mental health and stigma
Project #4: Researched Argument
3rd person, minimum of 8 pages, written in the style of your discipline, minimum of 8 sources.
Where Projects 1, 2 and 3 asked you to practice speaking with academic authority, to explore the current research of your field, and to learn the conventions of your discipline, the remaining projects of the semester require you establish yourself as researcher in your field by creating a researched argument of your own. For this project, you will choose a topic pertaining to the interests of your field, assess current research on that topic, establish an argument that contributes to scholarly discussion, and support that argument through primary or secondary sources. Besides the page and source requirements, you have free reign in building your argument—so long as that argument pertains to your chosen discipline. An effective and persuasive researched argument will contain the following characteristics.
Essay Criteria:
- Accurate, Precise Thesis
A successful researched argument will have an extremely specific thesis that clearly states relevant counterarguments, the overarching argument and all the reasons that support it. The constituent parts of the thesis should be listed in the order they will occur within the paper. An unsuccessful thesis may list points out of order or leave out points discussed in the paper entirely.
- Contextualization of the Issue
Before delving into the arguments surrounding your topic, you’ll need to provide a background of the relevant, ongoing discussion in your field. What have researchers in your field said about your topic? What is the debate’s current status or consensus? A literature review, or a description of background information, serves to situate your own argument in the larger conversation. It can be the history of the issue, definition of terms, or any information necessary to understanding the topic. Context should only include those seminal works or arguments crucial to the author’s researched argument.
- Specific, Unified Paragraphs
Rather than wander across multiple points in the same paragraph, each paragraph should remain focused solely on one argument or idea. An extremely well-structured paper will have paragraphs that directly relate back to the points listed in the thesis. Unfocused or unclear paragraphs undermine the strength of the entire argument.
- Reasons Backed by Evidence
Broad generalizations do not make solid arguments. A credible and successful researched argument will have evidence for every point. Evidence should be summarized, paraphrased, or quoted appropriately and authors should be introduced before information is taken from them. Furthermore, research should be used to both describe counterarguments and answer them.
- Acknowledgement of Counterarguments
No argument can be successful without an acknowledgement of opposing views. The integration of counterarguments, along with evidence supporting those counterarguments, is essential to reinforcing your own argument. These counter views should be presented respectfully and comprehensively before they are refuted. The author should use the informative language of counterargument—“some scholars claim” or “critics demand”—to differentiate between the author’s own argument and what they are arguing against. Alternatively, the language of argument is simply stated as fact.
- General Features of Effective Writing
The researched argument should be written according to the conventions of Standard Written English (SWE), including adherence to punctuation, capitalization, spelling, grammar, and essay standards. Additionally, the argument should conform to standard conventions of writing in your own discipline, as well as academic writing in general. Specifically, the paper should be introduced with a paragraph-long introduction, concluded with a paragraph-long conclusion, and sources should be integrated into the surrounding text.
Research Criteria:
- Minimum 8 Sources
- At Least 4 Academic Sources: Preferably, all 8 sources would come from either an academic database, like JSTOR, LexisNexis, or Academic Search Complete, or a book-length text in your field. The rest of your sources can be from un-academic sources, provided they are credible.
- Proper Documentation and Format: All 8 sources must actually be used within the paper. Sources should be introduced before their use and parenthetical citations should be used as well. You must use the citation method advocated by your discipline, and you must do so correctly.
Answer preview
Mental disorders just like other illnesses can have a significant impact on the individuals and their families as well. Statistics by the National Institution of Mental Health reveal that in 2014, there were close to 9.8 million adults aged 18 years and above having issues to do with mental health and close to 3 million youth within the age bracket of 12 years to 17 years. In 2014 alone there were an estimated 23 million Americans who self-reported that they needed treatment for alcohol and drug-related issues. Out of this number, around 11.8 million adults felt the need for mental health treatment or counseling. This is an indication of how extensive the issue of mental health is in American society (NIMA, 2018). Mental disorders are arguably among the top conditions that cause a high burden for people in the United States, and this directly results to increased costs for those individuals, their families as well as to the publicly funded health systems. It is estimated that by 2020, mental health will be the lead cause of disability in the world (Lannin et al., 2016). Preventing mental health disorders and finding a way to control their implications on young adults and children is important to their behaviors and physical health as well. Since mental health disorders usually manifest within a period of two to four years, there is a need to provide a framework by which individuals can constantly be checked.
Individuals with mental health continue facing challenges especially when they are overwhelmed by symptoms and disabilities as well as stereotypes that arise from their mental illnesses. Individuals…
(2900 words)