A Topical Issue in Saudi Arabia – Working Mom or Stay at home mom? Saudi Arabia
Dear writer,

Attached you can find the guideline for this assignment, that I need you to follow as my teacher is picky.

The issue that must be talked about has to be from my home country, Saudi Arabia, thus I chose the topic of “Working Mom or Stay at home mom? Saudi Arabia”.

Just in case you need to know, I am a female student from Saudi Arabia.

NEED YOU TO DO BOTH THE DEBATE (2 pages) AND REPORT (3 pages).

Thanks in advance!

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Spring 2016
Assignment 3

A Topical Issue in Saudi Arabia

(20% = Group Debate 10%; Group Written Report 10%)
Purpose of Assignment

• Each group of 4 students has to present a group debate and write an essay about a topical issue in Saudi Arabia. Examples include: Should women be allowed to drive? Has technology improved the quality of life?
• The purpose of this assignment is to help students understand the structure of a debate and be able to identify the issue, conclusion and reasons supporting and opposing an issue. An additional purpose is to help the students know how to orally defend an issue.

Objectives

• The student will be able to identify a controversial issue in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• The student will be able to identify reasons supporting and opposing an issue
• The student will be able to identify evidence supporting the reasons for and against an issue
• The student will be able to orally debate an issue
• The student will be able to use the internet for research
• The student will be able to use the university library for research

Instructional Media: Tools and Resources

• You will be provided with online articles, reports, and different resources that will assist you in understanding arguments and oral debates. You will be provided in-class time one week before the assignment is due in order to discuss in groups and search online for additional required resources.
Requirements
Group Debate

1. Time limit of 7 minutes
2. Groups of 4 members – 2 for the issue, 2 against the issue
3. If a student is absent on the day of the debate he will receive only 50% of her group’s grade
4. The format for the debate is as follows:

Speaker 1 (For)
Introduces her team, introduces the issue, justifies the importance of the issue, outlines what her team will do, provides first reason/evidence supporting the issue

Speaker 1 (Against)
Introduces her team, outlines what her team will do, opposes other team’s first reason, provides her team’s own first reason/evidence

Speaker 2 (For)
Opposes other team’s first reason, provides her team’s own second reason/evidence

Speaker 2 (Against)
Opposes other team’s second reason, provides her team’s own second reason/evidence

Speaker 1 (For)
Opposes other team’s second reason, summarizes her team’s reasons, concludes with a strong statement

Speaker 1 (Against)
Summarizes her team’s reasons, concludes with a strong statement
Written Report

1. The report must use your own language and should specify the reference(s) from which the information is taken. If you cut and paste a sentence you must use quotation marks and write the author, year, and page number in brackets in the text after the quotation.

2. Each paragraph must start with a topic sentence that introduces the paragraph idea (see sample essays under “Useful Resources”).

3. The report must:
• have a cover page
• use Times New Romans or Arial, font size: 12
• have a space of 1.5 between lines,
• be 3-4 full pages in length (not including the reference list)
• start each paragraph with a topic sentence
• be written in the third person (do not use “I” or “my” or “our” or “we”)
• use full sentences (and no bullet points)
• have an Assessment Rubric

4. The report must use the following headings:

Introduction
Include a clear thesis statement, justify the importance of the issue in KSA, a reference to justify assignment, say what your report will cover

Reasons for the Issue
Give four strong reasons in support of the issue. Provide relevant evidence for each reason. Evidence might include relevant statistics, argument by authority, argument by analogy, argument by example, 4 ethics decision-making tests, etc. Each reason should have a separate paragraph. (Include references)

Reasons Against the Issue
Give four strong reasons against the issue. Provide relevant evidence for each reason. Evidence might include relevant statistics, argument by authority, argument by analogy, argument by example, 4 ethics decision-making tests, etc. Each reason should have a separate paragraph. (Include references)

Conclusion
Restate the issue, write a final paragraph where you summarize the key reasons and say how the reasons and evidence supported the issue. Also, state your group’s overall opinion about the issue.

References
Include at least 5 references. The references can be from books, newspapers, or the internet (but not lecture slides or wikipedia). You must cite the author and year in the body of the essay. Also, you must list the author, year, article or book title, and publisher under References at the end of the essay.

5. Examples of well-written argument essays can be found in the BlackBoard under “Assignments”.
Submission Criteria

Date Due: Post on BlackBoard before 11:59 PM on Saturday, 16th of April

Where to place soft copies: ‘Assignments’ in BlackBoard.

Who must submit assignment: The group leader must post the assignment on BlackBoard

Where to deliver hard copies: 1 hard copy per group in class

The following piece of info must appear on the cover page:
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Section XXX
Names:
IDs:
Assignment 3: Group Debate about a Topical Issue in Saudi Arabia (20%)
Assessment Criteria

CRITERIA Assessment Rubric for Group Debate SCORES
Introduction Introduced the issue, explained the importance of the issue, outlined group’s plan 3%
Reasons for 2 reasons were given supporting your team’s viewpoint 3%
Evidence for Evidence for each reason was given 3%
Reasons against 2 reasons were given opposing the other team’s viewpoint 3%
Evidence against Evidence for each reason was given 3%
Debate delivery Good posture, confidence, enthusiasm, eye contact, clear voice, sufficient volume, did not read from notes 2%
Conclusion Summarized group’s key points at the end 3%
TOTAL 20%

CRITERIA Assessment Rubric for Group Written Report SCORES
Introduction Contains thesis statement, states why assignment is important, a reference to justify assignment, outlines the body topics 3%
Reasons for 4 reasons are given to support the issue 3%
Evidence for Each reason is supported with evidence, each piece of evidence is supported with a reference 3%
Reasons against 4 reasons are given to oppose the issue 3%
Evidence against Each reason is supported with evidence, each piece of evidence is supported with a reference 3%
Conclusion Restate the issue, key points are summarized, group’s overall opinion is stated at the end 3%
Mechanics Punctuation, spelling, and capitalization are correct, words are well chosen, no cut and pasting, writer uses own words, use of headings, topic sentences, third person, full sentences, no bullet points, follows guidelines 4%
References Contains at least 5 relevant references, references in text of report, correct referencing rules 3%
TOTAL 25%
Notes about Scoring

• Each score will be converted into an assessment score out of 10% and then added together to give a total score out of 20%.

Late Assignments

• No late assignments are accepted. Late assignments will receive 0% marks.
• Your assignment must be on BlackBoard on the due date.
• Also, a hard copy of your assignment must be given to me in class on the due date.
• There are NO exceptions to these rules.