English 1010

Essay 4 Assignment Instructions

This essay will be an argument-based, research-supported essay. Your purpose is to make an original argument and support it with evidence. The essay should be logical in reasoning, use emotional appeals appropriately, and acknowledge, accommodate, or refute opposing views. This assignment is your chance to showcase all of the research and writing skills you have gained this semester! *FOR LIST OF TOPICS, SEE “Topics for Essay 4” DOCUMENT.

The strategy for this essay: This essay is a persuasive essay, in which you try to persuade the reader of a particular position.

Therefore, if you take the position that video games should be integrated into middle school science curricula (this is essentially your working thesis), you would cite articles that demonstrate research studies and other pieces of evidence to support the claim that video games can enhance instruction in science classes and will help middle school students learn science more effectively. You can also propose a solution to a problem. For example, if you decide to discuss quantum computing, you would need to find a controversial aspect such as the idea that traditional security protocols will be useless if quantum computing becomes a practical reality, opening up billions of people and countless organizations to potential exploitation and cyber-crimes. In this case, your thesis might look something like this: Quantum computing will alter the relative security and safety of the world’s information because traditional security protocols will not work; therefore, IT professionals must develop security protocols applicable to quantum computing. This thesis has both a problem (stated first) and a solution (stated last).

Grading Criteria:

You will be graded on your ability to include the guidelines below and use them to create a well- written, college-level essay. Please see “Explanation of Essay Grading” in Essay 1 for details. This essay is worth 200 points. See below for preliminary assignments; these are worth 5 points each and will constitute a separate grade from the essay. Each of these should be submitted as a Journal using the link in the Module 4 Assignment folder. The instructions for submission are there. These preliminary steps are crucial to making sure you are on track prior to writing your essay.

• Topic/Rationale and Working Thesis are due by Sunday, July 11, 2021.

• Research Sources are due by Sunday, July 18, 2021.

• A brief outline of your essay/arguments is due by Sunday, July 18, 2021.

Basic Requirements: • A minimum of 6 full pages and a maximum of 8 pages or approximately 1500-2000

words (The Works Cited page does not count toward the page requirement). • MLA style format overall (including 1” margins, double spacing, indented paragraphs, and 12pt.

font size) • 1st and 2nd person POV are NOT allowed. • No contractions (didn’t, can’t, etc.) • Tone should be suitable for a college-educated audience. • You must include an MLA works cited page at the end of your essay. Failure to do so will

result in an automatic failing grade. • A relative freedom from errors in grammar, mechanics, and spelling Content Requirements The essay should have the following:

• An engaging introductory paragraph. For this assignment you may consider a direct quote or paraphrase from an academic source in the opening paragraph to make your opening engaging to the reader. However, the majority of the introduction should be your ideas, and the thesis MUST be entirely yours. The introduction should establish significance of topic, the issue or debate involved, and possibly the opposing sides.

• An effective and clear thesis statement at the end of the introduction that makes a clear and specific claim” and “takes a position on the issue” (McWhorter 522)

• If needed, a statement of definitions and/or background on the topic on which you are writing. This can be the first body paragraph of your essay.

o You will want to define any terms necessary for the reader that the reader may not be familiar with.

o You may provide a historical background on your topic, if appropriate.

• Unified, supported, and coherent body paragraphs that defend the thesis by providing clear and detailed reasons and evidence to support the claim and are logically organized to present the most effective argument.

• A rebuttal: one of the body paragraphs (usually the last one before the conclusion) can be a rebuttal, which acknowledges of opposing views and refutes them. You may also provide opposing views throughout the body instead.

• An effective, satisfying conclusion that logically follows from the points presented. The conclusion should provide a thoughtful analysis of the relative merits of each side of the debate, according to the positions presented in your sources, followed by a final idea or proposition.

Helpful Hint: The number of paragraphs for this essay will vary according to topic and the information you include. In other words, the points above provide only a rough guide. Each of your papers will be different, depending on your topic.

Citation and Source Requirements

• At least three direct quotations and at least two paraphrases from sources must be smoothly and gracefully integrated and properly cited throughout the body paragraphs. These must effectively support the arguments in the paper and more specifically the point in the paragraph in which the source material is used. A balance of paraphrases and direct quotes should be smoothly integrated within the essay (1 to 2 quotations/paraphrases per page is reasonable). Although you may use one block style quotation, for a paper this length, short quotations (fewer than four full lines) are preferable.

• Each quotation or paraphrase MUST refer to an entry in your Works Cited list. Each entry in your Works Cited list MUST be cited in your essay. So if you have five in-text citations, there should be five Works Cited entries. You may cite a source more than once in your essay.

• All paraphrases and quotes from sources must be properly cited according to MLA style of documentation; each source MUST be used at least once. You may include more than the minimum number of quotations/paraphrases; however, overuse of source material (either quoted or paraphrased) may negatively affect your grade.

• At least ONE source should be opposed to the view you presented in your argument essay, contradicting or attempting to disprove your assertions.

• You are required to use at least five academic sources for this essay. (See “Note” below)

• At least three of the minimum five must be acquired through the databases subscribed to by PGCC’s Information and Library Services (print or electronic). To access the databases from home, click on the individual database link. Then, when prompted, enter your Owl Link username and password.

• The remaining two sources may be from the internet (using Google Scholar or similar), but you are welcome use all sources from the PGCC library. Keep in mind that if the sources are scholarly, the argument you make in the paper will be more persuasive. For this reason, feel free to use all scholarly sources if you can. In addition, please feel free to cite more than five sources. You may find six or even seven sources are necessary to establish your argument and defend your thesis.

• You may not use the following sources: Wikipedia, Schmoop, SparkNotes, Gradesaver, Bookrags, blogs, or any other “essay assistance” websites. Refer to the Essay 2 Assignment instructions and the Source Evaluation folder for clarification regarding how to differentiate a scholarly, academic source from an invalid, casual one.