CONTROVERSIAL TOPIC POSITION PAPER
Overview
This activity gives you practice building arguments, counterarguments, and rebuttals—skills you’ll need for your following assignment. In the field of psychology, just about everything is controversial, and you’ll need to develop your ability to look at things from multiple perspectives. This activity is an example of how we can apply critical thinking.
Preparation
For this assignment, you will choose one of the four following controversial topics and write a position paper of 4–5 content pages (plus a title page and references page) that answers the question posed by the title.
Resources
For your paper, use five sources. You may choose two of your five resources required for the assignment from the list below. Find your topic below and review the articles related to your topic.
Is racial profiling defensible public policy?
Coleman, M. & Kocher, A. (2019). Rethinking the “Gold Standard” of Racial Profiling: §287(g), Secure communities and racially discrepant police power. American Behavioral Scientist, 63(9),1185–1220.
Dizon, J.P.M. (2021). Protecting the university, policing race: A case study of campus policing. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.
Instructions
Using the Capella library and other appropriate sources, explore scholarly research on both sides of your selected issue.
Organize your paper as follows:
Title page.
Introduction.
Your position and arguments.
Evidence to support your arguments (i.e., data and research), including how the evidence supports the arguments.
Counterarguments to your position.
Rebuttals to those counterarguments.
Evidence to support your rebuttals (i.e., data and research), including how the evidence supports the rebuttals.
Summary and Conclusion.
References.
This APA Paper Template [DOCX] is provided for your convenience.
Additional Requirements
Remember that the content of your paper must be 4–5 pages in length.
In addition to the essay, use a minimum of five resources, at least two of which are peer-reviewed academic articles.
Follow APA style and formatting guidelines throughout.
Set your paper in Times New Roman, 12 point.
Review the scoring guide before submitting your assignment to ensure that you meet all criteria. Refer to the helpful links in Resources as you complete your assignment.