Instructions
In 750 words or fewer, write a complete introductory section to an argumentative essay that is responsive to one of the following prompts.
Differentiating the three types of transparency discussed in Week 10 is supposed to be useful for addressing questions surrounding the status of opaque systems with respect to justice in civil society. Critically examine this claim by arguing in favour of or against it using the bias and fairness case study discussed in Week 11.
You should state which prompt you are responding to at the top of the first page of your essay.
Regardless of which prompt you choose, you must also ensure that you do the following:
Explain, in your own words, the value-alignment problem as it was defined in class—i.e., not the naïve definition—and describe how transparency/opacity or bias/fairness are examples of this problem (as relevant).
Your final submission should be no more than 750 words, excluding references. It should contain a clear and precise thesis statement which takes a stance on a substantive claim relevant to the prompt, and it should briefly consider and respond to alternatives—i.e., considerations of those who might disagree with your thesis.
When working on your essay, you should take advantage of the skills that you have been cultivating this semester with the short writing assignments. In particular, recall that:
The four-sentence essay assignments provided the basic structure of an argumentative academic paper.
The “Tweet” assignments provided practice for identifying and paraphrasing the key points of someone else’s argument.
The “Tweet” assignments clarified how to structure a thesis statement.
The “Tweet” assignments provided an opportunity to practice carefully editing one’s own writing.
The “Critical Commentary” assignment provided an opportunity to edit and reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of a sample paper. (The same insights can be applied to your own work)
You should also consider any feedback that you received on your first essay.
Your essay submission is subject to the following restrictions.
Formatting and Submissions
The final essay must be submitted via Brightspace, in .pdf format. (Emailed submissions will not be accepted.)
The final essay should explicitly state which prompt you are responding to at the top of the first page.
The final essay should be double-spaced with standard formatting—i.e., 12-point font, times new roman or similar, at least 1-inch margins, etc.)
Any quotations or paraphrases of other people’s ideas must be properly cited.
A complete and properly-formatted list of “works cited” should be included at the end of the document.
The final essay should be generally free of typographical and grammatical errors—i.e., you should spend some time editing before you submit.
You should not include any identifying information anywhere in your submission (either in the file, the file name, or the comments). As with the prior short writing assignments, your essays will be graded anonymously.
Note : Including identifying information anywhere in your submission will be sufficient for a 1/2-mark deduction on the final grade for the assignment.
Extensions
The extension policy for this paper differs from the extension policy listed in the syllabus:
The essay is due by 23:59 Atlantic time on Tuesday, April 11.
You do not need to request an extension for this assignment.
Any student requiring an extension will automatically be granted an additional 48-hours to submit the final essay without any late penalties.
No additional extensions will be granted.
Grading
When the grades for the essay are released, there will be a 48-hour black out period on email communications pertaining to essay grades.
Emails pertaining to essay grades sent within 48 hours of the release of grades will not receive a response.
A rubric for how this essay will be graded has been posted on the course webpage. You should look at it while you are working on your essay so that you understand how your work will be graded.
A summary of the breakdown of points is given in the table below, but more detail for each category is provided in the rubric.
Thesis Statement
1 Point
Arguments: Inferential Structure and Consistency
3 Points
Arguments: Strength
3 Points
Consideration of Alternatives / Counterarguments
2 Points
Insightfulness, Creativity, Novelty
1 Points
Explanation and Analysis of Topic/Question/Problem
3 Points
Exposition, Analysis, and Evaluation of Others’ Arguments & Position
3 Points
Integration of Background Explanation and One’s Own Position
1 Points
Road Mapping
0.5 Points
Guide-Posting
0.5 Points
Structure
1 Points
Readability
1 Points
OVERALL
20 Points
You should state which prompt you are responding to at the top of the first page of your essay.
Regardless of which prompt you choose, you must also ensure that you do the following:
Explain, in your own words, the value-alignment problem as it was defined in class—i.e., not the naïve definition—and describe how transparency/opacity or bias/fairness are examples of this problem (as relevant).
Your final submission should be no more than 750 words, excluding references. It should contain a clear and precise thesis statement which takes a stance on a substantive claim relevant to the prompt, and it should briefly consider and respond to alternatives—i.e., considerations of those who might disagree with your thesis.
When working on your essay, you should take advantage of the skills that you have been cultivating this semester with the short writing assignments. In particular, recall that:
The four-sentence essay assignments provided the basic structure of an argumentative academic paper.
The “Tweet” assignments provided practice for identifying and paraphrasing the key points of someone else’s argument.
The “Tweet” assignments clarified how to structure a thesis statement.
The “Tweet” assignments provided an opportunity to practice carefully editing one’s own writing.
The “Critical Commentary” assignment provided an opportunity to edit and reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of a sample paper. (The same insights can be applied to your own work)
You should also consider any feedback that you received on your first essay.
Your essay submission is subject to the following restrictions.
Formatting and Submissions
The final essay must be submitted via Brightspace, in .pdf format. (Emailed submissions will not be accepted.)
The final essay should explicitly state which prompt you are responding to at the top of the first page.
The final essay should be double-spaced with standard formatting—i.e., 12-point font, times new roman or similar, at least 1-inch margins, etc.)
Any quotations or paraphrases of other people’s ideas must be properly cited.
A complete and properly-formatted list of “works cited” should be included at the end of the document.
The final essay should be generally free of typographical and grammatical errors—i.e., you should spend some time editing before you submit.
You should not include any identifying information anywhere in your submission (either in the file, the file name, or the comments). As with the prior short writing assignments, your essays will be graded anonymously.
Note : Including identifying information anywhere in your submission will be sufficient for a 1/2-mark deduction on the final grade for the assignment.
As per the syllabus, you must have completed and obtained a final score of 100% on the plagiarism quiz prior to the deadline for the essay.
If the plagiarism quiz is not submitted, or if a score of 100% is not obtained, then your essay submission will not be graded.
In this case, the “submission date” of your essay will be counted as the submission date of your plagiarism quiz.
The final essay should be submitted before 23:59 Atlantic time on Tuesday, April 11.
Late submissions are subject to late penalties as per the policy detailed on the syllabus (2 marks (out of 20) per 24-hour period past the deadline).
Extensions
The extension policy for this paper differs from the extension policy listed in the syllabus:
The essay is due by 23:59 Atlantic time on Tuesday, April 11.
You do not need to request an extension for this assignment.
Any student requiring an extension will automatically be granted an additional 48-hours to submit the final essay without any late penalties.
No additional extensions will be granted.
Grading
When the grades for the essay are released, there will be a 48-hour black out period on email communications pertaining to essay grades.
Emails pertaining to essay grades sent within 48 hours of the release of grades will not receive a response.
A rubric for how this essay will be graded has been posted on the course webpage. You should look at it while you are working on your essay so that you understand how your work will be graded.
A summary of the breakdown of points is given in the table below, but more detail for each category is provided in the rubric.
Thesis Statement
1 Point
Arguments: Inferential Structure and Consistency
3 Points
Arguments: Strength
3 Points
Consideration of Alternatives / Counterarguments
2 Points
Insightfulness, Creativity, Novelty
1 Points
Explanation and Analysis of Topic/Question/Problem
3 Points
Exposition, Analysis, and Evaluation of Others’ Arguments & Position
3 Points
Integration of Background Explanation and One’s Own Position
1 Points
Road Mapping
0.5 Points
Guide-Posting
0.5 Points
Structure
1 Points
Readability
1 Points
OVERALL
20 Points