|
|
|
You have written two stories or observations about some aspect of technology
that intrigues you, you have read a bit about your technology, and you have
decided upon a question related to that topic. Now you get to write an
essay that poses that question, that pulls the reader into your inquiry. Your
essay will give no definitive answers to your question, so that your thesis will
actually be your question, although you may speculate about the types of answers
that may be possible. You will use the stories and, at least briefly, an
idea from one of the essays you've read, in order to persuade the reader of the
significance and interest of your question. This essay is a bit like the
introduction to a grant proposal, in which you're selling--to someone who can
give you money--the importance of studying a particular research question.
Or it's like the first chapter in a book, in which the author explains the issue
s/he is about to discuss. Or it's like an expanded introductory paragraph
in an essay. The essay in The Presence of Others that is most
exploratory is probably Brandt's "Do Kids Need Religion" on p. 191. |
 |
