Essay #1: Lies Purpose: This assignment allows us to continue practicing the wri

Essay #1: Lies
Purpose: This assignment allows us to continue practicing the writing process, including pre-writing, listing, outlining, drafting, and so on, as well as practicing using and analyzing text within the given context. The overall goal is to write a convincing essay, and to do so, you will need to develop a strong thesis with solid rationales.
Readings: The readings in this unit examine the different kinds of lies we tell, and why we might lie. Beginning with Stephanie Ericsson’s “The Ways We Lie,” we get a detailed description of all the different kinds of lies we tell, and whether those lies are innocent or harmful. In Maya Angelou’s “To Tell the Truth” she states, “Let’s tell the truth to people. When people ask, ‘How are you?’ have the nerve sometimes to answer truthful” (Angelou 1).
Other readings in this unit include: Jeremy Adam Smith’s, “What’s Good about Lying,” Elizabeth Segran’s “When Lying is Good,” Tim C. Mazur’s, “Lying,” and Meera Dolasia’s “Honesty is Definitely the Best Policy” all of which explore whether or not honest is truly ALWAYS the best policy.
Next, the comical episode of Everybody Loves Raymond titled “Liars” shows us how small white lies can expand and become catastrophic; however, we also see that we often lie to spare others’ feelings. In keeping with this idea, the film Liar Liar takes us through one man’s journey of being incapable of telling lies for a whole day. We see him offend people, get in trouble, and discover some truths about himself. All in all, all the readings in this unit explore the topic of lies, and whether lies are sometimes necessary. 
Writing Task: Keeping in mind why we lie, in a thesis-oriented and well-developed essay, answer the following question:
Analyze whether or not honesty is always the best policy
Tips: 
Think about why it is so difficult to be honest. What are the consequences of being either too blunt or too polite? If you do tell small, white lies during your day, why do you feel the need to twist the truth a little?
You may want to think about how in today’s world we consider those who are too honest to be blunt and rude.
Also, think about whether relationships can be ruined because of the ugly truth. Or are relationships held together by honesty?
Essay must about 3-4 pages long, typed, double-spaced, and in 12 pt font.
You are required to use at least 2 of our required readings as support in your essay.