Project Summary: Topics to choose from Read the list of possible topics to write on (see the list below). Choose one topic from the list. 1. Arguing the advantages and disadvantages of married couples having children early in their marriage vs. late. Take into account personal, biological, economic, religious, and societal issues that people wrestle with when determining when to have a child. (An example of a societal issue is the impact of postponing child birth on the aging of the population and its attendant consequences.) 2. Arguing the advantages and disadvantages of earning degrees on-line vs. through traditional brick-and-mortar education. Take into account the value of having face-to-face encounters with instructors, face-to-face interaction with fellow students, learning styles of students, flexibility of self-paced study, and the cost of education. 3. Arguing the advantages and disadvantages of creating no car traffic zones in the downtown areas of cities vs. giving cars full access to the downtown area. Take into account the convenience of cars having access to downtown areas, problems of congestion, environmental issues, making downtown more habitable, recreational issues, impact on business, etc. 4. Arguing the advantages and disadvantages of creating and enforcing strong intellectual property laws protecting the intellectual property rights of developers/owners of written, musical, and video works vs. allowing free access to intellectual property material. Take into account the value of intellectual property laws in encouraging innovation and creativity by letting people derive benefits from their hard work and the value of enabling society to have free access to intellectual products without restriction. 5. Arguing the advantages and disadvantages of owning vs. renting a home. Take into account the forced-savings nature of home ownership, the risk of home ownership, the flexibility of renting, the broader issue of building assets over a lifetime, etc. 6. Arguing the advantages and disadvantages of all-wheel drive vehicles vs. four-wheel drive vehicles. Take into account a broad range of issues, including technical, life-style, budget, road-handling, and legal issues. 7. Discussing different strategies for caring for the elderly, and arguing in favor of one particular strategy vs. alternative strategies. Take into account the responsibilities of individuals to care for their family members, the role of government programs to serve the needs of the elderly, the economics of caring for the elderly, etc. 8. Identifying the role of education in providing students with the life skills they need to survive in competitive job markets and make a good living vs. providing students with a broad understanding of how the world works. Take into account the skills-building, problem-solving and life-enriching value of education. The writing of this paper will require you to engage in Internet and/or library research. When using data or ideas taken from a research source, reference the source by putting it in brackets in the text (e.g., [www.abc/make_v_buy]). If you take words directly from the research source, put them in quotation marks. Using material from outside sources without attribution is plagiarism. This capstone paper must reflect your original work. If you claim your paper constitutes your own work, but it does not, you will receive a failing grade for the assignment. 1) Discussion of the issue Describe the key points associated with the issue you have chosen to address. What are the key elements of the issue? What is behind the issue? What significance does it have? At the end of this section, the instructor should have a thorough idea of what the issue is and how you will approach it. In developing your discussion, carry out research through Internet and/or library resources. You need to demonstrate that you have good mastery of the topic. Provide references for your material in brackets (e.g., [www.abc/make_v_buy]). 2) Affirmative arguments In each of the topics listed here, there are at least two alternatives for you to address (e.g., buying vs. renting a house). In this section of your paper, provide strong cases supporting each alternative. Support your positive arguments with facts and opinions you gather through your research. Provide references for your material in brackets. 3) Negative arguments In this section of your paper, provide strong cases arguing against each alternative. In this paper, you need to demonstrate that you can support both sides of an argument that is a sign of high-level thinking. Support your negative arguments with facts and opinions you gather through your research. Provide references for your material in brackets. 4) Synthesis In this section, weigh the strengths and weaknesses of each alternative, based on the evidence you provided in the previous sections. After all is said and done, which argument do you believe is most persuasive. Be logical. Demonstrate that you can look at the pluses and minuses fairly, and that through logic you can develop a conclusion based on the facts and opinions you have gathered. 5) Opinion End your paper with a statement of your final opinion of the merits of each argument. Be clear about which alternative you support. Summarize why you have support one alternative over the other. Length of paper 10 15 pages, single spaced Grading criteria 1. Has the student demonstrated that he/she knows the key issues very thoroughly? (yes, no) 2. Has the student engaged in adequate research? (yes, no) 3. Is the student logical in making his/her presentation? (yes, no) 4. Is the writing quality good? (yes, no) 5. Do you find the students arguments to be compelling? (yes, no) 6. Has the student followed the instructions described here? (yes, no) The more yeses your paper has, the higher its grade will be.