War Essays! What are they good for?

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Outline due on or before: 4/16/14

Essay due between 4/22/14 and 4/25/14

Write a paper that synthesizes classroom sources and your own knowledge, experiences, and research to answer the question “What, if anything, is worth fighting for?” Remember that a synthesis paragraph begins with your own opinion/topic sentence, which is supported by quotations from two different sources. Not all of your body paragraphs need to be synthesis paragraphs, though your non-synthesis paragraphs need to be thoroughly developed.

Minimums:

1) Three synthesis paragraphs.

2) Three sources from the classroom.

-       “The Declaration of Independence,” by Thomas Jefferson (from 50 Essays, 1^st Edition)

-        “The Gettysburg Address,” by Abraham Lincoln (from 50 Essays, 1^st Edition)

-       Henry V, Part I, by William Shakespeare (http://www.bartleby.com/70/2931.html)

-       “The Apology: Letters from a Terrorist,” by Laura Blumenfeld (from The Language of Composition)

-       “The Prince,” by Niccolo Machiavelli (from 50 Essays, 1^st Edition)

-       Johnny Got His Gun, by Dalton Trumbo

-       President Obama’s Nobel Prize Acceptance speech

-       “World and America Watching Different Wars, ” by Danna Harman (from Short Takes: Model Essays for Composition. Ed. Elizabeth Penfield. New York: Pearson Longman 2007)

3) Additional sources from your own research. Be sure your internet sources are reliable. You will need to work hard to establish these sources. You may consider:

-       Historical conflicts, large and small

-       Contemporary conflicts, such as wars in Africa and the Middle East

-       Contemporary and classical literature

-       Modern films

-       Popular songs

-       Personal experience

-       Something interesting that I haven’t thought of yet

4) A paragraph or more that explores the implications of one of the following conflicts:

 - The current situation between Russia, Crimea, and Ukraine
 - The Syrian Civil War
 - The Arab Spring (of 2010)
 - The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (anywhere from the 1940s to the present)

5) An element of visual rhetoric. This could be an editorial cartoon or an image. Your image should be included in the body of the paper (not the intro or conclusion). You should explain how this image helps you argue what is (or is not) worth fighting for. Be sure to cite the source of your image.

6) Evidence against your thesis, soundly refuted by your laser sharp logic.

7) A properly formatted Works Cited page. If you found the website on your own, include the link. For your convenience, I’ve googled “How to Cite a Song” for you:

Songwriter's last name, first name.  "Title of Song."  Lyrics.  Title of Album.  Name of Publishing Company, Year Recorded. Format.

De Sela, Lhasa.  "La Frontera."  Lyrics.  The Living Road.  Netwerk, 2004. CD.

If the song is being sung by someone other than the songwriter, here is how that would look:

Dylan, Bob.  "Like a Rolling Stone."  Lyrics. Perf. The Drive-By Truckers.  Highway 61 Revisited.  Uncut/Ignite!, 2005. mp3.

8) If you are quoting verse (either song lyrics, poems, or plays written in verse), you should use a slash (/) to indicate a line break Do not put a slash at the end of the last line. For example:

Tennyson writes, “Theirs not to make reply / Theirs not to reason why / Theirs but to do and die” (Tennyson).