The Major Statement

Purpose:
The purpose of this paper is to give you an opportunity to (1) crystallize some of your deeply felt, intellectual or professional concerns into a “major statement” in which you argue for the big ideas that animate your work; and (2) create the “ubertext” that may inform some of the subsequent work you will do in this class. In the process, you will practice and polish all the research and academic writing skills you have developed throughout your scholastic career.

Preparation:
•   A literature search in which you develop a manageable bibliography of sources—authoritative material (essays, articles, books, etc.) relating to an issue within your topic area.
•   Research and develop a deeper but still manageable bibliography of relevant works.
•   Review the “Constructing the Issue” section of the course book
•   Read “Part Two: Arrangement” in the course book
•   Development conference with me.

Assignment:
1.   Decide on your topic area, the focus of your “expertise.” This could be international relations, political science, culture, public policy, technology, criminal justice, the law, public policy—or, indeed, any broadly conceived discipline or arena of public or professional discourse.
2.   Research and read “at least” 8-10 sources in which specialists advance related arguments concerning some matter of importance within your field. These works and the experts who wrote them should be the “go-to” sources for the latest research and thinking in your area—even if you do not agree with them. Be exhaustive and include all the works you would like to read (if only you had the time) to fully prepare yourself for intellectual combat in that field.
3.   Sift through those sources to help you formulate a “big question,” an issue you would like to answer in a “formal” argumentative paper. (This is to be an “academic” paper—but recall all that we have said about such papers in the course book and elsewhere.)

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