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| What kind of fallacy is this, oh students of mine???! |
We're in the home stretch!
This is the last essay assignment for the semester, and it's a whopper. You'll be writing an argumentative essay. Argumentative essays differ from narrative, expository, or analytical essays fundamentally in that you're writing to take a stand, to persuade your audience to accept a particular position, to convince your audience of a particular argument. Although in previous essay genres you're also making a point, the emphasis in argumentative essays is to make and prove an argument with convincing evidence and sound, logical reasoning. The purposes and requirements for this essay, therefore, are quite different from those for the previous essays.
Your assignment is going to be to choose and issue and make a claim. This will be your thesis. Successful claims are supported with reasons and evidence (which tend to come from scholarly sources!). Good arguments also address (and perhaps refute) opposing viewpoints. These are the things I'll be looking for while grading your paper.
Want a more detailed list? Here's a RUBRIC.
Feel free to choose your own topic, but be sure to choose something that is a claim (meaning that there are two sides) and that it's something specific enough that you'll be able to address in three to five pages. Here are a few examples of possible topics:
Should drug tests be mandatory for high school athletes?
Should it be legal to burn an American flag?
Should the FBI be able to use racial profiling in terrorist cases?
Is the death penalty a good deterrent of crime?
Was the US justified in military action against Iraq?
Should states pay for social services to illegal immigrants?
Should homosexual couples be allowed to adopt children?
OR, think about the following topics and brainstorm an "issue" related to it:
Professional sports (e.x -- should professional that test positive for steroids be inducted into the hall of fame? Should athletes with criminal records be allowed to play?)
College policies (Should colleges go tobacco free? Should colleges use affirmative action in admissions decisions?)
Cell phones (Should texting while driving be made illegal? Should students be allowed to carry cell phones in high school?)
Movie ratings (Should minors be allowed to watch R rated movies? Should movie theaters kick out people who text/talk on their cell phones?)
Presidential campaigns (Should corporations be allowed to back presidential candidates financially? Should we eliminate the electoral college?)
Have an idea for another topic? Feel free to ask!
Final due date November 25th.
Mini-Due Dates!
Thesis Statement: 10/28
Annotated Works Cited: 11/6
Rough Draft I 11/13 (To Smartthinking/CLE)
Rough Draft II 11/15 (3 copies to class for peer review)
Revised Drafts 11/25
Video Clip for today's lecture
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