The Pentagon Papers: How to Select and Introduce Your Topic

The Pentagon Papers is an accepted title given to a confidential study on the relations between the United States and Vietnam. In that regard, students attending history or international relations classes might see essays on Pentagon Papers as a common type of assignments.

Writing about Pentagon Papers is typically an argumentative type of assignments, as the role of the government is often presented as controversial, and thus, implies opposing points of view. This paper provides an overview of what to cover in essays about Pentagon Papers.

The Range of Topics in Pentagon Papers

In essays about Pentagon Papers, there is a vast range of possible topics and positions to chose from, which includes, but not limited to, the role of the government in covering the war, the ethical responsibility of the media revealing confidential information, trusting the government, etc.

The common element in all of the aforementioned examples of Pentagon Papers essay topics is the media coverage, the government and the war. Whatever topic and opinion is selected and supported, the point is to present the arguments that will persuade the reader to take the side of the author. A good step will be, in addition to presenting credible facts, appealing to reason and following logic, rather than making loud and unsupported statements.

Introducing Pentagon Papers

The task of the writer in general is to engage the reader in the details of the paper, and although such task is easier to achieve with controversial topics such as Pentagon Papers, some suggestions can be made. The first aspect is to present a hook related to the issue of war coverage.

A good example can be seen through drawing parallel to the events of the recent Iraq war and the role of the media, making a comparison to the coverage of war prerequisites more than 50 years ago. The introduction of an essay regarding Pentagon Papers should be finalized with a clear thesis statement that will indicate the position of the author toward the selected issue.