ACADEMIC ESSAY: A PLACE IN THE COMMUNITY



ARGUMENT ESSAY/PROJECT THREE/ENGLISH 1A/UTSLER/FALL 2014

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GENRE

Academic Essay: Write a well-organized and supported policy claim argument. Name and define a specific challenge. Discuss causes and effects of the challenge. Name, define, and argue in favor of (or against) a specific policy for helping to address this challenge. (You may also discuss causes and/or effects associated with the policy.) Provide multiple points and high quality evidence to support your argument; appeal to logos, ethos, and (within limits) pathos. Raise and address counterarguments. Incorporate uses of at least five high quality library database sources in your argument. The essay requires MLA format including in-text citations and a works cited page.

AUDIENCE

Direct: Supportive, wavering, and hostile readers from academic research disciplines and professional communities associated with this issue.

Indirect: English department faculty (including Professor Utsler)

PURPOSES

Direct: To inform readers about the selected challenge (name, definition, examples,

causes, and effects of challenge)

To provide already supportive readers with additional reasons for supporting

(or defeating) this specific policy.

To persuade wavering readers to support (or defeat) this specific policy

To persuade hostile readers to consider your position with respect

Indirect: To demonstrate effective applications of selected course concepts and

meeting of selected course objectives (as discussed in class)

course objectives

EFFECTIVENESS: ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

When assessing this essay, your professor considers English department grading standards (listed in the syllabus) as well as the following questions:

1. Context: To what extent does the essay reflect appropriate attention to audience, purpose, genre, and tone?

2. Title: To what extent is the title appropriate and effective?

3. Introduction: To what extent is the introduction effective and engaging?

4. Thesis Statement: To what extent does the thesis statement provide a clear and specific overall contract with readers? To what extent does the essay fulfill this contract with readers? Is the thesis statement effectively placed?

5. Topic Sentences: Do body paragraphs feature effective topic sentence uses?

6. Supporting Details: To what extent does each body paragraph feature successful, informative, and convincing uses of supporting details?

7. Rhetorical Strategies: To what extent does the essay feature successful uses of multiple, highlighted rhetorical strategies (required: argumentation, definition, causes, effects, exemplification/suggested: process analysis, narration, description, classification, compare/contrast, and/or other strategies as appropriate)?

8. Source Uses: To what extent are source uses effectively integrated in the essay? To what extent does the writer correctly follow MLA format when documenting sources in the essay (in-text citations) and at the end of the essay (works cited page)? (Academic dishonesty results in a failing grade; please see the syllabus for details.)

9. Order of Ideas/Transitions: To what extent is the overall essay organized effectively? To what extent is each paragraph organized effectively? To what extent does the essay feature effective ordering of ideas? To what extent does the essay feature effective transition uses?

10. Conclusion: Does the conclusion begin with a successful restatement of the thesis statement? Does the conclusion provide satisfying closure for the essay?

11. Sentence-Level Considerations: To what extent does the essay feature effective sentence-level choices (clear word usage, sentence variety, and helpful punctuation uses)? To what extent does the essay avoid grammatical and punctuation errors which interfere with successful communication of ideas?

12. To what extent does your essay reflect attention to the assignment sheet, course instruction, class activities and course readings?

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