English 1302
Research Topics
1) Remember the movie we watched, “Dear Zachary: A Letter About a Father to His
Son”. Discuss the problems presented in the way the system handles child
welfare. What needs to change, and how should we go about changing the laws
regarding children?
2) Look at how the media affects our perception of the world or ourselves. Either
talk about how the media affects our perception of beauty and our own selfimage, and whether this is good or bad for young people, OR write a paper about
how the media is affecting the mental development and overall well-being of
children.
3) Look at ‘The Gettysburg Address’ again, and then at Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘I
Have a Dream’ speech. How was the former an inspiration for the latter? Both
speeches talk about the fact that although our country was created with the idea of
freedom and equality, there have been times in history where these things have
not been carried out fully. Compare these speeches with any newspaper articles
on either ‘immigration issues’ or ‘gay marriage’ and the lack of equal rights to
certain groups of people today.
4) Find some information on the recent Ebola outbreak in Africa. Should the rest of
the world have done more to help the initial outbreak, before it was able to spread
out of Africa? What can we do in the future to prevent the worldwide spread of
diseases?
5) Look at some of the recent cases of women leaving children alone (the homeless
woman who left her child in the car while she did a job interview; the woman who
let her child play at the park while she worked). Have our views on parenting
changed in the last decade or more? Where is the line that we draw on this?
6) Discuss the minimum wage. California has raised theirs to $15 per hour. Some
people think this is damaging to the economy, and others think it is necessary for
the benefit of workers. Should the minimum wage be raised? Should it be raised
this high?
7) Should the US and other western nations take in refugees from Syria? Why or
why not? You may discuss the situation that causes this to be an issue.
8) Choose any current event to research and have a position on.
GUIDELINES
1) 3 pages minimum
2) 10 or 12 font
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MLA format all the way through
Works Cited page (not part of the 3 pages)
3 sources (minimum)
No Wikipedia
One source can be your textbook.