ENGL 1101: Researched Argument

In this unit you will write a Researched Argument. In this essay, you will pick an argumentative topic (which we’ll discuss in class) and argue your own point of view about it, using your research sources to back you up or as something to argue against. Your paper may be a Position Paper, Problem-Solution, Cause-Effect, Definition, or Refutation. But either way, you will be making definite arguments about your topic.

Specifications

• The essay length should be four pages of text, plus Works Cited page, as a minimum.  

• Use and cite at least four secondary sources (written, “library-type”--expert opinion, statistics from published studies, etc.). Don’t focus on the minimum—do enough research to write a solid, well thought-out essay on the topic

• Consider also including any primary research appropriate to the topic (interviews or surveys that you conduct). Don’t focus on the minimum—do enough research to write a solid, well thought-out essay on the topic.

• Make sure the essay is a type of argumentative essay, as we discussed in class.

• Go beyond surface-level thinking. Answer the “so what?” question. Get to meaning, significance, connections, consequences, causes, solutions, or whatever would be appropriate for your topic and for how you’ve decided to narrow the topic (your angle).

• Use MLA documentation, covered in the Writer’s Reference. For every idea that did not come from your own head originally, cite the source by author’s name and page number, and include the source on your Works Cited page. Cite every source you use, whether you quote from it or paraphrase/summarize it.

• Remember and follow the rules for correct quoting and correct paraphrasing/summarizing. Avoid accidental plagiarism!

• Include a Works Cited page which lists all the sources you actually use in the essay.

• For written sources, you must include in your packet “source copies,” Xeroxed or printed copies of each page from which you quote or paraphrase, so that I may check your quoting and paraphrasing. Label each copy with the author’s name at the top and highlight the section you quoted or paraphrased.

If you do not turn in the source copies, then I will not accept the essay. In that situation, you may get the copies and hand them in with the essay, late, with the appropriate penalty for lateness.

• Use a binder clip to fasten all the material together in this order: Letter to the Reader on top, then final copy with its Works Cited page, then the source copies. Next will be the peer workshop drafts, other drafts, and planning, etc.
• Make sure you submit the final draft to TurnItIn.Com by midnight on the essay packet’s due date.