5 page paper

Essay Prompt

Instructions

-Minimum five full pages. (The essay needs to be at least onto the fifth page to be accepted.)

-12 point font size, Arial or Times New Roman.

-Submit as Word (.doc or .docx) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) document. (Canvas will not accept

any other file format.)

-MLA conventions (e.g. one-inch margins, double-spacing, parenthetical documentation).

-Include a Works Cited page (which, though paginated, will not count towards the minimum

length requirement).

Topics

For the third essay, find an op-ed (and not a letter to the editor) addressing a political or social

issue that has been published in a major American newspaper or magazine during this calendar

year (anytime from January 1, 2018 to Friday, March 16—although you should beware of

procrastinating). Using what we have discussed up to this point, argue for or against the

effectiveness of the author’s argument.

If this sounds too daunting, you may take an alternate route, which is to use the op-ed piece as a

springboard to argue your position on a political or social issue. (Whichever you choose, DO

NOT combine the two topics. Also, DO NOT simply “review” the op-ed or select any of the

reading assignments for this course.)

This will require research, and while you may consider The Fresno Bee, consider other

publications such as The New York Times, Newsweek, or The Atlantic, among others. Some

columnists to consider include Victor Davis Hanson, Maureen Dowd, or Nicholas Kristof.

Regardless of which author you choose, be sure to provide at least one outside source aside from

the op-ed itself. Also, throughout the essay, show the importance of writing about this.

Due Dates

While writing the essay, remember the following resources:

-Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

-Madera Center Library Academic Databases

(http://www.maderacenter.com/index.aspx?page=1483)

-Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com)

Checklist

Before uploading the essay, ask yourself the following questions:

-Does my essay at least reach the fifth page?

-Am I submitting the essay in Word or Rich Text Format?

-Do I credit sources within the essay properly and include the Works Cited page?

-Do I paginate my Works Cited page and make sure that it appears no earlier than the sixth page?