Temple College
GOVT 2301
Fall, 2000
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ON-LINE DISCUSSION FORUMS
This assignment is worth 200 points of your overall course grade. Read and follow the
instructions below fully.
General:
 Each student will choose a position (yes or no) to argue on the discussion topic.
 Each student will write one (5-7 pages) persuasive essay (position paper) - worth 100
points.
 Each student will write two (2-3 pages) follow-up essays (responses/rebuttals) - 50
points each/100 points total.
 See calendar below for due dates.
Notes on 5-7 page position paper:
 Your essay should be 5-7 pages, double-spaced. You MUST write your essay in
MICROSOFT WORD (do NOT use any other word processing software such as
WordPerfect). This is particularly important for students who may want to work at their
homes or offices. The MICROSOFT WORD software is available in all of the open
labs at Temple College. WORD is very easy to use, however, if you are accustomed
to some other software or you are otherwise unfamiliar with WORD, you should ask a
lab assistant to help you. They are employed to answer your questions about the
programs installed on the PCs in the labs. The instructor will NOT accept handwritten
or typed hard copies of essays for credit.
 There are three main reasons for requiring you to write your essays in WORD. [1]
You can take advantage of spelling and grammar check features. [The instructor will
take writing mechanics into account when grading your essay.] [2] VERY
IMPORTANT: Writing the essay in a word processing software also allows you to save
the essay to a diskette for backup. You will post your essay to the Message Board as
an attachment to a cover message. The instructor will demonstrate this process in
one or more of our class sessions. Be sure to post your essay to the correct topic on
the Message Board. [3] WORD is the word processing software that is installed on
the instructor‘s office PC. Whereas the instructor MUST read all of the posted essays,
they must be in a format that he can easily read.

You should post your essay to the appropriate topic of the on-line message board
(http://forums.delphi.com/m/main.asp?sigdir=wfeaginjr or http://www.delphi.com/wfeaginjr and click
on the link to “American Politics Message Board”) by the due date. Essays posted after the
due date will be penalized 10 points for each 24-hour period (or portion thereof) they
are late.
 All position papers should be posted to the message board so that everyone can read
them. Again, the instructor will NOT accept handwritten or typed hard copies of your
essays for credit.

This assignment requires that students conduct RESEARCH on the topic. The
discussion topic for this assignment have been debated in numerous public forums, in
both print and broadcast media. Students should be able to find articles dealing with
the topic in newspapers or newsmagazines, scholarly or opinion journals, books,
transcripts of television or radio public affairs programs, Internet sources, etc. In other
words, the instructor has NOT an chosen obscure topic. There is plenty of information
available on the discussion topic. PLEASE do not tell the instructor the day before
your work is due that “you could not find anything on the topic.” A good way to start
your research might be to read the appropriate pages in your textbook. Check the
sources that the authors cite. Then, check the sources cited by those articles or
books and so on. You do not have to spend hours scanning through periodical
indexes or doing Internet searches to complete your research.

Read all instructions carefully BEFORE you begin your work. If you have questions
or are unsure about what is expected of you, you must ask! The instructor does not
have any special ability to glean your questions from a confused look on your face.

Your essay should have a main point (thesis) which holds together an introduction,
body, and conclusion. In other words, your essay should be THESIS-CONTROLLED.

You should clearly state your arguments and develop a logical defense of your
arguments. In a position paper, you should try to persuade your readers why your
position should be believed. Whichever position you choose (yes or no), your essay
should reflect a good understanding of the facts, as well as cogent and thoughtful
reasoning. You should try to avoid the logical fallacies we discussed in class.

A position paper is NOT the same thing as an opinion paper. In this assignment,
you must defend your position based on documentable facts, not your opinions.
Students sometimes believe this is subtle distinction, but it is a very important one!!

Your essay should be thorough, yet concise. This is one of the biggest challenges
of this assignment. You should write enough to present your position thoroughly, but
avoid extraneous or superfluous details.
Notes on rebuttals/responses:
 The response/rebuttal essays are designed to give you the opportunity to develop the
arguments you made in your position papers by responding to arguments made by the
opposing side or by answering specific questions posed to you. The purpose of this
part of the assignment is to promote a dialogue among students in a discussion group.
 Begin by reading ALL (both "affirmative" and "negative") of the essays posted to your
discussion group. Give careful thought to the arguments presented. Then, you will
develop an extended discussion of your topic with the other students by writing and
posting two (2) 2-3 page rebuttal/response essays.
 The term “rebuttal” is used loosely here. The 2-3 page essays are intended to give you
some flexibility. You may respond generally to the other essays by identifying
arguments that you believe deserve further discussion. You may also choose to
narrow your consideration to the arguments made by the author of one particular
essay.
 If you contend that another student's argument(s) is (are) weak, you should explain
your criticism.
 If you challenge the veracity of the evidence presented by another student, you should
provide documentable evidence to the contrary.
 You may pose questions directly to other students. You should also answer any
questions that are posed directly to you.
 You may respond, elaborate, or develop arguments made by another student arguing
the same side of the issue as you.
 You may develop your own arguments further in these essays.
 You may clarify, add to, or develop arguments you made in your position papers. You
may critique arguments made by students arguing the opposing position. You may
pose questions for the other side to answer.
 You should respond to any questions posed to you by the other side in these essays.
 However you choose to proceed, your 2-3 page essays should demonstrate that you
have read the other essays and have given thoughtful consideration to the arguments
presented.
 Do NOT "grade" other students' essays - that is, address the merits of their arguments
as they pertain to the topic of discussion. You should allow me (the instructor) to
assess the academic aspects of their essays.
 Please remain civil in your criticisms. Do NOT allow the discussion to degrade to
personal attacks.
 Do NOT use vulgar or obscene language. I WILL DELETE ANY ESSAYS THAT USE
SUCH LANGUAGE!
 Avoid the use of phrases such as "I feel like…." Or "It seems to me that…." If you are
tempted to use such phraseology, resist with all of your might. These phrases are a
tip off that your arguments are weak (not based on documentable evidence).
 While I hope we can develop an extended discussion on the topic, you should avoid
using a "conversational" or casual style of writing. Avoid using colloquialisms. Use
capital letters to start your sentences. For some reason, the invention of e-mail and
chat rooms has generated a flagrant disregard for the conventions of written
communication. I understand that the Internet has developed its own protocols and
etiquette, but I do not like the casual nature of it. It implies, "I don't take your
arguments or points seriously enough to take the time to hit the 'Shift' key when I
typed my response." Remember, this is an ACADEMIC exercise, not a social event.
 You should attempt to conform to traditional academic standards regarding spelling,
word choice, grammar, organization, sentence and paragraph construction, etc. In this
sense, these 2-3 page essays ARE formal writing assignments. However, you should
not have to do a whole lot of additional research to write these papers, unless your
previous research was inadequate.
 The rebuttal essays should be written in MICROSOFT WORD. [See above
explanation.]
 Be sure to post your essay so that everyone can read it.
 Do NOT hesitate to ask questions of the instructor if you are uncertain about
something.
 The 2-3 page essays are due (to be posted) as indicated below. Late papers will be
penalized 5 points for every 24-hour period (or portion thereof) they are late.
Calendar:
 You have 9 weeks to research, write and post your 5-7 page position paper. The
paper must be posted to on-line forum by Friday, November 3, 12:00pm (noon).
 1st 2-3 page rebuttal/response must be posted by Friday, November 17, 12:00pm.
 2nd 2-3 page rebuttal/response must be posted by Friday, December 1, 12:00pm.
Miscellaneous:
 The instructor expects that each student will engage the discussions vigorously and
will meet the high standards of college-level discourse. Students are expected to be
courteous and respectful of their peers and to use language acceptable in a civilized
society. Students who violate these protocols will be banned from further participation
in the discussion forums.
 Questions about this assignment should be posted to Instructions and Q&A thread in
on-line forum. Answers to all questions will be posted to the Instructions and Q&A
thread.

The discussion topic is presented in the form of a general discussion question that
can be answered either affirmatively or negatively (yes or no). Each student will be
permitted to choose the position she/he will argue. The instructor will circulate a sign
up sheet in class on the first or second class meeting. Each student should indicate
his/her choice by signing up on this form. The instructor will not accept choices in any
other way. The size of the discussion groups will be limited. Students will be
assigned to positions on a first-come/first-serve basis.

You may use any source you like [texts, news articles, journal articles, Internet
sources, etc.] to expand and support your arguments. However, you should CITE any
sources that you use. In-text citations are most amenable to the Message Board. If
you are uncertain when citations are appropriate, consult the instructor!! [See note on
plagiarism below.] You must provide full citations.

Do NOT cite editorials or opinion articles as factual evidence to support your
arguments. For example, let’s say your assignment is to argue that communities
should have the authority to prohibit the sale of rock/rap recordings that contain lyrics
that are obscene or are considered offensive to community standards. You include
the following citation in your essay:
According to Art Carnal, “vulgar or obscene lyrics corrupt the minds
of young people by encouraging them to undertake illegal or immoral
actions” [Carnal, 1998: 21].
[not an actual quote]
This quote would represent insufficient evidence. Why should your reader believe that
some rock/rap lyrics promote anti-social behavior? Certainly, we should not accept
Carnal’s opinion as fact. You may include a quote such as the one above in your
essay, but you should bear in mind that it represents one person’s opinion – it is not
factual evidence.
On the other hand, here is an example of acceptable evidence:
The FBI reports that, in 1997, at least 1,200 juvenile crimes (cases in
which the perpetrator could be identified), including 127 murders, 213
rapes and sexual assaults, and 351 arsons, were associated with
“lyrics that incite listeners to commit unlawful acts” [FBI, 1998: 873].
The association between lyrics and the criminal activity was
established by interviews with the perpetrators.
[not an actual quote]

Be specific in your discussion. Provide examples to illustrate your points, but do
NOT just repeat what you have read or string together quotes.

This is a WRITING assignment. Therefore, you will be graded on composition:
grammar, spelling, usage, organization, sentence and paragraph construction, etc.
Remember that you have the opportunity to be an important “opinion-shaper.” It is
very difficult for a reader to respect the opinions of someone whose essay is littered
with misspelled words, sentence fragments, run-on sentences, colloquialisms, etc.
Use the spelling and grammar check tools in your word processor to identify problems.
[Bear in mind that these tools are not fail-safe. They identify many, but not all errors.]

VERY IMPORTANT!! Avoid plagiarism! Plagiarism is the act of taking words,
sentences, paragraphs or ideas from another person’s work and passing it off as
one’s own. This is a SEVERE VIOLATION of academic integrity and is subject to
disciplinary action under the College’s policy. Common forms of plagiarism include:
(1) taking passages from another person’s writings, unchanged, and passing it off as
one’s own work [whether the original author has knowledge of this or not]; (2) taking a
passage from another person’s writings, changing a word here or there, and passing it
off as one’s own work; (3) turning in a paper that consists, partially or wholly, of
paraphrases of another person’s writings without proper citations; and (4) attempting
to pass off another person’s ideas as one’s own. [With citations, you avoid plagiarism,
but the paper would still lack any originality and would, therefore, merit a low score.
So generally, avoid writing a paper that consists mainly of quotes or paraphrases of
someone else’s work.] This list is not exhaustive of the various forms of plagiarism. If
you are unsure whether you have written constitutes plagiarism, please consult the
instructor. The main point to remember is this: the purpose of this essay is to get
YOU to thoughtfully consider and discuss the discussion topic. The instructor is
interested in what you think about these issues - NOT whether you can report what
others think!
Topic:
Note that the discussion question can be answered affirmatively or negatively (yes or
no). You should decide which side you want to argue as soon as possible. The sign-up
sheet will be posted in Room 119 during the second week of classes. Students will be
assigned to positions on a first-come/first-serve basis.
The Electoral College
 Should the Electoral College be abolished or substantially reformed?
BASIS FOR SCORING ESSAYS (POSITION PAPERS)
SCORING:
Evaluation of material/substance..........60%
Organization/overall effectiveness........30%
Composition, style, and usage..............10%
Keep in mind that these three criteria are NOT entirely separate or unrelated. In
other words, composition and usage affect the organization and overall
effectiveness of your essay, and these, in turn, affect your ability to demonstrate
your understanding of major themes and concepts.
Points
Awarded
Comments applying to
most essays
90-100
The essay is excellent in most respects. Shows extensive thought and
consideration of important themes and concepts. Insightful, relevant conclusions
drawn which are supported with facts or data. Thoroughly analyzed of problem or
issue. Demonstrates mastery of basic ideas. Writing style is interesting and
readable with a minimal number of grammar and spelling errors or typos [may be
overlooked]. The instructor would appreciate your permission to use your essay
as an example of “How to Write an Essay” for reference by other students.
80-89
Overall, a good essay, but perhaps flawed by a failure to convey major thrusts
adequately. Usually, this happens when the student assumes “the instructor will
know what I mean.” Needs further elaboration or explanation. May reach
thoughtful conclusions but offer little supporting evidence; conclusions may lack
sharp focus. May be tainted by grammar errors, minor organization problems, or
poor choice of words (poor usage).
70-79
Adequately done for a paper of this type, but there are notable shortcomings in
style, organization, or emphasis. Conclusions may be logically inconsistent
based on supporting evidence provided. May be too descriptive or fail to draw
conclusions entirely. Insufficient analysis of basic problem or issue provided.
May draw too much on subjective opinions without empirical support or validation.
60-69
Evidences too little preparation, too little organization, or failure to fulfill basic
purposes of assignment. There are too many signs of struggle with spelling,
grammar, and general usage. Writing style is very difficult to understand.
Sentences or paragraphs make little sense. You should probably consult with the
instructor.
0-60
Your essay suffers from a great many problems with only minimal saving graces.
Reflects a complete lack of preparation. You need to evaluate your effort and
your understanding of basic themes/concepts.
[adapted from Dr. Harold Whittington]