8/13/2019 Instructions for Argumentative Paper

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English 114 (02) | Fall 2013 | SFSU

Assignment #3: Argumentative Paper or Presentation

This paper should be 2-3 pages long (double-spaced). Times New Roman, 12-point font.

MLA heading, title, and citation format. It will be submitted as hard copy. The

presentation should be 6-8 minutes long. After the presentation, you will be asked to

write a brief, informal reflection (due the class following the one during which you willdeliver your presentation).

For both the argumentative paper and the argumentative presentation, you will be

reacting to an argument about intellectual property (either one that we discussed in class

or one that you find on your own and the instructor approves).

First, explain the argument that you are reacting to. You will be evaluated on how fairly

and accurately you articulate this argument. As Graff and Birkenstein argue in They Say /

I Say, a biased recounting of an argument reduces your credibility.

Second, make your own well-reasoned argument in reaction to the argument you just

explained. Refer to some of the argumentative pieces we have looked at (e.g.,

Viswanathan-gate and Why Doesnt Plagiarism Matter?) to get a feeling for

argumentative technique. As with the last paper, your argument should be thesis-based

(though your thesis will likely come about half way through your paper or presentation),

and your points should be articulated in PIE paragraphs. If you are making an oral

presentation, your argument should still be organized around claims (as in PIE

paragraphs). However, presentations generally have a more informal feel than essays.

Presentations will be done alone or in groups of two. For students working in groups, one

student will present the they say, and the other student will present the I Say. If a

student works alone, he/she will present both the they say and the I say. For students

working in groups, evaluating the group experience will be part of the reflection.

Here are some questions that you may want to consider while coming up with your paper

or presentation (but you are not required to): Are concepts of plagiarism and copyright

that date from a pre-digital world compatible with our very digital, interconnected world?

Is it fair that our rules of plagiarism and/or copyright infringement focus on and reward

the individual over the community? Is there any difference between works of art andworks of scholarship when it comes to considerations of plagiarism and/or copyright

infringement?

Presentations and papers are due in class in Monday, 11/18.