argumentive essay 9
ENGL 1101, Spring 2020
Essay 3: Researched Argument
The goal of this essay is to develop and put into practice the necessary skills to craft an argumentative essay, in order to make a point and hopefully convince your audience that you are correct. In order to accomplish this, you’ll be proposing some improvement on a small, local scale that you think would make life better. This could be something in your hometown, something in your neighborhood, something at ATC, etc. Examples for topics that I have seen in the past include, ways to improve MARTA, ways to help the homeless population, ways to reduce student loan debt, etc. For this paper, you should have at least 4 sources that help back up your arguments. Through your research, you should explain the problem, identify a solution that you think could be realistically put into practice, and convince your audience that this is a solution they should support. This may mean explaining why it is better than other possible solutions or things that have been tried in the past.
The Assignment: The culmination of this project will be a thoughtful, researched, 3-6 page paper, including proper attribution of all information from your sources and a Works Cited page. Your goal should be to research a way to improve some aspect of life on a local scale and present that in a convincing way. Because this assignment is so open-ended (which can be a bit daunting), it’s important that you choose an issue that is legitimately interesting or important to you, but that also is researchable and arguable.
Criteria for Evaluation:
Introduction/thesis 10 points
Explains Problem5 points
Proposes Solution 10 points
Provides solid sources /reasoning 30 points
Minimum of 3 pages 5 points
Logical Organization 10 points
Clarity of Thought/Prose 10 points
Effective Use/Integration of Sources 10 points
At least 4 sources 10 points
Conclusion paragraph answers “so what†5 points
Works Cited Page 15 points
Participation in Peer Review 15 points
First Draft Turned in on time 20 points
Revision/Improvement 30 points
Reflection Letter 15 points
Total: 200 points
Format:
This essay should be 3-5 pages in length (if you feel you need more space to adequately get your point across, longer is also fine). It should be typed, double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, with 1-inch margins. Please format the essay and Works Cited page according to MLA guidelines (you can refer to the OWL at Purdue website [provided here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/11/] regarding questions about MLA, and we’ll go over basics in class).
Important Dates:
First Draft Due Monday, March 30th for Peer Review (stay tuned for how we will conduct this Peer Review Session if we are still online)
Final Draft + Works Cited + Reflection Letter Due Friday, April 17th by 11:59pm to Blackboard
