Essay

Essay 4: Argumentative 2

Essay 4: Argumentative Essay – the other side

Your fourth essay is also an argumentative / persuasive piece. Remember that the purpose of an argumentative or persuasive essay is to convince your reader that your position on a particular issue is credible. Argumentation is not about proving that you are right or wrong, but instead about demonstrating that you can support your position with solid evidence, thus presenting a viable perspective.

Topic

In this paper, you should persuade your readers that your position on a specific issue is credible. However, instead of choosing a new topic, you will take the opposite position from the one that you took in essay 3. You may not change your topic from the one that you used for essay 3, and you must argue the other perspective this time.

Develop three distinct and specific reasons why your position is logical, and then support those reasons through your use of sources and evidence. These reasons must be clearly stated in your thesis statement.

Dates to Remember:

· Thesis PRG: Thursday, 16 April. Post your thesis to the E4 Thesis DB by the beginning of class. Provide feedback to at least 3 peers, using the PRG questions for E4 Thesis (posted under Peer Review Docs) by the end of class this evening.

· Draft PRG: Thursday, 23 April; to the E4 Draft DB by the beginning of class. Provide feedback to at least 3 peers, using the PRG questions for E4 Draft (posted under Peer Review Docs) by the end of class this evening.

· Final Paper Due: Tuesday, 28 April by 11:59 p.m. Submit through TurnItIn.com.

Secondary Sources Required

3 (minimum 2 from library resources / databases). Please note that you may not use the same resources that you used in essay 3. All resources must be new.

Number of Web (“Open internet”) Sources Permitted:

one (this can be one of your 3). Be certain that any web source you choose is from a reliable source and is credible. Your paper is only as strong as its weakest source.

Length of Paper

3-4 pages. Please note that this means you must write 3 completely full, MLA-formatted pages prior to starting your works cited page. Papers that do not meet the minimum length requirement will see the final score significantly reduced.

The Assignment

To successfully complete this assignment, you should follow these steps:

1. Take an unequivocal position on your issue that opposes position you took in essay 3.

2. Develop 3-4 major points you will make in support of your position.

3. Consider effective ways to account for the opposition.

4. Include at least three outside sources in your paper. Please note that any source that comes from a web site beyond the one that is permitted will cause the grade on the essay to be reduced by one letter per improperly located source.

Getting Started

Try answering the questions below to help you get started.

· What is my issue? How can I define it?

· What readers am I trying to reach with my discussion of this issue?

· Have I chosen an arguable issue ? (see page 3 of this document)

· What are some related issues that I may need to address?

· How can I narrow the issue for an essay-length discussion?

· What are my views on the issue? What is my position on the issue? How can I state my position?

· What 2-4 major points will I make in support of my position?

· What evidence supports my position?

· Does my argument include a call for action? What do I want readers to do, if anything?

· Does the issue have a compromise position, or is there no middle ground?

Minimum standards for this paper:

· solid, clearly articulated thesis statement that communicates the three critical points for a thesis (topic, position, major points)

· all paragraphs in the essay are directly related to the thesis of the essay

· essay genre conforms to the assignment (persuasive)

· essay articulates a specific issue, takes a position on it, and provides specific, concrete evidence to support that position.

· essay draws on a minimum of 3 secondary sources, only one of which may be from the open internet. Any sources beyond one that are located on the open web (ie: www.cnn.com) will lead to a letter grade reduction per inappropriately located source.

· essay makes use of solid evidence to support the position stated in the thesis

· essay is a reasonable length (3-4 pages)

· essay conforms to conventions of standard English grammar, mechanics, spelling, and so on

· paper format complies with MLA style

· paper is submitted on time (ie: 11:59 p.m. on due date) through TurnItIn.com.