Essay #2 explains and analyzes why your First Amendment research topic is an important current issue and provides current examples, pros and cons, and a historical analysis that explores various issues, arguments, histories, and background knowledge on your research topic. In Essay #2, you are laying the groundwork for your argument, which you will not make until Essay #3 ( you will write about essay 2). in Essay #2, you will NOT argue in favor of one side of the issue. You will NOT be taking a position and defending it. You will be doing that in Essay #3. So do not create an argument yet. To prevent going down this path, follow all instructions carefully, and you will not stray. In Essay #2, your main tasks are the following:
- Introduction (3 pages minimum in length in multiple paragraphs). The Introduction is made of these three sections:
Section 1— Present and analyze a significant public policy problem based on your First Amendment topic. Explain your topic and argue why your topic is important to society today–use examples from NOW (from the past 20 years or so). Describe your topic and analyze it as public policy problem. In other words, why is this issue important to the public? The answer to this question is the basis of your thesis statement. You should not take a position on the issue in this essay. Do not make an argument for or against an opinion or policy–You will argue for a “side” on the issue and solutions in the next essay. Right now, just establish why it is important. Describe the problem and then the thesis statement will declare why this issue is important to the public. Also explain how your topic is related to the First Amendment, and which clause it belongs under (speech, press, assembly, or petition). For this section, use modern and current information and examples from 1940 to the present.
Section 2– Frame this problem with motives and examples, which are current examples, incidents, or public attitudes that demonstrate the problem to your audience. Provide examples of your topic as a current issue to illustrate why it is important today–use recent examples. What has happened recently that makes this an urgent current issue? Use current examples from the past 10 or 20 years, from 2000 to present.
Section 3– Summarize and critically evaluate the various debates and perspectives made by credible people and organizations about your topic. Describe the pros and cons (different sides) of your issue–use examples from 1940 until NOW in 2022. What are experts saying about this topic in recent years? This is the pros and cons section–examine both sides of the issue so that you can take a position (choose a side) in a later essay. Also discuss the underlying warrants, which are ideas that everyone can agree on about the issue. For example, just about every rational person can agree that free speech is an important American value, even though people may have different opinions about how it is supported and applied. Use modern examples and debates from 1940 to present.
- Body (5 to 6 pages in length in multiple paragraphs). The body of the essay is section 4, the historical background:
Section 4— Explore the historical dimensions of your topic. THIS SECTION WILL BE 70 to 80% OF THE FINISHED PAPER, AND IT WILL BE THE LONGEST PART OF ESSAY #2. Discuss the historical background of your topic–this will be 80% of your essay–use examples from BEFORE 1940–go back one to two thousand years (from between the years 1 A.D. to 1939). You can go even further back in history if it is appropriate. What is the historical background of your problem? See the example essay provided. Your goal is to provide a historical background. For each historical event, write about what these events mean to your topic today. That is the analytical aspect of this essay. You must establish the historical background of your essay so that you can be deeply informed about your topic to make an argument later in the semester in Essay #4.
Do not write a conclusion for this essay. It is not necessary. Think of Essay 2 as part 1 in a series of essays about your topic.
See the outline provided in the next section of this module for more details about how to organize Essay #2. The outline is not optional.
Requirements:
Length—8 to 10, double-spaced pages using all MLA layout guidelines (minimum word count approximately 2,000). 8 pages is the minimum–there is no maximum number of pages.
Works Cited—8 sources minimum. At least 6 sources must be from the library databases, but you can also use Google Scholar for additional sources, and other legitimate websites for visual sources. There is no maximum number of sources–use as many as you need. Please use mostly scholarly articles from academic journals, and at least one book. For example, use 5 articles and 1 book from the library databases, and two legitimate sources from the Internet. You cannot use more than two sources from the Internet. You must use the library databases for most of your research. In fact, you should do all of your research in the library databases, and you do not have to use any sources from the Internet (but you can use two if you need to).
Point of view–Write this essay in third-person point of view, using a formal, academic tone.