Feed the Future

 I have narrowed my Issues Paper topic by focusing on the effects of the policy in the United States. The policy I have chosen is the Feed the Future program. This program seeks to help developing nations to become self sustainable through agriculture growth, specifically through promoting healthy, nutritious, and locally grown food. This policy is strictly for other countries. The supposedly parallel policies for the United States are not enough. In my paper, I will try to focus on how these policies can be improved to better assist those in need. While these policies are very broad, I want to limit my policy proposal to helping impoverished families get the balanced diet they need. To do this, I have narrowed my research to studies regarding the lack of nutrition for those in poverty.  My target audience is primarily those who make policies such as lawmakers and those in the bureaucracy. The secondary audience is United States citizens who should all be informed about the governmental policies. I would craft my argument to  specifically target this primary audience by focusing on thoroughly supported research, plausible solutions and real examples. I have found many examples of research which has found that there is indeed a real problem in the United States with impoverished people who have low quality diets. My argument will be based mostly on logos. I would lay out that there is a problem before suggesting possible solutions. My argument will be more effective as I suggest solutions because that are plausible. If solutions are real and useful then the readers are more likely to implement them and make real changes. The solutions would be changes to the current policy to make it applicable to the United States. I would propose that the policy not be changed too drastically because the current policy is not too far off. My argument would also rely on real examples of how this policy would be effective. The policy to help individuals to help themselves needs to be improved. The Feed the Future program has stories and examples of how these policies have worked. This will help provide evidence that the policy is effective overseas and it would be effective here in the United States. My biggest concern with this topic development is if I can fully support my thesis. My thesis would be quite complex because it is based on existing policy and how to improve it. I am concerned that my research would not be adequate to show how the policy can be improved and be applied to those who are in need here. More research will need to be done to make sure I fully supported my whole thesis. 

Art Education and its Effect on Student Achievement

There are so many subtopics and questions I want to address in my paper, but I am trying to narrow it down to how having art education available in schools affects and benefits the students. I want to compare different art education programs in different places around the globe. I have found several articles about art education and its benefits that take place in other countries. I want to talk about the ABCs of art: Academic, Basic, and comprehensive, how art can increase a students reading, language and math skills. Art can increase one's thinking and social skills and gives them more motivation to learn. The Arts have been such a huge part in my life and I find art so incredibly important, I want others to know and realize how much is gained from the arts.
Through my research, I have found that a large percentage of students and parents agree that art is a crucial part of education, and yet, art programs--if offered at schools--are hugely under supported and budgeted. I hope to address members of the education board who can make changes happen. From experience and things I have heard, education boards are not easily persuaded, so I hope to address my audience using facts, percentages, studies and real life examples to prove the importance, worth and necessity of art in education.
I feel like I have found a decent amount of sources (I have found more since turning in the annotated bibliography) and they support my claim, but I am having a really hard time putting my thoughts together into coherent paragraphs (which you can probably tell by my lack of analysis above). I feel very strongly about my topic and I know that there is much I can and want to say, I am just having a really hard time putting it all together. I am afraid that in an attempt to write 10 pages, I will end up rambling, repeating myself or saying things with little to no importance.

Domestic Violence

The topic I have chosen to write on for my issues paper is Domestic Violence. The way I plan to narrow this topic is by focusing on the effects such a crime has on the children whose parent’s are a victim/predator of domestic violence. In doing some research I have come to see that not only are kids exposed to brutal abuse but the internal effect that is caused will affect not only their adolescence but also their adult life. In addition, it has been noted that when women become physically, verbally, and/or emotionally abused the child is at a greater risk of being abused. Furthermore, later on life effects such as anxiety and/or depression are more likely to occur for these individuals. Thus, by narrowing my topics in this manner, my targeted audience will be law enforcers and professional physical/psychological doctors who ignore the fact of what domestic violence has on the health of a child. Sure awareness can do amazing things to help prevent domestic violence from continuing it’s evil cycle but awareness should not be for only the women but also the child watching this occur in their home. Though, since many may agree that awareness can end up doing more damage than good I also plan on addressing that side of the issue. There is a saying my younger brother always told me “better be safe than sorry” so why hide from talking about sensitive topics such as these? Talking and spreading awareness is what is going to help keep us accountable as a nation and what is going to help reduce the amount of violence that occurs within the home.

I feel pretty confident about the sources I have been able to collect due to the grand amounts of evidence and studies that have been done to prove the effects on children. My only main concern is spacing out the information retrieved so that it can be less citations and more of my own analysis. I am mainly concerned about writing what is real and factual. I am also concerned about whether or not I will run out of material to write about since many times I like to just get straight to the point. It is going to be a challenge for me to space out my writing while being consisted and factual. All in all, I plan to write about the effects domestic violence has on children and the women who have been battered.

Benefits of Traditional Family in Society

My topic for the issues paper is about the necessity and benefit of having more traditional families in our society. I am planning to talk about what the supposed ideal familial situation is for children, and how promoting the health and strength of traditional families helps both communities, and society in general. I will most likely argue that this family unit can help to establish a more stable foundation for children, who will have a better well-being because of the support system they will have had throughout their lives. This is currently a fairly general idea, but there is much I can possibly do to narrow it down. After having gotten more familiar with my sources, and the public conversation surrounding my topic, I think one of the most central ideas I want to address is the need for all to recognize that supporting both the idea and practice of raising stable families is something that can greatly benefit our communities. I want to encourage both public and private organizations to acknowledge this idea, and to promote an environment that is most accommodating for these families. I want to focus on the positive in my argument, making it clear that I know there can be more than one way to successfully raise children, but that I believe in the research-supported idea that it is usually best to build our families after the template of the traditional pattern.

            As far as paper structure goes, I plan to touch on each of the stases to some extent. I will begin by establishing what is meant by the “traditional,” or “nuclear” family, and what other types of family units there may be out there. I will also talk about the need we have in society for the kind of stability that traditional families can offer, setting up the rhetorical situation. Then, using research-based facts and statistics, I intend to argue that promoting the creation and growth of traditional families can greatly benefit our world in significant ways, and that it is also the most ideal foundation for children to have in order to be successful, happy, and healthy. These thoughts may be fairly tricky to articulate considering how the current movement for LGBT rights and feminism are moving the opinions of the world away from the idea that traditional families are even wanted by many, and that independence, freedom, and equality come before all else. But I hope that my focus on simple traditional values may serve to convince my fellow Americans that supporting this idea may be the key to building up a healthier and happier generation of citizens. My intended audience for this argument is American citizens, organizations, and leaders who will be able to promote this idea if and when they are convinced that it is something that could greatly enhance the quality of all of our lives. I do have many concerns about how I will go about making my argument, and how I will address this sensitive issue without sounding too biased, or putting down those families who don’t fit the category of “traditional.” I also worry about the implications of putting forth what can clearly be seen as such a strong opposition to LGBT rights and feminism (among other groups), but I know that with the right focus and rhetoric, I have a good chance of accomplishing my goal. 

The War on Drugs

I have found it difficult to narrow my topic, because there is so much for me to talk about. The War on Drugs is a broad topic and there are so many different directions I could take. I was debating between incarceration and treatment or legalizing/decriminalizing drugs, but I decided on incarceration and treatment because it is a policy, and it is a topic that I like more than legalizing/decriminalizing drugs.

My target audience is policy makers. I think we need a clarification on the “smart on crime” policy. What does it actually mean? What is going on right now and what is going to change? I’m going to assume they know about the war on drugs, so I will be focusing on what is going on today and what needs to change or stay the same. I want to write about what has been done and what needs to be done. I want policy makers to realize how important the War on Drugs is and how we need to make sure change is actually going to happen. 

The amount of people being incarcerated is rising. Most of the people are being arrested for drug related crimes, whether it be for the possession of drugs, intent to distribute, having drugs in their system, etc. Too many people are being incarcerated for are non-violent drug crimes, and are filling up space in our prisons. Having them in jail affects their families and their children especially. It is also becoming more expensive to keep them in prison, when it would be more cost effective to put these people into treatment programs.

The policy isn’t very clear about what “smart on crime” really means and I think that it needs to be clarified. They need to define what is going to be done, and how law enforcement is going to change. Something needs to be done, but there aren’t many specifics. It does mention certain reform programs

I’m a little concerned about writing an eight to ten page paper about the War on Drugs and the "smart on crime" policy. There is a lot of information out there, but I don’t know if my topic is something I know enough about to write a good paper on. Some of the sources I did for the annotated bibliography won’t work because I have finally narrowed my topic and they won’t fit, so I have to find more, but hopefully that will help me find enough to write about. I’m also worried about writing the issues paper correctly because I haven’t really done anything like this before.

Animal Testing

In my issues paper, I am going to be addressing animal testing and the arguments of whether or not animal testing is a good or a bad thing. I am researching and expanding on how it all started and how it came to be so successful in medical technology. I am also referring to the moral standards of animal experimentation and provide different perspectives of it being unethical or ethical. The answers I plan on answering in my issues paper are: why animals are being tested, what specific animals are being tested and how many animals are being tested, and are there any alternatives to animal testing?

I will narrow my topic by talking more about the effects and pain it is causing the animals and talking about animal rights. As of right now, I cannot agree whether or not animal testing is a bad or a good thing because they both have positive and negative outcomes. For instance, I believe animal testing is unethical and cruel to animals, but without animal testing there would not be the great advances in medicine. Over the counter medicine, prescribed medicine, vaccines, and research are all good causes for animal testing, but for cosmetics and toiletries I believe there can be an alternative to using animal testing for these causes.

I think my target audience would be those how care about making a change and are interested in animal testing and especially come out to those who are not aware of the story behind beauty products and toiletries. I will develop my argument by using the process of stasis: stating the facts about animal testing, the quality of the issue, and a plan of how it can be decreased. I am planning to incorporate my counterarguments towards the middle when I am explaining the quality of the issue or meaning of the issue.

As of right now, I feel like I need to find more sources specifically on how animal testing is used on cosmetics. Along with finding specific sources on what I want to talk about, I am having difficulty on setting a specific argument if whether I am for or against animal testing completely. I also need to improve on organizing my topic and subcategorizing on what I want to argue in my issues paper and I still need to do more research on the statistics of animal testing and facts about animal testing.

Mental Illness/Health Deserves Attention

For my issues paper, I am choosing to address the globalization topic of mental illness/health. I want to focus my studies not only on the prevalence of mental diseases in our society today, but the fact that many people harbor prejudices and misinformed judgments on the idea of “mental illness.” I want to help raise awareness of diseases such as depression, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, etc. There is a strong global stigma against these disorders, and as a result, less than half of the people who suffer from such illnesses do not seek diagnosis or the proper treatment that they need.

I plan on narrowing my topic by breaking it into subcategories and really focusing on answering the question of “what exists.” Although mental illness is an issue all across the world—not just in the United Sates—in order to narrow my topic, I plan on focusing my research and most of my examples on situations within the United States. Then, after establishing the position of the U.S. on mental illness and treatment, I will describe a few of the situations in other countries involving their response and treatment of mental disorders in order to help my audience understand that mental disorders are an issue that needs to be addressed on a global scale.

My target audience will cover all citizens of society because everyone needs to be aware of the rising issue regarding social stigma and the need to end it. I will keep it specific to this audience by addressing just that—the negative effects of stigma. In addition, a portion of my target audience will include those who are personally affected by mental illness, including those who are diagnosed with a disorder as well as family and friends of those diagnosed, or those even those who have not officially been diagnosed. I will keep my paper focused on them by giving encouragement to end the fear that accompanies the label “mental illness.” I plan on giving examples of things that individuals can do in order to create a lifestyle for these individuals that is as “normal” as one would expect an individual to live without a disorder. I want to help these people understand that having a mental illness diagnosis is totally normal, and that treatment for said diseases should become an integral part of society.