Preparing Issues Essays

[jennyp]

Hey all,

I've noticed a lot of people seeking advice on how best to prepare for the AWA section. While there are several good outlines for the Argument section, not much has been said on Issues other than work on your writing skills.


In order to prepare for the Issues essay, I've broken down the list into categories based on topics. This categorization is pretty loose as the themes are so broad and there is the inevitable overlap (anyone who'd like to help sharpen them up is welcome to throw in their two cents worth!)


By doing this, I'll be able to work through the 12 categories (and 40 sub-categories, ugh) and develop general points of view and supporting evidence for the topics they encompass. Then, when I take the exam I'll (hopefully) be able to begin writing almost immediately, without having to take a lot of time thinking about what I want to say, developing an argument, and thinking up examples.


Education:
general education – 128, 102, 92, 104, 223
teaching – 32, 50, 228, 229, 181, 233, 236, 86, 154
knowledge – 232, 117, 14, 183, 201, 90, 153, 171, 191, 179
training – 179, 222, 214, 210, 34, 230, 191, 179
requirements – 5, 67, 80, 94, 106, 158, 214
images vs words – 7, 38, 57, 74, 108, 155, 215, 237


Academics:
arts vs sciences – 243, 176, 41, 131, 80, 158
old guard vs new wave – 168, 68, 84, 87, 4, 153, 165, 213, 227
specialization vs generalization – 9, 23, 75, 132, 220, 231
criticism – 18, 52, 96, 143, 144, 146, 168, 218, 240, 241


Convention and Innovation:
thinking outside the box – 25, 27, 40, 76, 21, 164, 175, 238, 198, 4, 216, 118
creativity boxed in – 141, 128, 244, 219
people prefer the box – 230, 234


Culture and Society:
culture and society – 6, 72, 104, 170, 203, 207, 208, 131, 105, 10, 142, 15, 19, 163
differences and similarities – 63, 65, 225, 111
globalization – 11, 111, 116, 150, 197, 205, 237


Technology:
helpful or harmful – 129, 196, 58, 30, 166, 124,
stunting our brains – 66, 107, 219, 23, 151, 233, 159
effect on society – 88, 135, 114, 133


Progress:
progress vs preservation – 13, 26, 121, 149, 189, 242
societal progress – 81, 21, 137, 140, 147
measuring progress – 115, 118, 137, 138, 115, 216


Growth and Success:
self-knowledge – 71, 223, 200, 62, 236, 112, 22, 77, 113
education vs experience – 117, 204, 153, 39
measuring personal success – 126, 188, 192, 99, 64, 61


Choice and Character:
choice – 12, 47, 91, 93, 112, 130, 136, 156, 162, 210
character – 12, 145, 35, 59, 22, 162, 134, 212, 16, 89, 148, 163, 235


Government and Laws:
leadership – 8, 24, 43, 45, 70, 79, 89, 160, 167, 169, 195, 202
laws and ethics – 17, 39, 174, 178, 180, 212, 224, 152, 182
today's problems vs tomorrow's – 56, 97, 211


Funding:
societal – 3, 20, 10, 190, 83, 149
arts and sciences – 119, 31, 44, 69, 82, 85, 101
education – 32, 53


Individuals in Society:
individuals vs groups – 19, 48, 77, 113, 198, 199, 171, 78, 42, 51
public image – 21, 33, 29, 59, 60, 109, 123, 161
competition vs cooperation – 2, 122, 198, 209, 37, 1, 46, 55, 100, 194, 213, 95, 42


History:
judging the past – 36, 76, 241, 48
facts vs stories – 49, 110, 127, 239
usefulness to us – 54, 81, 103, 120, 189, 125, 221, 226


I've counted 283 numbers listed here (there are 244 topics given), but that's due to overlap (ie some of the topics fit in two or more categories) so if anyone notices a number missing, please let me know.


Hope this is helpful!

[priyankagre2005]

Thanks, this should surely be helpful.

[samy_dg]

Thanks jenny, great job.

[forcryingoutloud]

nice compilation...thanks for sharing it

[seagull]

thanks jenny

great effort indeed.

[Blase]

Wow, pretty exhaustive yeah! Thanks.

[jennyp]

yeah, it was a pretty big chore, but I think my subconscious made me do it so it wouldn't have to deal with math...stupid math, urghhh!

[forcryingoutloud]

Originally Posted by jennyp

yeah, it was a pretty big chore, but I think my subconscious made me do it so it wouldn't have to deal with math...stupid math, urghhh!

btw, have you found a general outline for issue essays that seems to work well for you? i seem to have no problem with the argument essays, but i seem to always get writer's block when it comes to the issues...

[jennyp]

Working through these themes, if I can find a focus or opinion for the general themes and then 2-3 examples to support or refute each one (depending on which specific question comes up) then the outline is pretty much there:

Intro (tell the reader what you're going to tell them, ie your argument)
Example 1 to support argument
Example 2 to support argument
Example 3 to support argument
Conclusion (tell the reader again what you've just told them)

That's kinda the golden rule with essays: tell them what you're going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them again. You can use this theory in each example paragraph also. Tell them what your example is going to be (opening or topic sentence). Give your example (the body of the paragraph). Then tell them again what you just told them (last sentence).

It sounds very repetitive and it is, but that's how you can be sure the reader knows what you're saying. It sounds really simple and it is. Of course, you don't want to make it soo obvious, just work on your style and work on blending it together. But being clear and concise like this (instead of trying to get fancy or grand) will make your writing more effective and get you a better score (I'm betting!)

[forcryingoutloud]

Originally Posted by jennyp

Intro (tell the reader what you're going to tell them, ie your argument)
Example 1 to support argument
Example 2 to support argument
Example 3 to support argument
Conclusion (tell the reader again what you've just told them)

yup, got that part down. i think the trouble i face is trying to tie the issue in with either 1) the bigger picture or 2) a current event. if you look at examples of "6" issue essays, the writer typically expounds on the issue by relating it to something tangible.