English 1302

Essay #3: Argument and Proposal

Choose Your Own Adventure

Important Dates

Sunday, November 8 (11:59 p.m.)—research plan/first two sources source due

Sunday, November 15 (11:59 p.m.)—Annotated Bibliography due

Sunday, November 15 (11:59 p.m.)—draft due for Peer Review (four typed pages)

Thursday, November 19 (11:59 p.m.)—review peer’s draft

Sunday, November 29—final draft due

Essay Prompt

Research writing often involves posing a question but not necessarily knowing the answer. That’s part of the fun of writing and research—you can gain new insights and explore paths you never imagined. So, for Essay #3, you will Choose Your Own Adventure!

As we have already discussed in class, research and persuasive writing have a much more powerful impact when they have “real-world” implications and contexts. For Essay #3, your argument and proposal essay, you will be choosing a “real-world” problem to make an argument about and propose a solution for. As much as possible, try to pick a topic that is relevant or of interest to you. For instance, maybe you plan to become a nurse and would like to understand more about current healthcare reforms. Perhaps you plan to become a teacher and would like to explore the most current research on teaching students with dyslexia. In this assignment, you will pick a specific rhetorical context (purpose, audience, and context) to help you determine your role and voice. For instance, if you pick the topic of dyslexia, you might write it from the perspective of a parent of a dyslexic student addressing the local school board. Whatever topic you choose, I urge you to begin with a research question, think about a potential solution to the problem, and take on a specific role as a writer. And I hope that you will see this as an opportunity to Choose Your Own Adventure!

This is a very broad topic, and your first task will be to narrow it down as much as possible. Generally, in research and writing, the narrower the topic, the better. While I will not ban topics, I reserve the right to guide you away from certain topics that are clichéd or overused. I urge you to pick a fresh topic and provide interesting new insights. No matter the issue, you will complete the following tasks:

• Pick a specific problem or issue with real-world implications.
• Research more in depth this issue, take a side, and formulate an argument.
• Feel free to take on a specific real-world role rather than writing from just an academic perspective.
• Suggest a proposal (or solution) to deal with this issue. In short, you are writing a persuasive paper about the issue and then suggesting a solution to the problem.

Criteria

A successfully written paper will contain the following components:

• Length of the paper should be at least eightpages, typed, doubled-spaced, and with proper formatting and heading.
• A strong thesis statement that makes clear your argumentative claim about your chosen research topic.

• Focus on a specific, narrow issueand, perhaps most importantly, an issue you truly care about.
• Both an argument taking a side on this issue and a specific solution or proposal.
• Use of at least six sources. At least five of your sources need to be from the library research databases and one can be a credible Internet source. At least one source must also be a peer-reviewed (scholarly) article from the databases. You may also use the essays in our textbook, but these will not count as any of your six sources.
• Research Proposal/First Sources. On Sunday, November8, I would like you to submit a brief description through Canvas (one paragraph, typed) of your project for me to review. At this point, I will let you know if you are on the right track. This description should include:
  • the specific focus of your essay
  • why you want to explore this particular issue
  • a working thesis
  • the role you will take on in this writing
  • any problems or questions you may have about the issue or the assignment
  • your first two sources.
• Inclusion of all aspects of persuasive writingand academic argumentsthat we have covered this semester (rhetorical situation, ethos, pathos, logos, structure, organization style, evaluating sources, audience, proposals, claims, evidence, etc.).
• At least one example each of formal, simple, and partial attribution. Other than that, there is no requirement on the number of direct quotes and/or paraphrases you should use. However, remember that this is a lengthy research paper, so you should use plenty of evidence.
• Use of the MLA Quick Reference Guide and near-perfect use of direct quotes and Works Cited entries.
• Clear evidence of revisions in each stage of your writing. In other words, your rough draft and final draft should not be the same exact paper.
• Use of strong grammar, punctuation, and spelling to the best of your ability. Make sure you use a dictionary and your handbook to help you write your paper. I will be grading for correct grammar, style, and punctuation.
• Completion of an Annotated Bibliography for this project, which isdue on Monday, November 16.Separate guidelines for this assignment will follow.
• Participation in Peer Review. On Sunday, November 15, we will have a peer review workshop online. Please submit your draft by 1:00 p.m. on this date, and complete your review of your classmate’s draft by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, November 19. You must have at least four typed pages and a Works Cited page on this day. Not having a draft on this day and participating in peer review will result in lost points on your final grade.
• Final draftswill be due on Canvas by 11:59 p.m. onSunday, November29. Please retain any prewriting, rough drafts, peer review, and sources in case I need to review them.

Parting Words

I have purposely left the topic for this essay very broad in the hope that each of you will find an issueyou are truly passionate about; there is a lot of opportunity here for you to pick a topic of interest to you.Remember that the whole purpose here is to Choose Your Own Adventure! That said, this is an assignment that could quickly spin out of control because it is so involved and due to time constraints. I am not requiring conferences with me, though I strongly urge you to consider making an appointment to discuss your draft. I have built in due dates throughout the writing process to help you stay on track, but the responsibility for this assignment falls on your shoulders. Get an early start, work on it often and diligently, and let me know immediately of any issues. Remember that this entire project (essay +annotated bibliography) counts for 30% of your English 1302 grade. Good luck, and I look forward to your essays!