Temple College: We're here for a reason . . . IT'S YOU! Temple College: We're here for a reason . . . IT'S YOU! Temple College: We're here for a reason . . . IT'S YOU!
Essay 2: Argumentative

Total Value: 14%


Due Date:

8-Week Internet Class: 9/26/11 by 11:59 p.m.
16-Week Hybrid Class: 10/27/11 by 11:59 p.m.

If the drop box records a submission time of even one minute late, the turn-in is late. Expect to lose 10% for each calendar day the paper is turned in late. Must be turned in as a MS Word DOC or DOCX file. Consult the syllabus for all turn-in requirements and associated penalties.

Background: While working on this essay, keep in mind that the English Department Final Examination is worth 33% of your final course grade, and the departmental standard form for the final examination is a five-paragraph essay, so to help you prepare for the final examination, all your major essays for this course will be in that same five-paragraph essay format. Basically, from day one of the semester, we will practice the skills on which you will be graded with regard to the final examination.
General Requirements:

  • Word count: 450 words minimum to 550 maximum, in exactly five paragraphs. If your essay falls short of or exceeds the required word count, or if it does not follow the required paragraph-count, the grade will certainly suffer. Moreover, the word-count requirement refers to only the words in your paragraphs, not the title or any other part of your essay.
  • Work closely with all the lectures and course materials, and especially Lecture 2 and Lecture 7, all of which are available on D2L.
  • This essay is argumentative, so make certain that the essay has a thesis that takes an unmistakably clear stand on your topic, and make certain that the thesis is the final sentence of the introductory paragraph.
  • Use the formatting guidelines established by the syllabus and Lecture 2.
  • Pay attributions to any sources you engage to learn about the subject of your paper, but do not include MLA-type in-text citations, and do not include a works cited type page.
  • For proper attributions to sources, work with Lecture 7.
  • Remember to title your essay, but do not use the name of this assignment. In other words, no part of your essay's title should read "Essay 2," or "Argumentative Essay," or anything of the like.
  • Do not use humor in your title or in any other part of your essay. Academic essays are formal business.
    • Prompt: From the list of topics below, choose ONE, and then figure out which argument you will write about. The paper must have a very strong thesis, or it will not set up a strong argumentative essay. The thesis is a major part of the paper for students to craft carefully because in terms of what grade your paper can receive, much weight will be given to how well the thesis is crafted.

    There is an additional grading criterion for essays 2 and 3 than was the case with the first essay of the semester.

    Basically, I have set this course up so that the final two essays are very close in structure to the skills you will be asked to demonstrate on the final examination.

    The final two essays are argumentative in nature and five paragraphs in length. The final exam is argumentative in nature and five paragraphs in length.

    The upshot is that the last two essays represent two opportunities to practice what you will be asked to do on the final examination. The difference, of course, is that on the final exam you will be asked to compose the essay in a two-hour timed format.

    What is different, then, about essays 2 and 3 and the final exam when compared to essay 1 is the thesis and the subsequent focuses of the body paragraphs.

    The thesis statement in these final two essays should contain three items of focus, like a list. Those three items of focus become the focus of each of your body paragraphs. If, for example, you are writing about tobacco companies and believe they should be held accountable for the damage they do to people's health, the final part of your thesis should include three reasons why they should be held accountable. Each of those reasons will become the focus of a body paragraph.

    This is an important skill our department is looking for students to demonstrate in the final examination, and I want you to demonstrate that skill in these last two essays. It will be a part of the criteria over which I grade these last two essays. By practicing this from now until the end of the semester, you will stand the best chance of taking the final exam with your stress level low and your confidence level high.

    The next thing you should do is review the handout, "Strategies for Taking the Final Examination," very carefully. When you are finished, read it again. Put the handout away for a day and then read it again. Return to it often. It really is your key to doing well on essays 2 and 3 and the final exam.

    It is difficult to imagine that a student could do well without paying very close attention to "Lecture 2" for formatting requirements and for academic prose requirements.

    MLA Style Guidelines:
    We will use MLA Style Guidelines only for formatting of your assignments, but not documentation and research. For more about documentation and research, see the information below. On the D2L content tree, I have provided you with a few links to MLA Style Guidelines, and you are expected to engage them to the point where the formatting of your assignments follow MLA Style. Work with these links, and especially
  • "Paraphrase: Write it in Your Own Words"
  • "Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing"
  • "Lecture 2: Formatting and Academic Prose: Read This Before Turning in Any Work"
  • "Lecture 4: TurnItIn.com: Plagiarism Detection Software"
  • "Lecture 7: Research, Documentation and Attributions to Sources"
  • "The 5 Paragraph Essay Format"


    • Moreover, work with these materials for the duration of the semester. Papers that negotiate MLA skills poorly will receive lower grades.
    Grammar, Punctuation, and General Writing Skills: Understand that grammar and punctuation are a very important factor that determines the grade your paper can receive. Consult the syllabus for information on the SMARTHINKING service. Even so, I have included some information here:
    SMARTHINKING Online Tutoring Service:
    SMARTHINKING is an online tutoring service that Temple College makes available at no cost to its students. SMARTHINKING provides tutoring in writing. Tutoring is available 24/7. With SMARTHINKING you can:

  • Connect with an e-structor and interact with a live tutor.
  • Submit your Writing for any class to their Online Writing Lab.
  • Submit a Question and receive a reply from a tutor.
    •
    Topics to Choose From:
  • Argue whether global climate change is caused by human actions.
  • Argue whether the Bush tax cuts are good for the U.S. economy.
  • Argue whether our presedential election process is fair.
  • Argue whether ONE of the following would be a good candidate or a poor candidate for President in 2012: Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, or Rick Perry.
  • Argue whether the U.S. should provide foreign aid.
  • Argue whether the war on drugs should be continued or abandoned.
  • Argue whether camera on city streets should be enabled with facial-recognition software.
  • Argue whether the U.S. should be able to decide whether Iran should have a nuclear program.
  • For Essays 2 and 3, I am making additional topics available to you. Although you may still choose from the topics on this essay assignment prompt, you may also choose from any of the assignned homework readings we have discussed or will discuss this semester in any Weekly Discussion Board # 1. Even so, you can only write about a given topic in ONE of the essays. I hope everyone enjoys having these additional topics to choose from.
    •


    Due Date:

    8-Week Internet Class: 9/26/11 by 11:59 p.m.
    16-Week Hybrid Class: 10/27/11 by 11:59 p.m.

    If the drop box records a submission time of even one minute late, the turn-in is late. Expect to lose 10% for each calendar day the paper is turned in late. Must be turned in as a MS Word DOC or DOCX file. Consult the syllabus for all turn-in requirements and associated penalties.