z

Young Writers Society


A question regarding a topic..



Random avatar


Gender: None specified
Points: 300
Reviews: 0
Wed May 08, 2013 11:06 am
Krani says...



Hi!

Not sure if this is the right forum to post such stuff, but I have to do a research essay on Moral Panic.

I was thinking of doing one centred around Islam, but I am really unsure on how to do an academic piece of writing in which I do not have an opinion and merely compare information before arriving at a conclusion.

I was wondering if there would be any tips available?

Thank you!

PS: Sorry if this was the wrong forum to post such stuff!
  





User avatar
560 Reviews



Gender: None specified
Points: 30438
Reviews: 560
Wed May 08, 2013 11:29 am
View Likes
Tenyo says...



When my youth group are all sleepy and slush-brained I tend to initiate a debate with them in which I give them all completely radical and irrational arguments to proclaim. It works really well, and it's great fun!

You might have to be careful dealing with religion, but even if you don't have an opinion of your own, try playing around with it and writing arguments for the most extreme opinions.

You don't have to keep all of what you come up with, but it will give you some interesting substance to work with and the stimulation will make it more fun to work with.
We were born to be amazing.
  





Random avatar


Gender: None specified
Points: 300
Reviews: 0
Wed May 08, 2013 12:00 pm
Krani says...



Tenyo wrote:When my youth group are all sleepy and slush-brained I tend to initiate a debate with them in which I give them all completely radical and irrational arguments to proclaim. It works really well, and it's great fun!

You might have to be careful dealing with religion, but even if you don't have an opinion of your own, try playing around with it and writing arguments for the most extreme opinions.

You don't have to keep all of what you come up with, but it will give you some interesting substance to work with and the stimulation will make it more fun to work with.


Hmm you are right, and I am afraid my opinion is going to reflect in the essay.

Would you have any suggestions of moral panics? I was thinking of Immigration as well, but that again has a strong racial profiling aspect to it...
  





User avatar
192 Reviews



Gender: None specified
Points: 19207
Reviews: 192
Thu May 09, 2013 3:19 pm
EloquentDragon says...



Um... It is impossible to write a non-opinionated essay, I hope you realize. It's impossible to write unopinionated anything, actually.

"Moral Panic?" What in the world is "Moral Panic?" Racial panic would be more of the immigration issue (in my opinion, heh) or the civil rights movement scare of the 60's, etc. Terrorist panic would be the increased anxiety over the Islamic Mid-East, lockdowns after 9-11 etc.

But moral panic? People fearing that homosexuals, enviromentalists, and liberals (other side, conservatists, Christians, etc...) will take over the world? Because then you get into principles---sociology and ethics and such.

It might help if you defined your assignment more concretely... what is it exactly that you have to write about?

(Please note these questions are rhetorical. The point is, moral panic is such a broad subject, you need to narrow down and see what your teacher is looking for for the assignment... not the subject in general)

Characteristics
Moral panics have several distinct features. According to Goode and Ben-Yehuda, moral panic consists of the following characteristics:

Concern – There must be awareness that the behaviour of the group or category in question is likely to have a negative impact on society.

Hostility – Hostility towards the group in question increases, and they become "folk devils". A clear division forms between "them" and "us".

Consensus – Though concern does not have to be nationwide, there must be widespread acceptance that the group in question poses a very real threat to society. It is important at this stage that the "moral entrepreneurs" are vocal and the "folk devils" appear weak and disorganised.

Disproportionality – The action taken is disproportionate to the actual threat posed by the accused group.

Volatility – Moral panics are highly volatile and tend to disappear as quickly as they appeared due to a wane in public interest or news reports changing to another topic.


As for examples.... *shrugs* what do YOU see as being a moral panic? It seems to me as though this essay is calling you to be opinionated. ;)
No more countin' dollars... we'll be countin' stars.

Enter, if you dare.
  





User avatar
1272 Reviews



Gender: Other
Points: 89625
Reviews: 1272
Thu May 09, 2013 4:42 pm
View Likes
Rosendorn says...



I believe the word you're looking for is "unbiased". And yes, it is the best to write your essays as unbiased as possible when you're looking at academic writing. You must be aware of your bias to write, but you will then use that basis to find the opposing bias and look at both as objectively as possible.

It is impossible to completely remove your bias, as ED said, but you can minimize it. Things I usually keep in mind when trying to be unbiased:

- Purposely present opposing opinions in equal amounts. This helps make sure you're not leaning any one side. By forcing yourself to show both sides of the argument, you help minimize the effect of your own bias.

- Understand the opposing argument. This is absolutely critical. You absolutely must try to find where it comes from. It is possible to do this, but you might have to cast a very broad net. If you're looking at Islamophobia, see where it comes from. Mass media, terrorist attacks, the war on terror, and the general conflict between religions (the US is mostly Christian, after all) are all sources that contribute to it.

- Educate yourself on where your bias comes from. This could be the same sources as above, or it could be niche media, studying of Islam, or your own moral code. If it's your own moral code, examine where it comes from in detail. Once you understand it, you can actively work to minimize it.

- Find middle ground opinions. This is another important key for presenting facts objectively. You cannot learn the full scope of a situation without finding the middle ground. Those who are apathetic, those who are mildly weirded out, those who would rather Islam stay "over there". Extremes are naturally biased. Find the whole sliding scale from one bias to another.

- Find opinions more extreme than yours to get the full sliding scale.

Once you have followed the above steps, then present all you have found and make sure you give equal importance and equal understanding of each argument you've found.

Use empathy to write opposing sides with the same passion and determination that you would for your own side. This is why you have to understand the opposing side, because you will have to write like you are on it.

An exercise: practice debating. Have arguments for both sides, and proceed to defend them. Once you have defended one side, switch sides and defend them as passionately as you had defended your original side. You are not looking to completely trample the opponent, in this. You are looking to win for two sides at once.

That exercise will help you break down your own biases and see the situation from a different viewpoint. Because you must defend the other viewpoint with the intent to win over your own viewpoint, you start to see the viewpoints in a much different light.

Now, this can be uncomfortable, and your mind will want to return to a state of "feeling right". You will have to fight this. It's a natural reaction to feeling like you're in the wrong, built into humanity as a whole. This sort of uncomfortableness is the detriment to unbiased academic writing, because it makes you look for opinions to support your own instead of breaking down your certainty and considering other opinions, not only as possible counters for your own but as right in their own merit.

You have to see opposing views as right in their own merit to be unbiased in academic writing. This doesn't necessarily change your own bias (although, all the research might. At the very least, it will be a more educated bias), but it does open up your mind and get more mental flexibility.

Bonus: You get more empathetic, better at mediating arguments, and generally more open minded because you have looked at both sides as right.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





User avatar
1220 Reviews



Gender: None specified
Points: 72525
Reviews: 1220
Thu May 09, 2013 6:00 pm
View Likes
Kale says...



One other option is to write about multiple moral panics throughout history, or even the origin and history of usage of the term "moral panic". It is much easier to present historical facts and context in an unbiased manner than to tackle more contemporary issues.

Some things to consider in that direction:

What is "moral panic"?

When was the term first coined? By whom?

When did it enter more common usage?

What are some examples of past moral panics that lead to the term's wider usage?

How is the term used today, in contrast to how it was originally used?

Also, conclusions in research papers tend to be more summaries and a presentation of the final links between pieces of information presented earlier rather than "this is what I think of the matter". For example, if I were writing about the history of the meaning of colors in the US and had used the shift from pink being masculine to feminine as one example and how a range of countercultures currently encourage men to wear pink as another, I could conclude that color meanings shift over time, and that color meanings are currently shifting. No bias necessary.
Secretly a Kyllorac, sometimes a Murtle.
There are no chickens in Hyrule.
Princessence: A LMS Project
WRFF | KotGR
  








I am big enough to admit I am often inspired by myself.
— Leslie Knope