Assignment Description
There has been much discussion recently as to what role governments do have in the
management of the internet and, furthermore, what role governments, in particular the
USA government, ought to have in overseeing the internet. Some have called for the USA
to no longer be the de-facto controller of the internet, suggesting that role pass to the
UN, perhaps, or some other entity. Is this a good idea? Why or Why not?
For this paper you will take a different approach: tell us what you think! Look at the
following question, find relevant sources that will help to explore/answer the question,
read and consider the sources that you find, and then, using your own thoughts about
these sources, write your response. (Please see the Global Issues Writing Guide for more
specifics on a position essay).
Essay Guidelines
Your essay should:
1.
Utilize database search engines available through the Van Pelt Library web site to
search for the sources you will be using in this essay. We recommend that you make
use of the Proquest database, though you may use any to which you have access.
2.
Include at least six sources in the essay. Three must be from peer-reviewed journals,
and three may be peer-reviewed or from other sources. We strongly suggest looking
at the reports from the recent IGF (Internet Governance Forum) meetings in Bali,
Indonesia. (Note: These reports are not peer-reviewed.)
3.
Attach a short paragraph to the top of your annotated bibliography in which you
discuss:
a.
what you need to know to make your argument;
b. possible sources of evidence to support your argument; and
c.
keywords that you used to search the databases for evidence.
This will help you to research and compose a more organized, effective position
essay.
4.
Use specific examples with appropriate parenthetical citations in-text from all of your
sources to support your position.
5.
Create an annotated bibliography entry for each source (see annotated bibliography
resources below).
The body of your paper must be no more than 750 words in length. In-text parenthetical
citations do not count toward the word limit, but word-for-word quotations from your
sources do. The annotated bibliography does not count against the 750-word limit.
However, the same requirements in the Writing Guide for succinct use of words apply to
your annotations.
Getting Started
Before you begin work on your essay, watch the following tutorial at the MTU library
website: "Evaluating Resources." This video will introduce you to the practice of critically
evaluating sources. In addition to the video, we ask that you review the following
documents:

Reliable Resources: Evaluating Information (Reliable Resources _Quaratiello 2011.pdf
)

Critically Analyzing Information Sources (Critically Analyzing Sources.pdf
)
For this and all subsequent writing assignments, you are required to create an annotated
bibliography to accompany your essay. An annotated bibliography is a list of sources you
have collected, which in this case includes the resource used to obtain the source (e.g.,
library shelves, Lexis-Nexis, Google Scholar), along with a critical evaluation of that source
in terms of its purpose, authority, and currency. Please review the Annotated Bibliography
Guide (UN1025_Annotated Bibliography Guide.pdf
) for specific instructions and
examples of how to create this document.
After watching the video and reviewing these documents, begin collecting your sources.
Use library resources to locate at least sixsources that will help you identify issues related
to governance of the internet, three of which must be peer-reviewed articles, books, or
other sources. When searching databases like Proquest or LexisNexis, be sure that the
"peer review" option is selected.