TWO-SIDES TERM PAPER ASSIGNMENT Soc 352 – Professor Kane DUE AS A BLACKBOARD SUBMISSION ON 8/2/17 GUIDELINES – Your term paper must be typed, double-spaced, twelve point Times New Roman font, one inch margins all around, and at least 6 pages. Use and cite at least SIX reputable social science sources – at least one of these must be a peer-reviewed publication from a respected social science journal or academic press; also you can utilize your textbook as one of the six sources (and it can be considered peer-reviewed). For more peer-reviewed sources see Ebscohost databases, with ‘Academic Search Premier’ being most preferred, accessible through the online ASU library portal. To assure that you have located a peer-reviewed source, before you search check the box marked ‘peer-reviewed.’ DIRECTIONS: Pick a controversial topic related to the study of social change that the US media is covering today. Describe the topic and why it is controversial. Try to pick a unique topic – for example – NOT abortion, gun rights, euthanasia, capital punishment, media violence etc… these are not unique topics. If you are going to choose a topic that likely has been chosen by many other students (past and present), please go out of your way to provide unique perspectives on the cliché topic. Choosing something very current and new is always a good bet. See below for more on choosing a unique topic. Provide TWO opposing views regarding your controversial topic. Present each side as if your views line-up with the side being presented. The goal is to make it so I cannot tell which side you actually support. If you provide only one side of your chosen topic you will receive, at best, a 50 out of 100 on your term paper. In between the end of your paper and the reference page include a ‘reveal section’, where you reveal your true opinions, the side of the debate you actually favor, and what you’ve learned through your research. Keep in mind, the main goal in this assignment is to argue both sides equally well. The reveal page should be no more than one-fifth, at most, of your total term paper length; it is less important than arguing both sides well. A WORD ON SOURCES: Evidence can take a number of forms – facts and figures, library research, social experiences. However, the strongest forms of evidence are going to come from peer reviewed social science journals, found in University-level Ebsco library databases like Academic Search Premier. Less convincing is evidence marshaled from newspapers, magazines, and websites. Least convincing is personal social experiences (please do not include personal experiences in the body your term paper; personal experience is OK for the Reveal Section). Make sure to provide citations for your evidence using the Chicago Manual of Style Format – Within the text cite like this: (Author, Date). On Your Reference Page, your citations should look like this: Author. Date. “Title of Article”, Title of Source. URL (if applicable). Publishing Company (if applicable). APA style citation/referencing is also acceptable. Quotations should never run for more than four sentences. The main point should be articulated in your own words with quotations merely providing support. Cite ideas as well. Cite any sources that have informed your work in any way. You can never go wrong by citing as much as possible while utilizing as many sources as possible. HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR PAPER: If you have read the directions for the assignment carefully, you know that the paper contains 5 basic sections. BE SURE TO ORGANIZE YOUR PAPER AND LABEL THE SECTIONS OF YOUR PAPER AS FOLLOWS: I) An ‘Introduction’ to your topic. II) A 'Pro Side’ regarding your topic that contains the best supportive arguments for a yes view. III) A ‘Con Side’ regarding your topic that contains the best arguments for an 'against' view. IV) A ‘Reveal Page’ where you reveal the side you support and what you learned through your research. V) A ‘Reference Page’. NOTE - Reference Pages and Title Pages Do Not Count Towards Your Assigned Page Totals. CHOOSING A UNIQUE TOPIC: If the topic you are choosing has been debated for years and years and years and years... ‘beaten to death’ as they say… it is not an interesting/unique topic. Conventional views and debates on abortion rights, gun rights, capital punishment, assisted suicide, media violence, marijuana legalization, the drinking age, the minimum wage, animal testing, vaccines, electoral college, etc etc etc fall into this category. Basically, if it’s on ProCon.org – DON’T CHOOSE IT. Be more original. The world is full of novel, unique, and exciting developments - new ones everyday - choose to research one of them. That being said, I realize that unique can have several meanings – I am definitely not saying that you should be the only person ever who has thought about the topic. Basically, if it’s a relatively new and uniquely 21st century debate, born of the novel changes our world is rapidly going through... then that counts as unique to me. For example – genetic modification – good or bad – that is unique and interesting to me. In fact, the world of current and novel technological development provides endless interesting new and novel debates regarding social issues and consequences. If it is relatively new and currently on blast on your social networks – such a topic may strike me as new and unique (but it also may not, this is where your judgment comes in) – Forms of Protesting (peaceful, violent, blocking traffic, otherwise), Something Perhaps Conspiratorial (is it true or false), Voter Fraud (is it occurring, does it matter), An Aspect of Mass Surveillance (useful or dangerous), Militarization of Police Forces (necessary or dangerous) – such topics are new, complex, and relatively unique for a student paper. HOWEVER, realize some topics on blast on social media have already been addressed by many students before you, and that’s the sort of topic you want to stay away from. You can choose such topics, but try to find a relatively unique angle – for example, if you are going to choose Black Lives Matter, don’t just write a pro and con side, find a more unique way to approach Black Lives Matter. Same goes for transgender bathroom rights, this topic is already over-done and it isn’t particularly complex. However, there are numerous interesting and less played out topics regarding transgender rights than bathroom rights, and more complex and original notions regarding Black Lives Matter than a simple I am for-it or against-it… find those complex, intelligent, and more nuanced debates. Put some real thought into your topic choice; give potentially played-out topics a unique and original spin to increase the uniqueness. Also, realize that if there is an aspect of any Lectures that you found particularly interesting and novel, hadn't heard much about, and wanted more info regarding... chances are that counts to me too as a unique topic. Go more in depth, find different (albeit still reliable) sources than the ones I used in my discussion, taking different or deeper perspectives on the topic, making different and deeper arguments, and I would likely appreciate such a paper. So, if you are still searching for a topic, take another look at the Lectures you found most interesting with an eye toward going deeper. Also, feel free to explore my ASU dedicated YouTube Channel for Lecture Video Series not included in this class in order to get the creative thinking juices going. If you are choosing a classically conventional topic, realize that doing so is risky for this assignment, and so you will necessarily need to debate a new perspective or angle on it – for example, you want to do a paper on gun rights… so beaten to death. But what about gun rights in Australia – less so. What about gun rights in the developing world? What about whether people on the no-fly or terror watch list should get gun rights – less beaten to death. You find immigration interesting – ok, but give it a 2016 spin – Wall or No-Wall, Is Mass Deportation a Good or Realistic Idea in the 21st century, etc. Address something modern, something novel, something extremely current, something complex, something technological, something especially germane to 2017, and bring in new perspectives; that is what I am looking for. Go unique. BUT, always keep in mind that you MUST argue two opposing perspectives on your topic, each equally well. So do not pick a topic with which you will have difficulty doing so.

Go to the PBS http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/sex/mating/ to play the mating game. For each of the five species listed (Great crested grebe, burying beetle, sage grouse, eastern gray tree frog, and satin bowerbird) summarize the desirable qualities they are searching for in a mate. Also, make sure to identify each of the three prospective dates for each of the five species and describe the reasons why the two species that are not a good match are not good matches for the species you are "setting up". While in the software, you may need to scroll through the dialog box to see all of the dialog, this is done by manually clicking and holding down on the side bar (to the immediate right of the dialog box within the simulator) and dragging the side bar up/down. Also, remember there are five species that you need to go through the dating game with. To get to all five species, you will need to manually click on the picture of the next species after completing the species before (after completing species, it will take you back to the home page and you will click on the picture of the next species).Rubric for Lab 4 Report (5 pts)You should write a full lab report that includes: an “Introduction”, a “Materials and Methods”, “Results”, “Discussion” sections. This lab report should be a minimum of 300 words. Only the submission of a single Word document is required for this lab report. Please ensure that your document is either a .doc OR .docx file to ensure that we can easily access your file from both a PC and Mac computer.Introduction (1 pt)Give characteristics of each of the five species (how big are they, how long do they live, what is their scientific name, etc.)Materials and Methods (1 pt)In paragraph format and in past tense, describe the materials you needed and the methods you used to complete this lab. Yes, we understand this is an online lab so this section is a little difficult, but remember, someone (who is not in this class) should be able to complete the lab based on what you write here so what should you include?Results (2 pts)Would probably be best to split this section by each of the five speciesDescribe the desirable qualities that each of the five species is looking for (1 pt)Include a table that has all five species, their three potential “dates”, and the date that was the best match (1 pt)Discussion (1 pt)Discuss, in detail, who the best “date” was for each species and the reasons why these were their best choices (simply stating “they are the same species” is not an adequate answer)Discuss, in detail, why each of the other two dates for each species was not the ideal date (simply stating “they were not the same species” is not an adequate answer)1 pt will be deducted if lab report does not meet word count requirements and up 1 pt may be deducted based on clarity of writing and grammar mistakes. Lab reports are due by Friday, November 3, 2017 at 11:59pm through the proper submission link in Blackboard. No late lab reports will be accepted for this assignment and no lab reports sent via e-mail will be accepted.