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English 10 - Compromise Argument: Topics

Read Widely

Remember: Research is a process that takes time. Don't simply pick a topic and find facts about it. Read widely and broadly before you ever begin formulating your argument. Become an expert on your topic so you can accurately and persuasively engage in the existing conversation about it and offer up a reasonable compromise and recommendations.

Picking a Topic

As you consider the topic you would like to research, keep in mind:

  1. It must be a contemporary issue.
  2. It must fall into a tension category we observed in Oedipus or Antigone.

Conflicts/Tensions in Oedipus and Antigone:

  • fate vs. free-will
  • ignorance vs. knowledge
  • sight vs. blindness
  • citizen vs. leader
  • female vs. male
  • family vs. country
  • divine (religion) vs. human laws
  • personal morals/private conscience vs. civil law

In Your Essay:

You will thoroughly examine both sides of the argument before moving into your recommendation for what policies should be adopted to resolve the conflict. Keep in mind this quotation from Hegel concerning Antigone: “Both [sides] were wrong … but at the same time, both were right."  In a sense, you will be Sophocles, presenting two opposing sides as valid up to the moment of your divine (or authorial) judgment where you will actually do the opposite of Creon and Antigone, and you will practice the art of compromise by discussing how the two sides could reach a compromise and by offering up recommendations.