political correctness

Question:Develop and support a position regarding the interaction of culture and technology.  How does culture influence technology and how does technology influence culture?  Be certain to include some historical background. 

Here’s a list of general guidelines for your essays:

Use reputable sources to support your argument.  Reputable resources are those that come from peer review journals, such as those that can be found using the UMUC LIBRARY sources. Do Not use Wikipedia and other such online references that can either be changed without peer review, or does not have a system of peer review to begin with.  You may use newspaper articles to point toward, or give an example of the issue(s) but they do not count toward the minimum number or sources. In providing this information, be sure to properly evaluate your outside resources based on criteria found at http://www.umuc.edu/library/libhow/websearching.cfm.

The essays are not in-depth research papers. They should also not be a summary of your topic or a summary of the two sides of a controversy. They are argumentative essays (essays in which you present an argument for a position) in which you use reason and outside resources to take, establish, and defend a position on the topic of the assignment. Therefore you must have a position statement in your paper.

Take a position regarding the topic. Do not describe or summarize the issue. Argue for a specific point of view. Be sure to present at least one argument for your position supported by evidence from a cited reference, not just from your opinion.

In addition, make sure you consider at least one perspective that does not agree with you, an opposing argument, and make sure that you offer specific reasons this opposing argument is not a good one. Do not forget this important part of the argumentative process.

Remember to review the Assessment Rubric before constructing your essay. In fact, it might be a good idea to give yourself a grade with the rubric to see where you may need improvement.

Pay attention to your overall organization and the structure of your entire essay. End your essay on the same topic where you began. Pay attention to the smaller parts of your essays such as paragraph construction, transitions, grammar and spelling.

Please Note: This is not an exercise in “political correctness.” For the purposes of this assignment there is no “correct” position regarding cultural diversity. You may choose to disagree with the notion that knowledge of other cultures should be promoted. Because of that, the position you take is less important than the statement and defense of your own position.

Please do not make the mistake of trying to figure out what your instructor wants to read; instead, think about the subject, and create your own answer to the question and support it against a criticism. Remember to review the assessment rubric before constructing your essay. In fact, it might be a good idea to give yourself a grade with the rubric to see where you may need improvement.