WCU - Spring 2006 CASEBOOK PROJECT Assignment Sheet

At the heart of our free, democratic society is the notion of informed choice. Our “information age” seemingly provides all the necessary information we need to make informed choices about the complex issues that confront us. Fortunately, the Internet seems to make that information more readily available than it ever was. But to benefit from this amazing wealth of information at our fingertips we still have to work pretty hard, because we are living in an age of interminable mass media “spin,” and our typical “diet” of information is usually full course of opinion rather than fact. Critics have been observing for a while now the ways in which many of our traditionally “objective” sources of information have turned wildly sensationalistic, unabashedly profit-driven, or blatantly politically biased. When the top-rated cable news network is exposed for engaging in paid propaganda, when documentary filmmakers abandon standards of “objectivity” to produce films intended to swing presidential elections, we may feel we’re living in an age when “objective truth” has receded into virtual nothingness. Never has it been more difficult, and therefore more important, to gain the skill of separating fact from opinion. Only by doing so can we hope to make decisions that are rational as well as “informed.”

Objectives: This collaborative exercise (1) helps students to learn methods for gathering and selecting information; (2) helps students become knowledgeable about a controversial or debatable issue by exploring and analyzing more than one side of that arguable issue; (3) provides an opportunity for students to practice critical thinking skills such as questioning, analyzing, and synthesizing; (4) helps students learn to identify and evaluate a writer’s use of argumentation by identifying claims, examining reasoning, and analyzing evidence; (5) asks students to collaboratively produce editorial writing that questions, analyzes, evaluates, and synthesizes; and (6) provides an opportunity for students to develop important teamwork skills.

Directions: As a collaborative group, assemble a casebook composed of no less than four articles which demonstrate the range of positions that are possible on a debatable issue of your choice. Your casebook will contain three main components: an introduction to orient readers to your issue, analysis and evaluation for each of the four articles (minimum) you’ve chosen to represent positions on your issue (the articles will be included in the casebook), and an persuasive conclusion that will attempt to persuade readers (through the use of rational argument) to accept the group’s position on the issue. Each of these three components are described more fully below.

SELECT FOUR ARTICLES that explore and help demonstrate the range of positions that people take on this issue. Aim to select articles that you feel are especially credible, that argue their position effectively or persuasively. You may also wish to explore pieces that you feel are especially not-credible to provide an instructive contrast. You may also wish to include articles which you feel are especially informative, though not persuasive one way or the other. These are the articles you will feature in your casebook, though you can include others in an Appendix.
WRITE ONE OVERALL INTRODUCTION TO YOUR CASEBOOK (1-2 pages) which (1) presents the topic, and the controversy surrounding the topic, to your readers in an engaging way; (2) explains the range of positions you discovered; and (3) announces the four articles you will feature by placing them into the context of the range of positions you’ve described.
WRITE AN ANALYTICAL ABSTRACT (OR “HEADNOTE”) BEFORE EACH OF YOUR FOUR ARTICLES (1-2 paragraphs each). The abstract appears before each article on a separate sheet of paper. Its purpose is to help readers understand the quality of the source you’re presenting to them. This abstract provides a general orientation to the source. Indicate the author’s name, the title, the type of source, and where you found it. Next, provide a brief summary of the article and a reminder of how it fits into the overall context of the casebook as a whole. Then give readers an indication of the value of this source by firmly establishing its credibility or lack of credibility using criteria we discussed in class. Look closely for the writer’s or the publication’s credentials. Your careful examination of the source’s credibility will help readers decide whether the article is likely to be biased or authoritative—you can indicate your own evaluation of the article; is it credible? Authoritative? How do you know? Next, evaluate the strength or weakness of the source’s argument, if it’s a persuasive article. If it’s an informative article, evaluate the quality of the information using criteria we discussed in class. Finally, as a further guide for readers, finish your abstract by articulating a question or set of questions that you think this particular article answers or attempts to answer.
WRITE A PERSUASIVE ARGUMENT TO SERVE AS THE OVERALL CONCLUSION TO YOUR CASEBOOK (3-4 pages). The conclusion presents your group’s assessment of the stronger position on this thoroughly investigated issue in a carefully worded claim. As fully as you can, support your claim with logical reasoning and supporting evidence (use information from your casebook sources for supporting evidence). Make your claim persuasive by acknowledging at least one opposing view and then either negotiating common ground or providing a refutation of that view. A refutation is not mere disagreement, remember. To refute you opponent’s view, evaluate the quality of the reasoning and evidence used to support it. Is the reasoning weak or invalid? Is there limited, weak, or missing evidence? A successful argument proves that your position is stronger than your opponent’s position on these all-important grounds of reasoning and evidence. In the event that there’s dissent in your group, make sure everyone’s views are expressed in the conclusion.

Special Instructions

For all the writing you do in the casebook (Introduction, Abstracts, and Conclusion) the point of view should be first person plural (we, our) to reflect the fact that your group is the collective author for each piece, even though you may work on pieces separately.
Make sure your finished casebook is assembled adequately. Please use either a folder, a report cover, or a soft three-ring binder. The pages should be easy to flip through when your casebook is assembled and pages shouldn’t fall out when it’s opened.
Please include a cover page that gives a title to your chosen topic and states the name of everyone in your group.
Using creative graphics and/or layout to communicate visually as well as verbally is optional.

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