield,studentsofauniversity,membersofasocialorganization,inhabitantsofacertain
region,consumersofparticularproducts,playersonateam,orcitizensofanation.After
selectinganissueyoubelieveneedsaddressingforthehealthyfunctioningofthatcommunity,
Makeusawareoftheproblemandconvinceusthatyourviewsareright.
Tip:Whileyoumustclearlyuseaspecificethicalprinciple,donotexplicitlyrefertoitinthe
essay.Dosoonlyifmentioningitstrengthensyourargumentforsomereason.Dontevenuse
thewordethicalunlesstheresalogicalandtopicalneedforit.Youneedtokeeptheaudiences
attention,writingineffectalivelypieceofpropaganda. Sodeviseapunchyandcompelling
argumentandtheninvoketheprincipleunderlyingitlaterinthepaperifithelpsyouanddoesnt
boreoralienateyouraudience.Alsodontusethetypicalexpositoryessayformatwithathesis
andtopicsentences.Insteadpullthereaderinandkeepattentionbyunfoldingtheargumentin
aninterestingway.
Format:EssayTwoshouldbeanexerciseinconcision.Letthelengthbedeterminedbywhat
needstobesaidtoproveyourcase,butdonotexceed6pages.Fourpageswillbetheacceptable
minimum.BecertaintofolloweitherMLAorAPAguidelines.
Timeline:Dueupto7daysafteryouroralpresentation