Argumentative Essay Correction

University of Victoria

English 135—Spring 2018

Research Essay

Length: approx. 1,500 words (please provide a final word count); grade percentage: 25% (5% includes annotated bibliography, 100-120 words each); topics: See page 2

Due dates ( all dates are final unless special arrangement are made well in advance)

Proposal: due via email by Mar. 8 at the latest (must be approved)

Formal outline edit: Mar. 22 (in-class)—please note: no topic change after this date

First draft edit(s): Mar.29 (in-class)

IMPORTANT: Submission deadline: Apr. 5 (submission method TBA). You must submit your signed copy of “Documentation: Using Sources Responsibly” with your essay. In signing and dating the document, you acknowledge that you understand what plagiarism is and your responsibility with regards to this issue. NOTE: As well as a correctly formatted final version of your essay, including annotated bibliography, and copy of “Documentation,” your submission must include your outline + completed edit forms and your draft + completed edit forms. For grading breakdown, see CourseSpaces.

Assignment and Objectives: You are to write an expository or argumentative research essay drawn from the list of subject areas on page 2. Your grade will depend greatly on your attention to the points in the bulleted list below; read carefully.

· You must use a minimum of five secondary sources, at least three of which must be academic studies found in peer-reviewed journals (see Research Requirement, below); all sources must be correctly cited.

· The topic must be set up to answer an important question or focus on the investigation of a problem. The question/problem should be clearly expressed in your thesis statement. If your essay is argumentative, you will seek to raise awareness about an issue, which again should be clearly expressed in your thesis.

· You will write for a specific audience: an educated reader with only a general knowledge of the topic.

· It is best to write on a topic you’re not an expert in but would like to explore. You can write on any of the topics listed on page 2 regardless of faculty or discipline.

· Sources must be integrated smoothly and effectively into your essay: direct quotations may be important, depending on your topic and the nature of the source material, but summary and paraphrase are often more efficient (see The Active Reader, pp. 142-145).

· Your essay must include a suitable academic title that reflects its specific contents

· Failure to cite sources correctly in APA or MLA documentation style will be subject to deductions, ranging from minor (5%) to major (grade of F or 0) ones. Instances of “inadvertent plagiarism” will normally be subject to major deductions, such as a 0 grade. For grading criteria, see the “Grading Criteria” sheet on CourseSpaces.

Research Requirement: at least five secondary sources (which must be listed alphabetically on your Works Cited/References page), at least three of which must be academic journal articles.

Note: Exceptions to this requirement may be made on an individual basis; for example, there may be few, if any, academic sources if your topic is one where the field is newly being explored. However, since most university-level research involves scholarly books or articles, you should strive to use as many “academic sources” as possible.

Evaluating Secondary Sources: It is vital that your sources are valid, credible, and authoritative; see The Active Reader, pp. 137-138. (Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia cannot be considered a reliable source of information as articles there can be written or edited by anybody.) If you use websites as sources, bear in mind the 4 “Re’s” of research sources.

Additional readings include “A Beginner's Guide to Research in the Academic Library” in The Active Reader (pp. 132-137). Library Orientation: Mar. 12 (130)

Possible subject areas. You must refine and develop one of these subject areas further. After you narrow it down to a topic, you must decide on your approach to the topic, what it is you want to investigate or explore or the central question you want to answer. You must then formulate a thesis statement, which not only states the topic but also includes the particular problem you want to investigate; in the case of an argument, your thesis needs to indicate what you are trying to make your audience more aware of. Your essay introduction should include your specific thesis (question being answered /problem being investigated). An essay without a clear thesis will not satisfy one of the requirements of academic essays.

Humanities:

· race or cultural issues: e.g., an incident or event from Canada’s past (or another country’s) that illustrates racism or a significant issue that relates to a particular culture; an impact race/culture has made on sport, art, politics; unique or significant aspects of culture undervalued or misunderstood by western society

· literacy and/or reading-related issue: e.g., declining literacy rates, textese

· a specific influence of the media/social media: e.g., a prominent aspect of today’s culture; an issue related to a specific medium, such as the issue of privacy and the Internet, digital advocacy, etc. (please, no essays on eating disorders and/or the media’s effect on body image)

Social Sciences:

· the psychology/sociology of aggression: topics could include a consideration of violence as learned versus innate, the impact of bullying, video games and violence; glamorizing violence

· gender/cultural issues: e.g., stereotyping in specific contexts or by specific groups; discriminatory/ anti-discriminatory legislation

· a specific social phenomenon that has increased/come to prominence in the last decade

Sciences:

· use/influence of technology: knowledge/technology to improve a condition (e.g., to redesign or alter humans or other species, such as eugenics, genetic engineering; to help solve a problem, such as famine, in a developing nation; to contribute to space exploration, such as the settlement of Mars, etc.)

· ecological apocalypse? issues related to a significant ecological issue: topics could include investigating one or more specific causes/ consequences of global warming, resource depletion, species extinction, etc. (please, no essays generally focused on global warming)

· a specific conflict/debate between science and an aspect of society/human culture

Important points:

· How to approach a controversial topic in which there are two or more conflicting viewpoints: Do not take sides in the debate, but accurately represent the differing viewpoints; you can use critical thinking to guide you to your conclusion, which could include “recommendations” for future action

· You may write an argumentative research essay on a topic (including the topics above) if it is focused on a recent issue/topic and is written to raise awareness/ reach a compromise about this issue. Issues that have often been argued before (e.g., capital punishment, euthanasia, and the like would not normally be eligible since you would not be raising awareness but rather debating an often-debated issue). It is expected that you will take into consideration some of the argumentative strategies mentioned in class to strengthen your argument.