Topic: Three Reasons Why You Should (Not) Text and Drive
Order Description
The Argument follows the same organization as the Exposition: that is, it follows the “composition sandwich” format. However, it has some special features that must be included to be effective. The essay on pg. 52 of Collegiate Reader, “Violence Begets Violence,” is the best example of the format that I will be asking you to follow for this essay. It is also in the lesson with other excellent examples of this type of essay. You should have the book open to that essay for reference and see how it follows the outline for argument that is required and explained below.You should also look at the examples on the site.
First, you should choose a topic that is controversial in that it clearly has two opposing viewpoints like abortion or capital punishment. You are to choose only ONE side and to support that side with MANDATORY quoted facts, quoted expert testimony, and emotional appeals. Think of yourself as an attorney or a debater. You will not include your personal views, hypothesis or conjecture; rather your task is to present the objective evidence and experts and then add emotions to your cause. Evidence, experts and emotions are the three e’s of argument. Include all three in your essay. Here are tips on writing your paper:
First, include a title like Three Reasons Why You Should (Not)____________________.
In your paragraph of introduction, you will assert your position and use the words “should” or “should not” as the key words of the thesis statement. Please underline these key words for easy reference. For example, you might assert: You should not smoke cigarettes because …” This identifies the issue and the side that you are taking on that issue. (Be sure to assert a position not to ask a question.) Now, you should complete the statement with a preview of the three reasons why you should not smoke cigarettes: “because smoking causes lung cancer, emphysema, and heart disease.”
Each body paragraph must now begin like this example:”The first reason why you should not smoke cigarettes is because it causes lung cancer.” The second paragraph will begin “The second reason why you should not smoke cigarettes is because…..”; then “The third reason you should not smoke cigarettes is because….” Please highlight these topic sentences in color and the thesis as well.
Each paragraph of the body can now be supported by one or more of the three e’s of argument: evidence, experts and emotions. The paper should include all three. The evidence you include in the body paragraphs will be the quoted source material including facts, statistics, and objective data from studies that you will have researched for the essay. The experts will include quotes from knowledgeable sources and known experts (not you) in the field. Finally, you can include emotional language such as “smoking is a killer.”
Your MANDATORY researched and expert sources should be directly quoted and you should include an informal bibliography at the end to give your sources credit. Failure to credit your sources is an academic violation (see plagiarism).Do not include more than 25% research that is quoted or paraphrased from other sources.
The best advice I can give on this assignment is to choose a topic that has a strong research base like: “You should not drink and drive because…; You should buckle your children up in your car because…; You should breastfeed your children because…;We should have Spring Break at MDC because…. “Avoid religious or political topics because they tend to be too personal and subjective. Avoid personal reference unless you are an expert working in the field. Make sure that your whole essay can be reduced to: You should (not) _______because of these reasons: 1________2_______3________. If you can’t think of a topic, Google “debate topics” or look at: http://www.idebate.org/debatabase/
The research and experts statements can come from the MDC library databases like Academic Search Premier (see MDC Library’s “Find Articles” link at http://www.mdc.edu/kendall/library). An especially good source is a Gale database we purchase called Opposing Viewpoints. From the Gale box put in the password kendallcampus (all one word lower case) and then find the database in the list. We also have Issues and Controversies in the Linkweb database (use your MDC ID card’s number to login to Linkweb).
Alternatively, you can go to:http://www.google.com and use both the web search and the news search to find articles and information. Finally, you can use any news service like: http://cnn.com or http://www.msnbc.com to use as your research database.
Be sure to quote research and experts and to include your sources at the end of the paper. You should not have more than 25% of your paper from external sources.
Please conform to the following in submitting your essays.
Put your name on the right hand corner of the first page and tell me the class you are in (ENC 1101 or 1102) and the assignment name (Exposition, etc.) and the date.
Use 14 point text. Double space between paragraphs and single space the paragraphs themselves. Make sure that you include a title which has important words in capitals. No quotes are needed when the title is on the work. Quotes are only necessary when a work is referred to elsewhere.Do NOT use the outline form: it is only an aid for your draft.
Be sure to indent your paragraphs. We are NOT using block style. That’s for business letters. Make sure that you have (only) five paragraphs in all.
Save your work in a filename that is your name and the assignment. For example, Ralph Gomez would save his file as gomezr_argument.doc. This tells me the both name and the assignment. Doc format is Microsoft Word. Even if you don’t have that program, you can probably choose to “save as” in .doc format. The second choice is to “save as” in .txt (text) format.
All essays must be submitted into the class Drop Box. To get full credit, you must submit by the end (final due) date. Most of the time I leave the box open for a few days afterward, but I assess a late penalty, usually a letter grade.
Our dropbox isinside our class shell at the bottom of this lesson. You do not need a separate login.
If research is required in the essay, then you must quote it in your paper and include a source list at the end of the paper.
Finally, make sure that your essay has not left out any of the structural elements of the essay. You can be sure by using the outline form for your draft which is in Contents. Use it for your draft only; when you submit your essay, it should be in paragraphs as in the example below:
Your Name
ENC 1102
Sept. 20, Year
Title Goes Here (no quotes necessary)
Begin your essay with an interest statement to capture the reader’s attention. This is followed by some transitional device that brings the reader to the thesis and its key words. These key words are then made specific with a three part preview that will drop into the essay as though it says: 1___,2____,3_____.
Begin the first body paragraph with a transitional device connected to the first topic sentence you mentioned in the preview above. This topic is then supported with at least four more sentences of support. This topic is then supported with at least four more sentences of support. This topic is then supported with at least four more sentences of support. This topic is then supported with at least four more sentences of support.
Begin the second body paragraph with a transitional device connected to the second topic sentence you mentioned in the preview above. This topic is then supported with at least four more sentences of support. This topic is then supported with at least four more sentences of support. This topic is then supported with at least four more sentences of support. This topic is then supported with at least four more sentences of support.
Begin the third body paragraph with a transitional device connected to the third topic sentence you mentioned in the preview above. This topic is then supported with at least four more sentences of support. This topic is then supported with at least four more sentences of support. This topic is then supported with at least four more sentences of support. This topic is then supported with at least four more sentences of support.
Last, your clincher goes in the fifth paragraph. Here is where you restate all of the supporting details of the body and refer back to your thesis statement. If you follow this format in all of your essays for this class, you should do just fine!
Title:____Three Reasons Why You Should (Not)
I. Interest Statement: _________________
Transition: ______________________________________________________________,
Thesis Statement (circle keywords): ___You should (not) fill in here because of these three reasons: , , and .____________
Preview: ________________________________________________________
II. Transition: ._______________________________________________________,
Topic Sentence: _The first reason you should (not) _______________________is because ____________________
Supporting Sentences: _________Evidence, expert testimony, and emotional appeals go here. Make sure to put quotes around any material that is from sources and to give endnotes that document the source at the end.___________________
III. Transition: .__________________________________________________________,
Topic Sentence: ____The second reason you should (not) _______________________is because .______________________________________________________
Supporting Sentences: ________Evidence, expert testimony, and emotional appeals go here. Make sure to put quotes around any material that is from sources and to give endnotes that document the source at the end.______________________________________________
IV. Transition: ______________________________________________________________,
Topic Sentence: _The third reason you should (not) _______________________is because ._________________________________________________________
Supporting Sentences: _______Evidence, expert testimony, and emotional appeals go here. Make sure to put quotes around any material that is from sources and to give endnotes that document the source at the end._______________________________________________
V. Transition: ______________________________________________________________,
Clincher Statement with Postview:_________For the three reasons stated above, you should (not) do this action. ____________________________________
Sources: ________________________________________________________________
Remember to write at least 5 sentences per paragraph. Highlight your thesis statement, each topic sentence and clincher ( and reading reference for ENC 1101).
