8 pages minimum (not including works cited page)
12-point standard font
Double spaced 8.5″ x 11″ pages with 1″ margins
Cite at least 5 sources: 3 primary and 2 secondary
Prompt
Choose an unpopular or unusual belief (a conspiracy theory or denialism will likely be easiest) Conspiracy of Epstein’s Death is my conspiracy theory and research to understand it.
Why would a person capable of rational thinking hold this “crazy” belief? What biases and heuristics might contribute? What lack of information?
What other factors like history or even geography might impact someone’s beliefs in ways we hadn’t thought critically about before? If we look from their angle, is that belief really as crazy as it seemed at first from ours?
Of course, we may find that their belief—even though we now understand it better—is still incorrect. In that case, how could we engage the disagreement in a helpful, respectful, and productive way? To do this, you’ll need to write this essay using your critical thinking skills with a scout mindset (Links to an external site.).
Successful essays will likely do the following:
Present an argument that is obvious in the essay’s thesis statement.
Use the language of argument science and engage its concepts: claim, validity, soundness, etc. Demonstrate the depth of your knowledge of these critical reasoning tools.
Follow Dei Drąsutytė’s example of a scout mindset in her video essay about vaccine hesitancy (Links to an external site.).
Cite all of your sources.
If the information didn’t come from your mind and isn’t common knowledge (assume it isn’t), then cite that information’s source, even if you aren’t quoting it.
Rely on scholarly sources more than popular ones
Consider a primary source as a document directly from someone who believes the commonly unaccepted idea. A secondary source is anything that analyzes the primary sources.
Discuss System One/Watson and System Two/Holmes.
Discuss cognitive heuristics and decision-making biases.
