Persuasive Essay Assignment



English III Honors Research Paper

Fall 2014

Mrs. Livaudais

Assignment: Your assignment is to write an argumentative essay about a controversial/debatable topic. An argument incorporates ethos, logos, pathos, and refutation/concession. You will also need to think about voice and style for this essay. First, use a strong, assertive voice. If your voice is that of a doubter (you're not really sure you're right but you'll toss in the information anyway) or a wimp (you'll back off when the argument gets hot), your opponents will recognize right away that they have an easy victory. In a physical battle, posture tells a lot about the combatants. Your posture, shown through your voice and diction, will tell a lot about how serious you are.

Audience: Your audience is the general public.

Purpose: To convince your audience you are right while considering the other aspects of the debate.

Requirements: For this argumentative you will write a multi-paragraph essay using the classical argument structure:

1) introduction, 2) narration, 3) confirmation, 4) refutation and concession, and 5) conclusion. Even though there are five components, that does not mean you will have only five paragraphs.

Requirements:

Standard 3-5 pages with at least 3 sources

Honors 4-6 pages with at least 3 sources (interview and image optional)

Honors/AP 5-7 pages with at least 5 sources, one interview, and a graphic image

Topic and Research: You will be developing your topic. I will provide you resources to help you find what you’re interested in, but you are ultimately responsible for selecting a topic that you want to research. If you’re really stuck, consider what you want to do for a career, and find a debatable topic that’s related to that profession.

Once you find a topic, put your idea in the form of a yes/no question to make sure it is a debatable, arguable topic. To write a successful research paper, your thesis must be a pro/con topic that has two sides of the issue, and then you must take a stance for one side. Your topic does not have to be universally controversial, like abortion or the death penalty, but it needs to debatable enough that you'd have some people object to your position if you asked a room full of friends. To give your topic a test, ask a few people if they have an opinion on your topic. If you have several different, varying opinions on the topic, then it is a good issue to address. Your thesis will present your opinion on the topic, and your paper will provide evidence to prove why your position is right and everyone else is wrong.

The Process: After you find a topic and select a position to argue, start doing research. Find reliable sources and take notes that will help support your thesis. Collect your notes on the Annotated Bibliography that I provide you. Next, find ways to organize your material around claims that you make supporting your position. After you have your information, draft an outline to guide you during the writing process. Use the outline to give you some direction and focus, but it’s okay if you vary from that outline during the writing process. Finally, start drafting your essay. Worry about the in-text citations after you’ve finished the first draft. Have a peer edit your rough draft (or your teacher) and then start editing your paper. Write the Works Cited page and polish off the final draft.

Organizing the Argument:

Formal arguments are arranged in the following manner to successfully convince the reader of the writer’s position.

The introduction: Your goal is to capture your audience’s interest, establish their perception of you as a writer, and set out your point of view for the argument. You might capture interest by using a global hook that entices the audience to read your essay. After the hook, you need to include some background information. The last sentence of the introduction should be your thesis statement that takes a position on the topic in one sentence without personal pronouns.

In the narration you want to establish a context for your argument in a paragraph or two – no more. You need to explain the situation to which your argument is responding, as well as any relevant background information, history, statistics, and so on that affect it. Once again, the language with which you describe this background will give the audience a picture of you, so choose it carefully. By the end of this section, the readers should understand what’s at stake in this argument–the issues and alternatives the community faces–so that they can evaluate your claims fairly.

The confirmation section allows you to explain why you believe in your thesis. It takes up several supporting claims individually, so that you can develop each one by bringing in facts, examples, testimony, definitions, and so on and cite those facts correctly. It’s important that you explain why the evidence for each claim supports it and the larger thesis; this builds a chain of reasoning in support of your argument. This is the main body of your essay and could be three or more paragraphs – one for each claim with logos to support that position.

The refutation and concession is sometimes a hard section for writers to develop–who wants to think of the reasons why an argument won’t work? But this can often be the strongest part of an argument, for when you show an audience that you have anticipated potential opposition and objections—and have an answer for them—you defuse the audience’s ability to oppose you and persuade them to accept your point of view. If there are places where you agree with your opposition, conceding their points creates goodwill and respect without weakening your thesis, but refuting them is key. This counterargument should appear ¾ of the way through your argument and be addressed with solid evidence to refute the opposing side. The counterargument does not have to be long; in fact, a sentence or two is fine – enough to allow the reader to see that you’re aware of the opposing argument. It may start with “Some may say” or “While others may oppose.”

It’s tempting in the conclusion just to restate the claims and thesis, but this doesn’t give a sense of momentum or closure to your argument. Instead, try to harken back to the narration and the issues–remind your readers what’s at stake here, and try to show why your thesis provides the best solution to the issue being faced. This gives an impression of the rightness and importance of your argument, and suggests its larger significance or long-range impact. More importantly, it gives the readers a psychological sense of closure–the argument winds up instead of breaking off. Try to end your argument with something original to leave the reader with a new idea that supports the argument.

Here are some rules:

1. NEVER use the pronoun “you.” Limit your use of other personal pronouns. This is not a personal narrative.

2. Use active verbs instead of being verbs like AM, IS, WAS, WERE, BE, BEING, BEEN.

3. Use the present tense.

4. Your paper should be more commentary than concrete details. Do not use more than 1-2 quotes per paragraph. The paper is supposed to be written by YOU. The quotes are to support your writing. Blend concrete details with commentary so that the sentence flows. Do not start or end paragraphs with concrete details. Use the first sentence to introduce the topic of the paragraph with commentary. Use the last sentence of the paragraph to transition into the next claim AND support your thesis.

5. If you use a source in your paper, you must cite it and you must include it on the Works Cited page. If it’s on the Works Cited page, it must be in your paper. Your Works Cited page should serve as a resource for the reader to find additional information.

6. Avoid sentences that start out with THERE IS, THERE ARE, etc.

7. Must never say: “In this essay…” or “In conclusion this essay has….” This is called “addressing the reader,” and you don’t want to do that.

8. Don’t use “etc.” in a formal paper.

9. Always use a title and try to select something that tantalizes the reader. Be creative!

10. Follow MLA guidelines to format your essay. Use 1″ margins, 12-point font, and Times New Roman.

11. All numbers should be written out except dates or large amounts of money, such as $35 million.

12. Double space, and don’t put additional spaces between paragraphs.

13. Put your creative title at the top of your essay on the first page and center it. Don’t put it in all caps and don’t underline it.

14. Put your name, the date, and the hour in the upper right-hand corner of the essay. Insert your last name and the page number at the top of the page (Insert( Page Number ( Top of Page)

15. Use two hyphens with no spaces—as in this example—to represent a dramatic pause.

16. Put your commas and periods inside of the quotation marks. (There are a few exceptions, but do it this way if you have a doubt and you’ll be right 98% of the time.)

17. Proofread for run-ons, fragments and other flagrant grammatical errors.

18. Don’t use exclamation points. Don’t ask questions. (Just tell me the answers ()

19. Omit apostrophes if possible by avoiding contractions like don’t, can’t, etc.

20. Avoid clichés like the plague. (Note: The example is a cliché)

21. Revisit your topic multiple times to ensure that you stayed on the topic throughout your paper in every paragraph. Include a counterargument ¾ way through the paper.

Due Dates:

Monday, October 27th -- Topic Proposal with three reliable sources

Thursday, November 6th -- 5 sources (AP) or 3 sources (H)due (Last day to change your topic)

Wednesday, November 12th – Rough drafts and Annotated Bibliography Due

Monday, November 24th – Final draft due (Hard copy Only)

Rubric will be released prior to October 28th

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