Description
Argumentative Essay Assignment SheetWhat is it? In this type of assignment, you take a stand on a particular topic that is debatable. You present a clear and strong thesis statement in your first paragraph to assert your position on the topic. You then provide strong, logical evidence that supports the validity of your argument throughout your paper. However, you will not research this topic. Consider your audience! Who is the intended audience of your paper? Knowing your audience is essential to making a strong argument. Ask yourself the following: What does your audience value and believe? For the purposes of this assignment, you are going to assume that the audience disagrees with your stand. Keep this in mind when writing the paper. Your argument is going to be more convincing if you show that you have taken the situation of your audience into account.How will their interests be affected by the issue? In other words, why should your audience care about this issue? This question can also be broader—why should anyone care about this issue? What kind of evidence will be most effective with them? Your evidence will be based on your personal experience and that of one of the articles included in the module. DO NOT RESEARCH or PLAGIARIZE! If you have questions about this, ask! Even short passages taken from an outside source will constitute plagiarism.For this essay, you may write in either first or third person point of view. However, you will avoid “I feel” or “I believe” or “I think” statements. Do not write in second (you, your, you’re). What are the requirements?Your argumentative essay will include the following:
1. You will select a topic from those listed in the module using the articles and you will include directly quoted passages from the article you select in your essay as evidence. When using passages from the article, quote them and introduce them fully using the author’s name and the title of the article as shown in the example in the module.
2. Have a clear thesis with a topic, how you feel about it, and why (see the examples in the module).
3. Include all of the important details—who, what, where, when, and why.
4. Include evidence from your own experience as well as evidence from an article in the module.
5. Include refutation—what is the opposition likely to say? This is where you will note what those against your argument are likely to counter-argue. You will then refute this argument and state why it is not as strong as your own stand. Remember to make it clear this is refutation and not your stand.
6. Conclude with a summation of the essay and perhaps a question or idea that leaves the reader with something to consider.
An example outline to help you with your writing would be the following:INTRODUCTION: Usually first paragraph but could be first two paragraphs. Make your introductory paragraph interesting. How can you draw your readers in? What background information, if any, does the reader need to know in order to understand your claim? Give your thesis at the end of the introductory paragraph and make sure it includes the topic, what you will argue about it (your stand) and why. NEXT: SUPPORTING EVIDENCE PARAGRAPH: Usually this is one paragraph but it can be longer. What is one item, fact, detail, or example you can tell your readers that will help them better understand your claim/paper topic? Your answer should be the topic sentence for this paragraph. Introduce your evidence either in a few words (As so in so states in the article from the module.) What supporting evidence (reasons, examples, personal examples, examples from the article you selected) can you include to prove/support/explain your topic sentence? Explain Evidence: How should we read or interpret the evidence you are providing us? Remember, this is
personal evidence or evidence from the article but not researched evidence. How does this evidence prove the point you are trying to make in this paragraph? Link this evidence to your thesis.SUPPORTING EVIDENCE PARAGRAPH #2, 3, 4 or however many paragraphs you use for evidence (at least 2). Repeat above. COUNTERARGUMENT PARAGRAPH or REFUATION: PURPOSE: To anticipate your reader’s objections; make yourself sound more objective and reasonable. Usually 1-2 paragraphs. What possible argument might your reader pose against your argument and/or some aspect of your reasoning? Insert one or more of those arguments here and refute them. End paragraph with a concluding sentence that reasserts your paper’s claim as a whole. Make it very clear that this is what the opposition would think and not what you are asserting. CONCLUSION: Remind readers of your argument and supporting evidence. Restates your paper’s overall claim and supporting evidence. How long should it be?At least 2 full pages. This is a minimum requirement that you must meet. You may always go over the minimum but never under. It must be turned in on time; (you are allowed one late essay for the semester, but it will receive a one
letter grade reduction).
Your paper will be set up in MLA style as shown in the paper layout power-
point in the module.
How will it be assessed?
The rubric gives the details on this. You can also review the sample essays
in the text and modules.
Option 1: For your argumentative essay, read the following and respond to it using a clear
thesis, background information, definition of the topic, proofs, and refutation (as explained in
the power-point and the textbook). You will not research this topic. Instead, you will respond
to this article. You will use directly quoted passages from the article for support. You will
document these passages by introducing the author’s full name and the title of the article on
first reference and then using the author’s last name after the quoted or summarized passages
in parentheses like this (Richie). These passages should represent a very small percentage of
your essay. Your words should take up more than 80% of the essay’s two-page minimum. As
always, set this up as you have all previous assignments in MLA style.
Technology is supposed to make us more connected. We can stay in touch with our friends all the
time on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, and, of course, by texting. But are our smartphones
actually getting in the way of real socializing? Could technology be making us more alone?
In the article “
Disruptions: More Connected, Yet More Alone,” Nick Bilton writes about a
YouTube video that comments on our smartphone-obsessed culture.
Last weekend, I was watching television with a few friends, browsing the week’s most popular
YouTube videos, when a piece in the comedy section called “I Forgot My Phone” caught my
eye. As I was about to click play, however, a friend warned: “Oh, don’t watch that. I saw it
yesterday, and it’s really sad.”
The two-minute video, which has been viewed more than 15 million times, begins with a couple
in bed. The woman, played by the comedian and actress Charlene deGuzman, stares silently
while her boyfriend pays no mind and checks his smartphone.
The subsequent scenes follow Ms. deGuzman through a day that is downright dystopian: people
ignore her as they stare at their phones during lunch, at a concert, while bowling and at a
birthday party. (Even the birthday boy is recording the party on his phone.) The clip ends with
Ms. deGuzman back in bed with her boyfriend at the end of the day; he is still using his phone.
Ms. deGuzman’s video makes for some discomfiting viewing. It’s a direct hit on our
smartphone-obsessed culture, needling us about our addiction to that little screen and suggesting
that maybe life is just better led when it is lived rather than viewed. While the clip has funny
scenes — a man proposing on a beach while trying to record the special moment on his phone —
it is mostly … sad.
Students:
Tell me …
– Does technology make us more alone? Do you find yourself surrounded by people who
are staring at their screens instead of having face-to-face conversations? Are you ever guilty of
doing that, too?
– Is our obsession with documenting everything through photographs and videos
preventing us from living in the moment?
– Do you ever try to put your phone down to be more present with the people in the room?
– Do you have rules for yourself or for your friends or family about when and how you use
technology in social situations? If not, do you think you should?
– Do you think smartphones will continue to intrude more into our private and social
spaces, or do you think society is beginning to push back?
Make sure to Argument Review, please
1.Opening:Must be enticing and draw the reader in. How can a writer do this? What methods can be used? The Seven Parts of Argument:
2. Definition of the topicThis is needed only when the topic needs to be defined. For instance, if I am writing an argument stating country living is better than city living, I must define what each is.
3. I may need background information.Again, if I am writing about country living and its benefits over city living, I need to state how I know which is best (my experience). This may be a sentence or two stating when I lived in each.
4. A complete thesis statementI must now make sure I have the three items:1.Topic (country and city living, for instance)2.My stand about them (that country living is better).3.Why? It is quieter, cleaner, more friendly.
5. My proofs (evidence)What experiences will I use to support this. I need to provide proof that it is quieter, cleaner, and more friendly. These can be personal proofs.
6. RefutationI need to include the opposition’s main points. What would the opposition of this topic say? A.There are more conveniences in the city.B.I save gas moneyC.I have more opportunityWhy do I want to include refutation? What’s the point?
7. A conclusion that is complete:It must include a summary of my entire paper and a restatement of my thesis.
