Lanier’s View of Social Media Argumentative Essay
Writing
THE TOPIC:
You must write an argument in response to Lanier’s book, TEN ARGUMENTS… You must agree or disagree with ONE of his major arguments.
Your final essay must meet all of these standards to pass:
1. 2,000 words (approximately 8 pages);
2. contain a bibliography at the end, which contains at least ten sources, none of them wikipedia or similarly non-academic entries;
3. all quotes and paraphrasing and the bibliography must be in strictly MLA format;
4. must quote from a minimum of four different sources in addition to quoting frequently from Ten Arguments, and these quotes must be relevant and used as evidence to support your argument;
5. must state a clear thesis—which is a conclusion of your argument in that it states your position on your issue/topic—in the introduction; and
6. must use a variety of types of reasons for supporting your conclusion/thesis, including statistics, research findings, case examples, and authoritative sources; you may also use personal experience and testimony, but those cannot be your only evidence;
7. must conclude with a prescriptive assumption—that is, a closing statement about how the world MUST be in the future.
