Lesson 7 Essay

Lesson 7: Argument Essay

For this assignment, you’ll write a 1,600–1,800 word argument

essay that incorporates secondary sources to support

your claim about an assigned topic.

ASSIGNMENT OBJECTIVES

_ Use prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing to write

formal, college-level essays

_ Distinguish between different patterns of development

_ Apply an appropriate pattern of development to a specific

purpose and audience

_ Write effective thesis statements

_ Develop paragraphs using topic sentences, adequate

detail, supporting evidence, and transitions

_ Employ responsible research methods to locate appropriate

secondary sources

_ Quote, paraphrase, and summarize secondary source

material correctly and appropriately

_ Use Modern Language Association citation and documentation

style to reference secondary source material

correctly and appropriately

_ Apply the conventions of standard written American

English to produce correct, well-written essays

ASSIGNMENT

Topic

Choose one of the following:

_ Persuade your audience that the use of alternative

energy is beneficial and economical, or that the use of

alternative energy is expensive and as detrimental as traditional

energy sources

_ Persuade your audience that social media provides a

valuable outlet for free expression, or that social media

allows users to insult, bully, and threaten others without

any fear of punishment.

Purpose

The purpose is twofold:

_ Persuade the reader to agree with the writer’s position

(primary purpose)

_ Encourage the reader to take action on the topic (secondary

purpose)

Audience

Your audience is made up of your fellow Penn Foster classmates.

Many will agree with you, while others will disagree.

You must take a position, present evidence to support it, and

try to convince your audience through the strength of your

argument to agree with you and to take action.

Research Requirement

You’re required to use a minimum of four secondary sources

in your essay. Use Journal Entry 16 and the Argument Essay

Research Worksheet to help organize and draft your essay.

_ Use at least two articles from Penn Foster’s digital library

database, Expanded Academic ASAP.

Use at least one non-profit or government organization

(online or print). You can find links to non-profit and

government organizations in the Penn Foster Library.

_ Choose a source, but one that you’ve evaluated for

accuracy and validity.

Process

1. Applying the requirements given, work through

pages 544 to the middle of 547 in the “Prewriting”

section. Review Chapter 23 in Successful College Writing,

“Finding Sources, Taking Notes, and Synthesizing,” to

begin your research and organize the information you

find. Narrow your focus appropriately for the assigned

length before attempting to develop the essay.

2. Continue the guided writing assignment by proceeding

through the “Organizing & Drafting” section on pages

547–549. Use strategies from the patterns of development

you learned throughout the course to expand your

main points and accomplish your purpose.

Review Successful College Writing, Chapter 24, “Drafting,

Revising, and Formatting a research Project” as you

begin your draft to ensure that you’re incorporating your

sources accurately and responsibly. Remember to

include the sources you use in your paper on your list of works cited.

3. As part of your revision process, review the purpose and

requirements for this assignment. Make any changes

necessary to ensure that you’ve met the goals for this

essay. You may also find it helpful to review the grading

criteria.

4. Prepare the final draft of the essay according to the exam

submission format from the Course Information section.

Submit only the final, polished draft for grading.

Essays must be typed, double-spaced, using a standard 12-point font

and left justification. Use 1-inch margins on all sides. Each page

must have a properly formatted header containing your name, student

number, exam number, page number, mailing address, and

email address (see page 6 for an example). Name each document

using a unique file name which will help you identify the file, such as

this example: Process Analysis Johnson. Exams may be submitted in

Rich Text Format or MS Word. Preview your document before you

submit in order to ensure that your formatting is correct. You should

take care to check that the document you've uploaded is the one

containing your final work for evaluation.

SUBMITTING THE ASSIGNMENT

To submit the assignment, follow these steps:

1. Type the essay.

2. Save the document.

3. Go to your student portal.

4. Click on Take Exam next to this lesson 25020600.

5. Follow the instructions on the student portal.

PF Blue + Charcoal PF Blue + White

ENG100 ENGLISH COMPOSITIONARGUMENT ESSAY RESEARCH WORKSHEET

YOUR TOPIC

Answer the following questions; they’ll help you to focus your ideas and identify your purpose.

1. Which topic did you choose for your argument essay?

_________________________________________________________________________

2. What is your position on your topic? Freewrite for 5–10 minutes to identify and clarify your position, and to narrow your topic to a manageable level.

3. Based on your freewriting, list 3 reasons why you have taken this position.

Reason 1: _________________________________________________________

Reason 2: _________________________________________________________

Reason 3: _________________________________________________________

4. What specifically do you hope to persuade your audience to think and do?

_________________________________________________________________________

5. Write a working thesis statement that includes your topic and your claim.

_________________________________________________________________________

To review the requirements for a thesis statement, review Chapter 6 in your textbook and the video Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Thesis Statements.

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