Best, English 11

UNIT 3 - PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITIES

A characteristic of all intellectual disciplines is that they define certain problems that their members attempt to solve. For example, composition studies is concerned with determining why some people write better than others; artificial intelligence is concerned with developing computer systems that replicate human cognition; environmental chemistry is concerned with determining the chemical mechanisms of atmospheric pollutants. In this unit, you will be asked to choose an academic discipline that you would like to know more about, and then to identify and explore a specific problem in that discipline.

HOMEWORK EXERCISE 1:

Survey the scholarship in your academic discipline, and identify a problem or controversy in the profession. Fill out the Research Worksheet; this will serve as your project proposal.

HOMEWORK EXERCISE 2:

The purpose of this exercise is to help you identify how the professionals in your discipline approach problems. You will then be expected to use this style and approach in your final paper.

After deciding on your topic or problem, choose one article on it that seems representative of the academic discipline. Look at it closely, and answer the following questions:

- What is the audience? What do we know about it?

- How are the arguments constructed (logical, ethical, emotional)?

- What kinds of evidence are used?

- What is the tone used in these articles?

- What special language or jargon appears?

This is not a formal essay. You may answer the questions in note form. But this will be turned in.

ESSAY 3A

In a 3-4 page paper, introduce your topic and describe some of the ways members of the discipline are attempting to solve the problem. As with any research paper, be sure to include a list of works cited and to attribute your sources properly.

PROJECT 3

This project builds upon Essay 3B by asking you to evaluate the different approaches to and arguments about the problem and then to argue that one is more promising than the others. Write a 5-8 page paper, answering the question, what is the best solution to this problem?

As part of your paper, you will want to summarize and refute contrary approaches and arguments. One approach may be to find any fallacies in their arguments. You might also look for appeals that are not the norm for the discourse community.

You will be writing as a member of this academic discipline, so you should approach the issue in the same manner as those professionals. Exercise 2 should tell you what this means in terms of your writing.

You should use a minimum of 5 sources. Use proper documentation for your field, and attribute your sources properly.