Assignment for Monday 5/2

Eventually, you will write a persuasive essay modeled on Anna Quindlen's "Uncle Sam and Aunt Samantha."  The first step in this process is to identify a suitably specific topic.  With this in mind, please bring the following to Monday's class:

I.  A general topic. Quindlen's is "Women and the U.S. Military."

II.  A minimum of five subtopics. Quindlen's is "Female selective service requirements."  Others might include "female grooming regulations during recruit training,"or "women's dietary needs in a combat environment."

III. A minimum of five arguable claims about your favorite subtopic.  (This is the topic you will write your essay about, so choose carefully.) You do not need to agree with every claim you list--in fact, you probably shouldn't.  Your goal here is to discover the kinds of things people might say about your subtopic.

Remember how claims differ from topics.  See the examples below:

Topics

1. Female selective service requirements
2. Female grooming regulations during recruit training
3. Women's dietary needs in a combat environment

Claims

1. Failure to require women to register for selective service is inconsistent with our nation's otherwise  progressive attitudes.
2. During recruit training, female recruits should conform to the same grooming standards as men.
3. Doubling the ratio of women on the battlefield would reduce the Army's food budget by 30%.

Please email me with any questions.  See you in class.