Emily Griffin Freewrite

The topic I have chosen for my research paper is the fast food industry and the issues surrounding it. This subject interests me due to the overwhelming “takeover” of the fast food restaurants seen in the recent years. Growing up, eating at Wendy’s or Burger King was a reoccurring routine that my family and I did, so this gives me the perfect opportunity to discover exactly what I was putting into my body. When I was younger I remember watching the movie Supersize Me and since then I have always been intrigued by the fast food industry, wanting to learn more about it.  Also, during my junior year of high school I was required to read the expose Fast Food Nation, so I feel as if I already have some knowledge on this topic.

Some of the questions that will guide my research will be: Should we blame fast food restaurants for the increase in obesity? When does it become an individual’s responsibility? When and how do people place the blame? In addition, I want to discuss how the fast food industry attracts their consumers and shed some light on exactly what is in the fast food everyone knows and loves.

As of right now I am not sure on my thesis or what stance I should take on the paper. However, I think I will definitely argue whether or not fast food restaurants are to blame for the surge in obesity.

Possible sources I can see myself using is the book Fast Food Nation (I want to look back at some of the notes I took in the book), statistics on both obesity and the fast food industry, and other articles regarding the topic.

What readers should take away from my essay is that there is a growing issue in the fast food industry. It benefits them because they are surrounded by these types of restaurants everyday. This topic pertains to their daily lives. Finally, they should listen to me because if something is not done about the industry and the problems encompassing it, they are only going to grow.

Research Paper

The topic I have chosen for this paper is that there should be a constitutional amendment allowing gay marriage. This topic especially interests me because I was involved in two prominent modern dance companies in high school and danced with people twice my age. Of course, in the dance world there are gay and lesbian couples and it has always seemed unfair to me that, though they have had longer relationships than I had ever had, they could not get married in many states. I had never really had a stance on gay marriage until I became friends with men and women who these laws directly affected.  Some questions that will guide my research will be focusing on states that have already made legislation that allows gay marriage. Additionally, I will discuss the right of marriage and morals of the law themselves. Furthermore, I will research what will be needed in taking steps toward a constitutional amendment allowing gay marriage. Some sources that I will use are Civil Marriage v. Civil Unions in the National Organization for Women and the case of Brown V. Board of Education discussing that the doctrine of “separate but equal” has no place and that separate is inherently unequal. My hypothesis is that it should be a constitutional right to for gays and lesbians to marry because the government cannot deny a group of people a right that is given to another group of citizens. Additionally, society cannot impede on another person’s life, liberty, or property, without due process of law because of the 14^th Amendment. Readers of this essay will hopefully see a different side of this issue that they have not considered before. The bigger goal, however, is to hopefully convince the audience that it is necessary to allow gays and lesbians to marry.

Bully prevention Cate Marr

The topic I have chosen to do for my research is on bullying and what the government should do to prevent it. This subject caught my eye for several reasons. Bullying is something that almost everyone has experienced. Whether they were the ones being bullied or the instigator, it is universal. Bullying starts at a young age and can go on until adulthood. This interests me because I am a psychology major. A career that I am thinking of pursuing is to be a counselor or therapist for adolescents. Bullying is a huge part of what teenagers have to go through, and it would be one of the things that I could help my future patients with.
The big questions I would focus on would be what is the government doing to stop bullying from occurring so often? How have technology and society today effected bullying negatively? What do the schools do to punish and stop bullying from happening? These are just a few things I would touch on and discuss to get my point across. Bullying ruins self-confidence in kids, makes them not want to attend school, and in some cases causes self harm. Many cases you hear in the news of teenage suicide is related to bullying. The sad thing is this can be prevented and I want my paper to get the point across of what people can do to end it.
To find information on this subject I would search PACER, the National Bullying Prevention Center. I would also look up cases of bullying and find documents where the government gets involved . I want my readers to know that there are ways to stop something so life changing and harmful. They should finish reading this and realize how beneficial it would be if the government intervened and passed laws against this issue.

Aubrey research paper topic

My topic for this assignment is animal cruelty. The reason I chose this topic was because I am an animal and veterinary science major. I want what is best for animals and one day I hope to become a veterinarian. I think that there are a lot of cases in the news and other media sources on animal cruelty that we see every day. Animals are almost defenseless against humans because they can’t tell someone to help them. They can’t go to the police and say that they are being beaten or mistreated like a human being can. Some questions that will be guiding my research will be, how many cases of animal cruelty are reported each year, what animals are the main targets of animal cruelty and what laws are in place to stop animal cruelty? If I were to come up with a thesis now it would be something like; throughout America many cases of animal cruelty are reported each year, many cases go unnoticed or reported, and not a lot is done to stop the cruelty from continuing. Some sources I could use would include the ASPCA website as well as articles, articles written on animal cruelty, news reports of animal cruelty, as well as articles written by veterinarians and animal specialists. What I want my readers to take away from my paper will be that it is our responsibility as humans to help these animals that are being mistreated and that more laws need to be put in place to stop it as well as the fact that more funding is needed for the groups that stop animal cruelty. I want to emphasize how wrong it is to abuse an animal just because we know we probably won’t get caught. I want to grab the reader’s attention and connect with them on a personal level. Many people in the US have companion animals which they care for dearly. To make these pet owners aware of the harm being done to other animals that aren’t being loved is the main goal of this paper.

The Drinking Age-Ellie Mintz

I have chosen lowering the drinking age to 18 to be topic for my research paper. This in particular interests me because it is an issue that is affecting myself and those around me directly. We are at the age in question and many of us have strong opinions about drinking in general. Once you turn 18 in this country you are allowed to buy cigarettes, join the military, go to prison, and so many other things. You are considered an adult by the age of 18 and many people feel that if they are able to join the military and do all of these things then they should be able to crack open a cold beer and relax. A few questions I think will be necessary to my paper are how important is drinking to those between 18 and 21? What will be the consequences, good or bad, resulting from lowering the drinking age? Will there be an impact on society at all? What are the risks involved compared to the potential benefits? Personally I feel the drinking age should be lowered to 18 as a way to give more responsibility to those entering adulthood as well as a way of prevention. I feel that if we don’t make as big of a deal about drinking, like countries in Europe for example, there is a possibility the people able to drink won’t be as reckless. Europeans grow up around alcohol and there seems to be a lot fewer problems with it there compared to the problems we encounter in the U.S. I know there are tons of studies on how alcohol affects the body as well as articles written on both sides of the argument that I could use as support in my research. Readers would be able to take away a well rounded opinion from my report and perhaps begin to think about their own stance on the issue. The drinking age is something that eventually involves everyone at some point and I think it is important to make an educated decision on how you feel about it. 

Should Students Have to Wear Uniforms?

           For this research paper I have decided to write about the pros and cons of having students wear uniforms to school. I have attended schools that have had uniforms and have been to schools that do you not but have a dress code instead. I think that my personal experience will give me a better insight and understanding for this topic. Some questions that I will address will be: Do having uniforms take away a persons ability to express themselves? Do having uniforms allow students to focus more on academics then what everyone else? Will schools having uniform lower the bullying rate because children will not be judged for the clothes that they wear? These are just a few of the topics that I will want to cover throughout this paper. I chose to write this paper on this topic because I wanted to choose something that is somewhat related to my major. Being an elementary education major, this is something that I may have to give my input on one day. Some of the possible sources that I can use will be articles from the board of education as well as articles and petitions signed by parents who are either for or against the use of uniforms. I also want to incorporate funny yet effective rhetorical sources in order for the reader to understand the points that are trying to be made. I hope to include some type of statistic that shows how much money the average student spends of school clothes each year and how cost of uniforms would compare.  Hopefully the audience will take away a new or better understanding for why uniforms may benefits the students as well as the parents, and how by using uniforms could possibly reduce some of the problems that’s schools are facing. 

Research Topic - Darby Jackson

For my Research Argument Assignment, I have decided to write about the change in technology in college and how or if it has changed how people learn and how successfully they learn. As my parents were visiting me this weekend, a conversation came up about how college was for them back in the 1980s. And when I say everything has changed, I literally mean everything has changed. From how they got into their dorms to how they registered for classes or how they got into sporting events—everything’s different now and it’s all because of technology. This was also only thirty-ish years ago. All of this has changed in only twenty years. So after this conversation, I decided it would be a cool topic to research. Questions guiding my research include, “How has technology changed college life?”, “Has increased technology on college campuses taken away or added to the full college experience?”, and “Has learning become more successful with technology in college and has it caused an increase or decrease of knowledge?” These questions will be important to answer in order to reach a final conclusion. I hypothesize that even though technology has most definitely changed college and how certain things are done, it has not taken away from the experience and does not make people less intelligent. It simply gives everyone more resources to learn and get the most out of the education they are pursuing. Some possible resources may be articles or books written about the evolution of technology in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. These sources will help me see exactly what has changed over the past 30 years. “So what?”, you may ask. It is important for us to see how the past was and what we are dealing with now. We all know for a fact that technology has changed the way we do things, but has it changed us for the better or for the worse? This is something we need to know, whether we like it or not.