essay 3

ESSAY 3: ARGUING FOR CAUSES

Word Count: 1000 words minimum

OVERVIEW / TASK / PURPOSE

The Arguing for Causes essay explores the reasons for a given event/situation. This type of essay tells the reader why particular phenomena or events have occurred. Through explorations, a writer can discover (1) the causal relationships between events and (2) look to future events to explain why certain happenings may or may not occur.

The writer's purpose is to inform the reader of the CAUSES of the event or situation. The causal relationship the writer discusses can be both personal and impersonal, but it should be reasonable and justifiable. In your essay, you need to contextualize the topic by providing background information. You need to use specific examples and details as evidence to support your claim.

4 TOPIC CHOICES and RESEARCH (pre-approved sources)

1. College: Examine why people choose to go to college

2. Superheroes: Examine why Americans are obsessed with superhero films

3. CrossFit: Investigate the causes of the CrossFit phenomenon

4. Video Games: Explore why young adults play video games

You may choose one of the topics above. To approach this type of essay successfully, the writer must be well-informed and cautious before leaping boldly to assumptions about the causal relationships. As such, everyone MUST use at least ONE of the following sources. You may use both sources for your topic if you wish. Only the following pre-selected sources may be used; no other sources are allowed.

1. College

· Money - Kaitlin Mulhere - "141,000 Freshmen Say. . ."

· Federal Student Aid - "Why Go to College"

2. Superheroes

· New York Times - Mark Bowden - "Why Are We Obsessed With SuperHero Movies"

· The Atlantic - Noah Berlatsky - "Why Do People Like Superheroes"

3. CrossFit

· Time - J. C. Herz - "The 3 Reasons People Are Obsessed with CrossFit"

· The Atlantic - Julie Beck - "The Church of CrossFit"

4. Video Games

· Pscyhology Today - Romeo Vitelli - "Are Video Games Addictive"

· NBC News - Nicole Spector - "It's Less Work, More Playing. . .

THESIS and AUDIENCE

Your audience for this essay is an educated individual looking for information about your topic. Your tone should be informative, academic, and respectful. Your essay should be thesis centered, with your thesis being one sentence long and the last sentence of the introduction. It should answer your research question by providing the CAUSES you'll discuss in your body paragraphs. Examples:

(a) Research Question: What has caused an increase in air pollution?

Thesis: The popularity of SUV's in America has caused pollution to increase because point one, point two, and point three.

(b) Research Question: Why has the childhood obesity rate increased?

Thesis: A sedentary lifestyle and consumption of fast food are the leading causes in the obesity epidemic in the United States because point one, point, two, and point three.

FORMALITY and MLA

You need to follow MLA formatting, e.g in-text citations, a Works Cited page, etc. Since this is an academic essay, you should avoid the following:

· 2nd person pronouns (YOU)

· Contractions

· Rhetorical questions

· 1st person pronouns (I, me, our, us. . etc.)

FORMATTING and GUIDELINES

As with all your major paper assignments, you should follow the Paper Formatting Guidelines posted in the Grade Rubric folder. Refer to the MLA section in your Rules for Writers. Also, per the Paper Formatting Guidelines, "Each writing assignment for this class must be your original work." Therefore, this paper should be original work you've created for the first time after having read this assignment sheet. You cannot use a paper you have previously written. Doing so constitutes self-plagiarism.