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Argumentative Essay

Total Value: 11%


Due Date: 7/21/10 by 5:50 p.m., in the D2L drop box, on the due date; if the drop box records a 5:51 p.m. submission, the paper is one calendar-day late. Expect to lose 10% for each calendar day the paper is turned in late. Must be turned in as a MS Word DOC or DOCX file. Consult the syllabus for all turn-in requirements and associated penalties.

Background: While working on this essay, keep in mind that because the English Department Final Examination is worth 33% of your final course grade, and the departmental standard form for the final examination is a five-paragraph essay, all your major essays (Essay 1, Essay 2, and Essay 3) for this course will be in that same five-paragraph essay format. Approaching the major projects in this manner will help to prepare you for the final examination. Basically, from day one of the semester, we will practice the skills on which you will be graded with regard to the final examination.
General Requirements:

  • Page count: 450 words minimum to 550 maximum, in exactly five paragraphs. If your essay falls short of or exceeds the required word count, or if it does not follow the required paragraph-count, the grade will certainly suffer.
  • Work closely with all the lectures and course materials, and especially Lecture 2 and Lecture 7, all of which are available on D2L.
  • This essay is an analysis of the cause(s) and effect(s) of a particular problem or issue, so make certain that the essay has a thesis, which should clearly define the cause(s) and effect(s) your paper will focus on. The thesis must be the final sentence of the introductory paragraph. We will spend time on this during class.
  • Choose your topic ONLY from the list below, for to do otherwise would result in a substantial penalty against the grade your paper can receive.
  • Use the formatting guidelines established during class lectures and Lecture 2.
  • Pay attributions to any sources you engage to learn about the subject of your paper, but do not include MLA-type in-text citations, and do not include a works cited type page.
  • For proper attributions to sources, work with Lecture 7, which covers the lectures on attributions that took place during class meetings.
  • Remember to title your essay, but do not use the name of this assignment. In other words, no part of your essay's title should read "Essay 3," or "Argumentative Essay.
    •
    Prompt: From the list of topics below, choose ONE, and then figure out which argument you will write about. The paper must have a very strong thesis, or it will not set up a strong argumentative essay. The thesis is a major part of the paper for students to craft carefully because in terms of what grade your paper can receive, much weight will be given to how well the thesis is crafted.

    Moreover, in terms of the thesis statement, I strongly suggest a review what constitutes an argumetative thesis statement. The two best sources to revisit are the "More on Thesis Statements" section of "The 5 Paragraph Essay Format," and "Strategies for Taking the Final Examination." The latter should be reviewed because students will be asked to compose the very same type of essay on the final exam as they are being asked to compose for this argumentative essay. Working with that strategy now will help you to receive a higher grade on the final examination, as well as this argumentative essay.

    It is difficult to imagine that a student could do well without paying very close attention to "Lecture 2" for formatting requirements and for academic prose requirements.

    MLA Style Guidelines:
    We will use MLA Style Guidelines only for formatting of your assignments, but not documentation and research. For more about documentation and research, see the information below. On the D2L content tree, I have provided you with a few links to MLA Style Guidelines, and you are expected to engage them to the point where the formatting of your assignments follow MLA Style. Work with these links, and especially
  • "Paraphrase: Write it in Your Own Words"
  • "Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing"
  • "Lecture 2: Formatting and Academic Prose: Read This Before Turning in Any Work"
  • "Lecture 4: TurnItIn.com: Plagiarism Detection Software"
  • "Lecture 7: Research, Documentation and Attributions to Sources"
  • "The 5 Paragraph Essay Format"


    • Moreover, work with these materials for the duration of the semester. Papers that negotiate MLA skills poorly will receive lower grades.
    Grammar, Punctuation, and General Writing Skills: Understand that grammar and punctuation are a very important factor that determines the grade your paper can receive. Consult the syllabus for information on the SMARTHINKING service. Even so, I have included some information here:
    SMARTHINKING Online Tutoring Service:
    SMARTHINKING is an online tutoring service that Temple College makes available at no cost to its students. SMARTHINKING provides tutoring in writing. Tutoring is available 24/7. With SMARTHINKING you can:

  • Connect with an e-structor and interact with a live tutor.
  • Submit your Writing for any class to their Online Writing Lab.
  • Submit a Question and receive a reply from a tutor.
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    Topics to Choose From (Choose ONLY ONE, and make certain it is from this list):
  • Argue whether global climate change is caused by human actions.
  • Argue whether the death penalty is effective.
  • Argue whether our presedential election process is fair.
  • Argue whether colleges put too much stock in standardized test scores.
  • Argue whether curfews keep teens out of trouble.
  • Argue whether beauty pageants are exploitive.
  • Argue whether students should be allowed to grade their teachers.
  • Argue that ONE particular past athlete (choose one former athlete to focus on) had a major influence on future athletes and/or the sport(s) they played.
  • Argue whether the government should have a say in our diets.
  • Argue whether there are benefits to attending a single-gender school.
    •
    Due Date: 7/21/10 by 5:50 p.m., in the D2L drop box, on the due date; if the drop box records a 5:51 p.m. submission, the paper is one calendar-day late. Expect to lose 10% for each calendar day the paper is turned in late. Must be turned in as a MS Word DOC or DOCX file. Consult the syllabus for all turn-in requirements and associated penalties.