COMS 425 Final Assignment This assignment gives you a chance to apply what we have learned throughout the semester by
constructing arguments to intervene in a contemporary controversy.

Prompt

You should choose a contemporary controversy. Ideally, this is the controversy you have been
working on all semester. You will combine your three controversy analysis assignments to trace
the aspects of the controversy, identify stakeholders, adopt a position in the controversy, and
make arguments for the stakeholder with which you align yourself. Graduate Students:
Consult with professor to discuss your paper options COMS 425 Final Assignment

Papers are due December 14, 7:30 pm on Canvas

Your paper should analyze and design a response to a contemporary argument controversy.
You will go through the same steps you used in your controversy analysis assignments. You are
encouraged to revise your earlier work based on feedback and include it in the final paper.
This is to be a thesis-driven paper. Do not just describe the controversy – instead, you should
also make an argument about which stakeholder you agree with, and what that stakeholder
should do to successfully argue in the public sphere. COMS 425 Final Assignment
Each paper should have five basic sections:
1. Introduction and identification of the controversy:
Introduce your topic/controversy and motivate interest in the topic. How did it start? What
is the primary issue? Did it start as a piece of legislation, a cultural debate, a court case,
or something else? What are you analyzing now? Are there two sides (such as for and
against a piece of legislation) or are there multiple sides (such as various groups arguing
for a solution to a political problem)? What types of remedies have been tried on this
issue before? When did it first become an issue? Why is it important now? Why should
people care about this topic, even if it doesn’t seem to involve them initially?
2. Identification of the primary stakeholders. Make sure to identify which stakeholder you
are aligned with and why: COMS 425 Final Assignment

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