should smoking be entirely illegal?

ENC 1102 Prompt and Format for the Argument Essay S 2021.docx

Edward Waters College

Department of General Studies

ENC 1102: English Composition II

Spring 2021

Prompt and Format for the Argument Essay (Due in Turnitin and in Moodle 2/26 at 11:59 PM)

The following research questions are from which you chose the one you wrote your annotated bibliography. While you have the choice to continue with that same topic, you can work on a different one, but you MUST ONLY CHOOSE A TOPIC FROM THE TEN ON THE LIST BELOW and write a sound argument for or against one of the two sides following the terms of the accompanying format on the next page you must strictly adhere to. In this paper, you must quote directly (verbatim) from no more or less than Five credible, reliable, and relevant sources, and two these sources must be scholarly or peer reviewed articles. These direct quotations must be a combination of in-text and block. In other words, they cannot all be in-text or all block direct quotations. The goal here is for you to produce a paper that argues for a clearly stated position you must support with information from sources qualified to speak on your chosen topic.

1. Has racial integration proven to be a good or bad thing for one’s ethnicity?

1. Should cigarette smoking be entirely illegal?

1. Given the vows that couples freely and willingly take, especially “for better or worse till death do [them] part,” should divorce be illegal?

1. With respect to this recent general election and understanding the significance of how elected officials have the enormous ability to impact our lives for the better or worse, should voting be obligatory in the US in picking our legislative representatives?

1. What is the best form of renewable energy?

1. It so happens that those CEOs or managers or business owners who earn millions from the businesses they run are the more vocal against increasing the minimum wage to, say, $15 an hour. Some can and do earn in one year what some people could earn in their lives. Against this backdrop, should there be a maximum wage limit for those employed high wage earners?

1. Is college worth the financial cost one must incur to earn a college degree, especially an undergraduate?

1. Is there something called “white privilege” that affords more opportunities to Whites than those of other ethnicities, especially Blacks and Hispanics?

1. In one’s match to a future career, should one focus on the personal fulfillment one receives in doing her or his work or the amount of money one earns?

1. Should there be term limits for members of Congress?

Plagiarism:

Frankly, I know that most of you are hardworking and honest young women and men, but given my experience with the annotated bibliography, some of you see nothing wrong in plagiarizing. Thus, for such people, submitting your paper in TURNITIN will help you avoid plagiarism of any kind. Thus, failure to upload it in Turnitin will mean zero points, and I will not accept any excuses.

Note: There is an accompany Format you

GOOD LUCK

Format for the Argument Essay

To help you in your pursuit, follow the suggestions below: Please know that various formats exist in advancing an argument, so this one is to help towards producing a well-organized argumentative paper. All examples to illustrate the format refer to this research question: Should abortion be illegal?

1. Paragraph 1: Let us call this the “Introduction to the Introduction” or “The Statement of the Problem:

This “Statement of the Problem,” as we have been discussing in class for the past few weeks, will become the first paragraph of your Argument Essay. In this Statement is where you explain the problems that prompt your research question in the hope that conducting this research will lead to answering the question and in solving the problem(s). In this paragraph, simply admit in your opening sentence that this issue (the one you have chosen to write your paper on) poses major problems that affect our society). Then identify three of these problems and explain each clearly enough for your readers to see the severity of the issue. Make sure you cite one source for each of two of the three problems as evidence of the presence of the problem.

Note that your last sentence in this paragraph should be a version of your research question in the form of a statement. For example, assuming that

“Should abortion be illegal?”

is one’s research question, and that one has explained three of the problems associated with “Abortion,” then this person’s paragraph, just as your last sentence, must read as this:

“Because of all these problems, we need to determine whether or not abortion should be illegal.”

Please substitute the words in the sentence above with words that are related to your topic.

1. Paragraph 2: Introduction

First in this second paragraph, accommodate three of the most important reasons you believe your opponents will use to advance their position. In other words, concede the compelling reasons you know those arguing for the other side will give to defend their position. For example, assuming that your position on the issue is that Abortion should be illegal, some of the reasons the opposing side will provide are that abortion should remain legal in cases of “rape,” “incest,” and the threat of death of a pregnant woman. To accommodate, therefore, admit that “rape” and “incest” do happen and sometimes lead to pregnancies. In your own paper though, it is not enough to state such accommodations as I have done here (“rape,” “incest,” and “threat on a mother’s life”); you MUST explain each reason clearly. This would seem as if you were arguing against your position, but you are not. Essentially, you are simply establishing your understanding of the opponents’ point of view. Evidently, no one can deny that incest, rape, and other adverse consequences do sometimes result in a woman becoming pregnant. Consequently, it is reasonable to understand why a woman might seek abortion. By the way, admitting that your opponents have valid reasons for their position does not weaken your argument. On the contrary, it strengthens it. Besides, if you do not admit to the presence of obvious sound reasons of your opponents, they will point them out to you, and that will weaken your case.

Second in this paragraph, the sentence that immediately follows your accommodation should be your position or thesis, and you MUST UNDERLINE IT. This your thesis or position must begin with an appropriate transition, such as “even though,” “however,” or “in spite of.” Finally, state at least three sound reasons that directly support your thesis, and state each in three separate sentences linked by transitions.

1. Paragraphs 3, 4, 5 . . . Body of the paper

In each of your body paragraphs, state your reason, then explain it, and relate it to your position. Then directly cite a relevant source (evidence) to support your reason and show how your quotation supports your reason. Thereafter, anticipate an objection to your stated reason and evidence and refute (Refutation). Cite three sources here, one for each of the evidences.

1. Conclusion Paragraph:

As for your conclusion, it is not enough to just summarize a conclusion. Among other things, your conclusion must call your audience/readers to action. In the case of particularly an argument, as in your essay, you need to tell the readers specifically what they must do to be sure, for example, abortion becomes illegal. In other words, tell the readers which appropriate actions they must take to achieve the goal you want to achieve.

The above is for those of you who might choose to write six paragraphs. For those who might want a separate paragraph for counter arguments, you can do so and end up having seven paragraphs.

V: The Reference Page

You must have a reference page (on a separate page by itself to be titled: References. You must have no more or less than five sources and each with complete bibliographical information