Essay on "Torture Why Our Nation Cannot Use"

Quoted Instructions for "Torture Why Our Nation Cannot Use" Assignment:

ECLT 102

Essay 2 Arguing a Position

Is Torture Ever Justified?

Requirements

*****¢ Length will be 1000 - 1200 words.

*****¢ 4 sources (using at least 1 provided by the instructor, 3 gathered by you)

*****¢ You will work on two drafts.

*****¢ Use 12 point New Roman font and double space

*****¢ Leave 1***** (2.5 cm) margins, top, bottom, left and right. Align the text flush left. Staple your work in the top left hand corner.

*****¢ Type your personal details in the top left corner of the front page: name, ID number, course & section and date

*****¢ Provide a suitable title for your essay and center it on the first page after your details; start your text on the same page (every draft but the final one may be printed on two sides of the paper)

*****¢ Provide an outline to indicate your method of organization

*****¢ Proofread each draft before handing in

*****¢ Add a Works Cited page and make it part of your computer file of the essay *****“ not a separate file.

*****¢ Remember the comments on your previous essays as you work on this essay.

Focus Skills:

Skills specific to the third assignment: Skills common to all four assignments:

*****¢ Defining a position

*****¢ Persuading an audience that a position on an issue is valid

*****¢ Acknowledging and addressing the opposing viewpoint

*****¢ Recommending a course of action or proposing a solution

*****¢ Gathering and assessing evidence

*****¢ Developing audience awareness *****¢ Providing a thesis that addresses the purpose of the argument

*****¢ Organizing an essay considering paragraph unity and coherence

*****¢ Maintaining focus and point of view

*****¢ Addressing audience appropriately

*****¢ Using logic when providing reasons and developing ideas

*****¢ Supporting claims with relevant evidence

*****¢ Summarizing and paraphrasing authors***** views or ideas and integrating them meaningfully into the essay

*****¢ Adopting an appropriate tone

*****¢ Revising according to instructor comments and/or peer review

*****¢ Using in-text citation correctly

*****¢ Documenting sources on a Works Cited page correctly using MLA style guide

Assignments:

You are the president of a small, developing nation that hopes to play an increasingly strong role in world affairs by the building of an exemplary society. You want to adopt a policy about interrogation torture based on the utilitarian argument, because you know that any other argument will not have the same impact on your practical-minded people and on those who might oppose your opinion. Therefore, you will have to answer the question: does interrogation torture work? Does it achieve its practical ends *****“ the extraction of information that can help save lives and thereby attain a better society for us all? In taking your stand, you will have to contend with one or two strong counter-arguments levied against your position.

Points to Consider:

*****¢ Debates about torture stem mostly from the *****ticking bomb scenario.*****

*****¢ 9/11 established an enduring image of sudden, irreversible terrorist action.

*****¢ The use of torture is ancient.

*****¢ Torture and its arguments are still recent topics for the public-at-large.

Steps in the Process:

*****¢ Read and note down the main arguments in Levin

*****¢ read and note down the main arguments in Arrigo

*****¢ Find 3 more sources (preferably arguments) and note down their arguments.

*****¢ Which arguments seem convincing to you? Note them down.

*****¢ If there are convincing arguments on both sides, take a close look at evidence.

*****¢ If a closer look at evidence doesn*****t persuade you to take one side over another, then do more research related to the evidence. A second or third bout of researching should bring you to some resolve.

*****¢ Decide upon your position and your main reasons for it.

*****¢ Line up your support for each paragraph*****s point. It*****s preferable to have two or more sources for each point, rather than having only one source.

*****¢ How will your opponent counter-argue you? Research answers to such arguments.

*****¢ Try to find areas where you can concede certain common concerns with your opponents.

*****¢ Determine the most effective arrangement of your points; you should be able to say why one paragraph precedes another.

*****¢ Draft the essay from an outline; remain flexible to do more researching at any time.

*****¢ Proofread your draft before you turn it into the teacher.

Required Reading:

Levin, Michael. *****The Case for Torture.***** http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/torture.html. 26 March 2002 last modified. 20 October 2007.

Arrigo, Jean *****. *****A Utilitarian Argument Against Torture Interrogation of Terrorists.***** Science and Engineering Ethics (2004) 10: 543-572. Academic Search Premier. American University in Cairo Library. 20 October 2007.

Background Reading:

*****Torture.***** Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2007. http://plato.stanford.edu/search/searcher.py?query=torture. 5 November 2007.