Reference no: EM132443781

Diving into an argument is very difficult to do. Imagine you are invited to a cocktail party and you arrive 30 minutes late. You walk into the ballroom and there are already 50 people there. There are numerous conversations going on; some of which have been going on for half an hour.

• You randomly pick out a group of 4 people to approach and socialize by getting involved with their conversation. You walk up, introduce yourself, and then listen in to what they are talking about. It takes time to get glued into the conversation so that you can contribute. This situation is analogous to writing our first essay, Finding Common Ground. Over the course of WRIT 112, you'll develop the reading, writing, and research skills to write research papers. But the first step is to know how to get involved in a topic that requires research.

• Write an essay analyzing at least two essays/TED Talks taking different positions on "Happiness". Your purpose is to analyze at least two essays/TED Talks to understand their authors' main points of disagreement and to suggest ways to identify points of agreement and build common ground based on shared values, concerns, needs, and interests, as well as to identify points of disagreement and different perspectives. To do this, you'll use the sources posted to the syllabus for the first unit, "Happiness". Questions to help you write the essay:

1) What makes you happy? What do people think makes them happy/unhappy? What are your thoughts on happiness?

2) What is the overall thesis and main ideas of the source?

3) Who is the author of the source and what motivated them to present/write on "happiness"?

4) How does source A differ from source B in how they discuss/understand happines