HW: Should homosexuals be able to marry

For the Final Paper, you will identify a specific claim relative to one of the topics listed below and defend it with as strong an argument as possible. These topics are presented below as questions. The best way to develop a thesis statement is to offer an answer to the question, and then state in a clear and specific sentence the basis for your answer.

Should homosexuals be able to marry?

Is racism and anti-Semitism still a problem in the United States?

Is factory farming cruel to animals?

Is anthropogenic climate change (what used to be known as “global warming”) a problem that needs immediate and/or long term attention?

Should physician-assisted suicide be legal?

What, if any, limits should there be to embryonic stem cell research?

Should public workers be allowed to join unions and engage in collective bargaining?

Is the death penalty just and applied fairly?

Are there any legitimate restrictions on gun ownership?

Is it a problem if one percent of Americans possess 50% of American wealth and assets?

Should abortion be legal?

Should evolution be taught in the public schools?

Are science and religion in conflict?

Can one be moral and not believe in God?

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument. Get homework help here