NEWWORK

WORK ONE PERSONAL NARRATIVE

For this assignment, you will be writing a personal narrative–a story–illustrating an event or experience exemplifying gratitude. In other words, share a colorful story about an experience or event for which--either during or after the event-- you feel or felt thankful.  

An example might be writing about your experience as a senior in high school and the teacher who  helped you to achieve your goal of graduating and attending college.  Another example might be writing a story about your experience growing up in a rural community, acknowledging that it was this small, but mighty, community that made you who you are today, and for this, you are thankful.  Sharing a story about a loved one whose influence has been meaningful to you in some way, and thus, you feel so very thankful for their role in your life, or in that particular experience, would also be an example. FInally, drafting a story about any experience in your life for which you are thankful it occured would be a great topic to explore for this narrative assignment. 

Assignment-Specific Requirements:

Length: This assignment should be at least 550 words. 

Thesis : Underline your descriptive thesis statement or the point of your story.

Sources/ Evidence  Needed:  No outside/secondary sources are needed.

Page Formatting: See Appendix C - Formatting and Submitting Your Work

MLA  Requirements: See Formatting your Essay: MLA 8th Edition

WORK TWO PERSUASIVE LETTER

For this assignment, you will be writing a letter compelling a friend or family member to change either a behavior or a belief with which you disagree. Choose your own topic, but for example, this letter could petition an enthusiastic neighbor to scale down his blinding Christmas decorations, an immature cousin to take a gap year between high school and college, a grandparent to vote to pass the new school district budget, a friend to stop drinking, or a spouse to reconcile with an estranged sibling. Because the letter will be written to an individual of your choosing, you must tailor your  language  and  logic  to the person to whom you are writing. 

Assignment-Specific Requirements:

Length: This assignment should be at least 750 words. 

Thesis : Underline your  thesis statement  or the main  claim  of your letter.

Sources Needed: None required.  Cite  if used, following  MLA guidelines . 

Page Formatting: Use  MLA guidelines .  Also add an opening salutation (e.g. Dear Sarah, or Hello, Jon.), and a closing salutation & signature (Best regards, Tom or Sincerely, Liza)

MLA  Requirements: See  Formatting your Essay: MLA 8th Edition

WORK THREE COMPARE AND CONTRAST

For this assignment, you will be writing a  compare / contrast  essay–an  exploratory  piece of writing in which you attempt to show readers how two topics are similar, different, or a combination of the two: both similar and different. Whether you  focus  exclusively on comparing, exclusively on contrasting, or a mix of both, is totally up to you. However, regardless of which approach you decide to take, you will want to include a strong  thesis / claim statement , at least three effective  supporting points , and a streamlined  point-by-point organizational strategy . 

Assignment-Specific Requirements:

Length: This assignment should be at least 750 words. 

Thesis : Underline your  thesis statement  or the main  claim  of your essay.

Sources Needed: Two reliable and  credible sources  are required for this assignment. Be sure to use  MLA guidelines  for all in-text and  Works Cited  citations. 

Page Formatting: See  Appendix C - Formatting and Submitting Your Work

MLA  Requirements: See  Formatting your Essay: MLA 8th Edition

WORK FOUR ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

For this assignment, you will be writing an argumentative essay–a piece of writing that requires you to take a position, what rhetoricians call a  claim , on a debatable topic (that is, a topic with more than one side). Specifically, you will present a  policy claim  where you argue for or against a change of some kind. This  claim  should be supported by reliable, credible  evidence  (i.e.  scholarly sources ) backed by research.  In addition to presenting your  claim , you will also need to acknowledge the other side, which is called the  counterargument . For this assignment, you may choose your own topic or select one from the list below.

Assignment-Specific Requirements:

Length: This assignment should be at least 750 words. 

Thesis : Underline your  thesis statement  or the main  claim  of your letter.

Supporting Points : plan to develop at least three strong  supporting points  to accompany your  thesis  and at least one  counter . Each supporting point should equate to at least one  body paragraph . 

Sources Needed: The essay should integrate at least four reliable and  credible sources , to help prove the argument for or against a policy change.  Be sure to use  MLA guidelines  for all in-text and  Works Cited  citations. 

Page Formatting: See  Appendix C - Formatting and Submitting Your Work

MLA  Requirements: See  Formatting your Essay: MLA 8th Edition