Major Assignment Two: Analytical Argument Essay | Printer-Friendly Version

Objectives
In successfully completing this assignment, you will be able to:

• Form a persuasive argument
• Use sources to support your argument in a way that is relevant and logical
• Explain and substantiate a short written argument

 

Directions
1. There are controversial issues in every field of study, whether they have to do with legality, morality, practicality, or something else entirely. Find one of these issues that interest you, pick the viewpoint that you agree with, and write a persuasive analytical paper that defends that viewpoint, backing it up with sources.

2. Write a paragraph about the topic you chose and why you chose it on your Blogger by midnight Wednesday, Sept. 22. This should include your specific issue, what side you are taking, and some thoughts on it. It can be a freewriting of sorts because I will not look at it for spelling, grammar, etc. However, it MUST be clear what your topic and position are!

3. Think about what reasons you want to write about to support your argument. I recommend you limit yourself to two or three well-developed reasons, since the paper has a word limit of 700-1000 words. Once you decide on your reasons, sketch out a rough outline. The outline that you must e-mail to me by midnight on Monday, Sept. 27 will be very basic. It will consist of a thesis statement and statements of reasons, arranged in outline format which includes the intro/conclusion roman numerals.

Formatting will be:

Thesis Statement (written as a full sentence):

I. Introduction (you do not need to elaborate at this time)

II. [Your First Statement of Reason]

III. [Your Statement of Your Next Reason]

IV.[Your Statement of Your Next Reason (if applicable)]

V. Conclusion (you do not need to elaborate at this time)

Note: You will receive extra credit if you develop the outline more fully. It will be added on to your final paper grade.

4. Write a short paper containing an introductory paragraph with a clear thesis statement, body paragraphs with support for at least two reasons, and a conclusion paragraph. Title it something creative. It should be cohesive, focused, and well-organized. It also must contain a Bibliography with the source[s] you used in the paper (at least one, no more than four). The sources can be anything academically acceptable (as discussed in class).

5. Use ACS format for the documentation and the Bibliography page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO PLAGIARIZE. Finally, if you use a print source, you MUST make a photocopy of it and bring it physically to me (or scan it and send it to me) by classtime on Thursday, Oct. 14.

6. A Rough Draft will be due on Tuesday, Oct. 5 by 5:00 pm. This draft should contain all the required elements, including length requirement. We will peer edit them in class. Do not turn in a hard copy; e-mail the rough draft to me for the purposes of peer review. You do not have to bring in the photocopies of sources at this point.

 

Helpful Hints

• Pick the topic you have the most to say about, and pick it BEFORE you look for your sources.
• Decide your thesis first, your reasons second. Decide now if you want to do two reasons or more reasons (two is the MINIMUM). All of these must be clearly stated!
• It is often easiest to simply write one paragraph for each reason; however, you may write more if you wish - just not less.
• You can use your sources more than once in your paper (direct quote, paraphrase, or both) BUT you may not use more source material than your own explanation! We've discussed proper use of quotation and paraphrase before, so I won't get into that.
• Use transitions
• The title should make what side you're on clear - don't ask questions in your title or call it "Assignment #3"
• Don't forget to put your name in a heading!
• Remember that everything must be connected with logical reasoning and explanation, from support to reason to argument/thesis.
• When checking your quotations/paraphrases, highlight the passages you used from your source, hold them up next to where they are in the paper, and check back and forth to see if you got it right. That's what I'll be doing when I check for plagiarism.

 

Assignment Requirements
How well you meet these requirements determines your grade. A good persuasive analytical argument essay will:

• Have a clearly stated thesis statement in the introduction
• Have an introduction which leads smoothly into the body
• Have clearly stated reasons
• Have direct explanation of why those reasons prove that your argument makes sense
• Make good use of well-chosen, relevant academic sources, inserting them when needed but not going overboard
• Have all sources documented in the paper, right after they are used!
• Have logical connections between points
• Have clear, logical organization and transitioning
• Be focused - everything must go towards proving your thesis!
• Have a separate Bibliography page that lists your sources - papers without this will not be accepted
• Have a photocopy/printout of the pages you got your quotes/paraphrases off of (you don't need to copy the whole thing, but you can't just do the title page)- papers without this will not be accepted
  
  

 

Due Dates:
Wednesday, Sept. 23 at midnight: Blogger Entry for Topic Due (5 pts)
Monday, Sept. 27at midnight: Basic Outline Due (20 pts)
Tuesday, Oct. 5 at 5:00 pm: Rough Draft Due (40 pts)
Thursday, Oct. 14 at CLASSTIME: Final Draft Due (135 pts)

Maximum Total Score: 200 pts.