English 102 Unit 5&6

Final Draft Guidelines

This assignment will culminate in the submission of your final draft of the research-based essay you’ve been working on all semester. Make sure to follow all of the guidelines below as you work on the final draft. Note that this draft’s length is slightly longer than your first draft’s length was during the last unit (1500 words for this final draft, 1000 for the rough draft) and draftll be (1000 words for this draft, 1500 for the ch-based essay. Make sure to follow all of the guidelines below as you the minimum source requirements are slightly higher for your final draft than your rough draft (7 for this final draft, 5 for the rough draft).

Guidelines for Final Essay Draft:

· Your essay’s final draft must have a fully developed introduction and conclusion. The introduction should set up the larger context for your topic, and its final sentence should be an argumentative thesis statement that provides direction for your essay as a whole. Your conclusion should restate that argument, and it should provide the reader with any final thoughts on the subject, tying together any of the points from your essay that need to be tied together.

· Your essay’s body paragraphs should provide the reader with a point-by-point analysis of your larger argument. Support the argument that you establish in the introduction with clear, specific points that are supported in turn by specific source-based evidence.

· Please take into account any comments that I have on your rough draft before finishing your revision. I will be grading the rough drafts early this week, so you should have plenty of time to look through the comments and revise your drafts accordingly.

· All factual information that is not common knowledge must come from a source.

· All sources must be properly documented. This includes ANY information that comes from ANY source, whether it is directly quoted, paraphrased, or summarized. Failure to accurately cite your sources both in text and on the Works Cited page WILL result in a failing grade for plagiarism.

· Your essay draft should be a minimum of 1500 words, excluding the Works Cited page. If your essay is not 1500 words in length, you will receive a 0 on the assignment.

· All essays must be typed following MLA style requirements. They must be double spaced in Times New Roman font size 12. Margins should be set to one inch on all sides.

· You should center your title after the heading. It should give your reader a clear idea of not only what your topic is but also what your argument about that topic is.

· Your essay must incorporate a minimum of seven sources. All seven sources must be scholarly in nature. Talk to me if you need help identifying scholarly sources. Including non-scholarly sources will adversely affect your grade.

· If you have questions please ask me before the essay draft is due. I do not accept “I didn’t know how to do it,” as an excuse after an essay is turned in. If you have questions it if your responsibility to come talk to me. Feel free to email me at any time with any questions you may have.

Suggestions for Revision/Editing:

· Read through the draft of your essay focusing only on your argumentation. Ignore all other concerns (structure, editing, citations, etc.) You’ll find that this will help you pick up on things that might have been lost if you were trying to focus on everything at once. Repeat this with a focus on each relevant portion of the essay (grammar, citations, source integration, etc.)

· When looking to expand your word count from 1000 words to 1500 words, consider adding a section to your essay that establishes a counterargument and then refutes that counterargument. Provide analysis of some opposing viewpoint on your topic, and then give a rebuttal, showing the reader why that opposing viewpoint is incorrect or invalid. Make sure to support both the existence of this viewpoint and your rebuttal with source-based evidence (this can also help you get to the increased source total).

· Double check all citations. Make sure that all of your source material has been fully integrated (taglines for direct quotes, etc.) and that all source material, whether paraphrased or quoted is cited both in-text and on the Works Cited.

· Double check your formatting for the paper and the Works Cited. You can look at the sample essay at the back of the MLA section of your Writer’s Resource Handbook. Compare your essay to that, and make sure that both are formatted in the same manner.

· When you begin the editing process, read your essay aloud. This often forces you to notice mistakes that you might have skimmed past when reading in your head.

· Try reading your essay backwards, beginning with the last sentence and working your way back to the first. This allows you to focus on each sentence on its own, without getting bogged down in the flow of your argumentation.

· Feel free to reach out if you want more insight into your draft and my comments on it or if you want me to review any revised material related to your essay. I’ll be happy to help in any way that I can.