Flow Chart--Analysis

Making a Flow Chart.

Outlines don’t work for everyone, but it is important to have an end product that is organized. Some writers work from the top, down, which means that they plan and outline the entire paper before they start writing, while others work from the bottom, up, which means they start writing and develop their focus as they go (through lots of revision).

Many academic writers, however, find it useful to have some type of flow chart to help them see what information they have and to consider how they will organize it.

This paper should exhibit no bias (this is not an explanation of YOUR beliefs, but of the opposing sides to a debate and what THEY believe—without your judgment of them). To avoid this, please format your paper with sub-headers (like the sample) so you are forced to explain/analyze(not judge) opinions you may not share.

Today’s class will be devoted to doing research and filling out your paper before workshop on Thurs. You have just looked, briefly, at a sample Analysis paper. Please return to this example often as you compose and notice its organization, the depth of its research and its neutral, academic tone.

A flow chart might look like this (note: your paper does NOT have to look like this. This is a SAMPLE):

Introduction:
History of debate
Key events—riot,
Stats—the problem both sides want to address, disagree on how.
Thesis:

Position one:
Summary of the pro-side
Key voices in debate: Nancy Pelosi, Ginsberg, Professor X and Chomsky

Position two:
Summary of con-side
Key voices/academics: Focus on the Family, Newt G, Professor Y

Position three: The betweeners
Summary of argument
Key voices/academics: Professor W

The Ramifications
Econ. Effects
Social costs

Conclusion
Why we need to succeed.

To Begin:

Go here: http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/processes/topic/pop2h.cfm and spend a few minutes narrowing your topic. You may want to explore this topic broadly at first, but please try to develop a focus, even for the analysis. Basically, this refers to taking a HUGE debate and selecting one element of it to look at in more depth. For example, if you were looking at the death penalty, you would look at NATIONAL voices and opinions, but ALSO focus on the death penalty in Colorado. For this assignment, your topic will probably be a little unrefined. You may, like the sample, just explore a topic that isn’t entirely argumentative (like the sample). Here, you want to show the varying aspects of this topic (ie: Male Body Image in the Media, Male Body Image in Post-Industrial USA, etc.).

Next:

In Bold, title the sections of your paper and develop a flow chart that maps the parts of your paper.

A sample flow chart:

1: The Issue
The paper should have an introduction that introduces the reader to your topic. This can relate a story/event—such as the murder of Matthew Shephard or the invasion of Iraq—that highlights the nature of this debate or recounts when it started. To outline consider,
• History
• Issue
• Positions and Debaters

In this, there should be a brief thesis/topic statement. This should ground your reader in your intentions, and the purpose of this paper. Ie, “Many differ on the role standardized testing should play is assessing a student’s progress. While this debate seems straightforward, there are a multitude of varying opinion supported by national groups, such as…., with a wide variety of causes the consequences, the chief being economic.”

2. The opposing positions (dedicate a section to each position or combine the various arguments in a section about each section of the topic)
• Arguments
• Cited evidence, list studies and stats that are frequently used to support these separate causes
•

3. Other sections
• The economic or social considerations behind this
• Who benefits, how does this influence what they believe
• Representations of this elsewhere (in the media, in politics, etc)
•

4. Conclusion: Larger picture considerations. When will this debate stop being a debate? How will it be resolved? Will it?

Do some research to fill in the gaps in your information. Go to http://library.cudenver.edu/

Click “databases a-z”
Go to academic search premier (the first one).

Develop some key words and connect them using “and.” Ie: “Death penalty” and “Media representations.” As you research, look for new terms that you can also search for. Ie: death penalty=corporal punishment, etc. Search away.

Now go here and read about MLA citation.