Introduction+to+Assignment

__To Kill a Mockingbird__ & __Bless Me Ultima__ Argument/ Research Paper This //**argument**// paper is your common assessment for this unit. It is worth 50% of your grade this marking period. During this unit, you will take a position on a topic and learn how to defend your position by using research skills and various rhetorical strategies.


 * Your assignment: ** Write a letter to the author of or a character from //To Kill a Mockingbird//, arguing your position on the question **__“Are we products of our environment, or are individuals responsible for their own behavior?”__** Take a position on the question above and develop your **//objective//**//, **unbiased**// argument by focusing on one of four topics to research:

This topic requires you to research poverty and argue whether or not society is responsible for the issue of poverty. Are people who are born into poverty most likely to stay in poverty their whole lives? Can they overcome it? Is society responsible for keeping people in poverty, or is the individual to blame for it? This topic requires you to research drug use/alcoholism and argue whether or not society is responsible for the issue of drug use/alcoholism. Are people who come from a home where drug/alcohol use is prevalent more likely to become addicts? Can they overcome it? Is society responsible for this problem? Should laws change to help overcome this problem, or is it in the control of the individual to break the family cycle? This topic requires you to research domestic violence/child abuse and argue whether or not society is responsible for the issue of domestic violence/child abuse. Are people who come from a home where domestic violence occurs more likely to become abusers themselves, or is the opposite the case? Should there be stricter laws to help with this problem? Is society responsible for this violence/abuse, or are individuals in control of breaking the cycle? This topic requires you to research the effects incarceration has on family. Are children of incarcerated parents given the support they need from society? Are they at a higher risk for “following in their parent’s footsteps?” Is society doing enough to prevent the cycle of crime?
 * 1) ** Poverty **
 * 1) ** Drug use/alcoholism **
 * 1) ** Domestic violence/child abuse **
 * 1) ** Children of incarcerated parents **