BIG QUESTIONEssay Assignment 2015

Prompt

You are to argue and analyze, in a well-supported essay, the answer to your big question.

Use 3-4 artifacts as support in this essay.

Artifact evaluation

Over the course of the year, you have selected 6 artifacts that support and answer your big question in some way. Now, you need to evaluate your artifacts. Select the 3-4 artifacts that you feel best develop a cohesive and persuasive answer to your big question.

Your aim is to use two in-class texts AND one or two correlatingout of classartifacts.

Essay Organization

Using these 3-4 artifacts, illustrate the overarching answer to your big question. This becomes your thesis statement. Your thesis must be arguable. It cannot be an observation or fact.

Each assertion is a building block of your thesis. The artifacts that you select to put in each body paragraph should support both your assertion and your thesis. Think of your assertions as the foundation that holds up your argument.

The artifacts are used as the PROOF to explain why your answer is correct.

Next, explain how and why the artifacts support your answer (thesis) and what you have learned (without saying “I”). Each paragraph should explain how the artifacts helped to deepen, challenge, or expand your understanding of the question.

Finally, you want to leave your audience satisfied with your answer. Don’t leave your audience asking “so what?”

Your conclusion must restate your thesis, review the points in your body paragraphs, and offer a closing statement that wraps up your argument.

You must include a works cited page that lists in alphabetical order all of your sources you’ve used to complete the essay (AKA your artifacts).

Your essay must be written in 12 pt. font; have your name, class period, and date; and have a creative title that is centered at the top of the paper.

You must complete the steps of the essay and the essay itself on their due dates. Failure to do so will result in your grade being lowered.

Essay Format

Below is the essay’s format and guidelines. The number of sentences is a general idea – you may end up writing more; you should rarely write less. Also, the order of the sentences is a general idea; as you write, you may find that certain ideas will flow better if you arranged them differently (this is true of all paragraphs but the introduction).

Introduction:

1. Reveals your QUESTION/topic to your reader. This does not have to be in question format. [1 sentence]

2. Explains WHY you selected your question and how your understanding of it developed over the course of the year. [2 sentences]

3. Includes a thesis, which is your final conclusion or answer to the question. Your thesis must be an argument. [1 sentence]

Sample Question: How do human instincts and desire for power impact our decisions?

Sample Thesis: It is human nature to strive for power and when faced with an opportunity to

achieve this goal, humans will modify their morals and beliefs to reach it.

Body Paragraphs: (Repeat the format for both body paragraphs)

Body Paragraph #1 -APEPEC

  1. Begins with an assertion that argues the first component of your thesis. [1 sentence]
  2. Background details and introduction of your first artifact. [1-2 sentences]
  3. Lead-in, quotation, and in-text citation for the first artifact. [1 sentence]
  4. Explanation as to why this artifact supports your thesis (the main conclusion of your question). [2-3 sentences]
  5. Transition into and introduction of your second artifact with background details. [1-2 sentences]
  6. Lead-in, quotation, and in-text citation for the second artifact. [1 sentence]
  7. Explanation as to why this artifact supports your thesis (the main conclusion of your question). [2-3 sentences]
  8. Closing sentence as to how both artifacts tie together and support the same assertion and ultimately your thesis. [1 sentence]

Body Paragraph #2 - APE

  1. Begins with an assertion that argues the second component of your thesis. [1 sentence]
  2. Background details and introduction of your third artifact. [1-2 sentences]
  3. Lead-in, quotation, and in-text citation for the third artifact. [1 sentence]
  4. Explanation as to why this artifact supports your thesis (the main conclusion of your question). [2-3 sentences]
  5. Closing sentence and transition into your conclusion.[1 sentence – omit if you add a 4th artifact]

*#6-9 – PEC:BELOW IS OPTIONAL (include if your third artifact is not strong enough to stand on its own merit).

  1. Transition into and introduction of your fourth artifact with background details. [1-2 sentences]
  2. Lead-in, quotation, and in-text citation for the fourth artifact. [1 sentence]
  3. Explanation as to why this artifact supports your thesis (the main conclusion of your question).
  4. Closing sentence as to how both artifacts tie together and support the same assertion and ultimately your thesis.

Conclusion:

The conclusion should do the following:

•Restate your thesis (answer to the big question) in new words. Don’t repeat these words verbatim. [1 sentence]

•References your main arguments and leads into the “so what?” question. Why we should care about your big question. [2-3 sentences]

In-text Citations:*

  • Direct quotes and paraphrases from your artifacts require in-text citations.
  • The author’s last name and the page number should be included in the citation (Golding 12).

Short Prose Quotations: When quoting short passages of prose, use the following examples:

Lord of the Flies is characterized by the "loss of humanity and the return of savagery" (Smith 263).

According to Smith’s study, college acceptances in 2015are more likely to be influenced by “social media postings” than ever before (184).

Internet Quotations: When quoting a passage from the internet, use the following examples:

Dystopian literature focuses on the “social disparity or class inequalities” of a futuristic society (“Famous Dystopian Works”). [No author listed on website; used article title instead]

Famous works like 1984 and Brave New World, “have encouraged a resurgence of dystopian novels, movies, and commercials” (Smith). [author list on website]

*You do not need to list page numbers or paragraph numbers for internet articles (unless they are provided and are standard for everyone)

Multiple Authors: When quoting a passage from a work with multiple authors, use the following example:

The authors state "Romeo and Juliet is the greatest love story of all time" (Jones, Wilson, and Walter 76).

Long Quotations:

  • Place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks.
  • Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indentedone inchfrom the left margin;
  • Maintain double-spacing. Your in-text citation should comeafterthe closing punctuation mark.
  • When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks. (You should maintain double-spacing throughout your essay.)

For example, when citing more than four lines of prose, use the following example:

Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration:

They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78)

*adapted from the Purdue OWL writing lab; please visit

Works Cited Page:

Begin your Works Cited page on a separate page at the end of your research paper.

Label the page Works Cited (do not italicize, bold, or underline the words Works Cited) and center the words Works Cited at the top of the page.

Citations are listed ALPHABETICALLY on the works cited page by the author’s last name (or the title of the article, if the author is not provided).

Double space all citations, but do not skip spaces between entries.

Indent the second and subsequent lines of citations to create a hanging indent.

The entries on your works cited page should directly match and connect to the in-text citations. This is non-negotiable.

Work Day & Feedback:

We will not have access to computer labs or laptop carts due to the SOLs. In lieu of this, you will have a work day to brainstorm, outline, and/or hand write a draft of your essay. You may choose to bring in your own laptop or tablet that day to use.

If you need help with your essay, you need to schedule an appointment with me before Friday, May 15th.

Turnitin.com Procedures:

Use the turnitin.com handout from class to ensure that you properly submit your essay to Turnitin.com.

Plan ahead. All essays must be submitted on time. Technology failures will not be excused. This includes computer crashing, losing a file, internet accessibility, power loss, etc. You will receive a late grade deduction for failing to submit your essay on time (applies to both first and second submissions).

Essays must be complete and final. This is not a draft. This is to identify unintentional or accidental instances of plagiarism and allow you to correct any such instances before your essay is graded.

The essay must submitted by 11:59 p.m. on May 22nd. The portal closes at midnight.

If your essay is deemed original and plagiarism free by Turnitin.com, you will not be required to submit a second version.

Due Dates:

May 18th: Workday in class. No computers available. Bring your own laptop, bring your printed essay to work on, or hand write your essay.

May 22nd: Submit your final essay to Turnitin.com by 11:59 p.m. This is a final, complete essay. If your essay is found to meet the plagiarism and citation requirements, no other action from you is needed. You are done with your big question project.

May 22nd, May 26th, and May 27th: Meet with Mrs. Lowry to review proper citation techniques, research rules, and MLA style. This is only required if your essay is flagged by Turnitin.com for plagiarism issues.

May 27th: If Turnitin.com finds that you have plagiarism issues, you need to resubmit your essay to Turnitin.com by 11:59 p.m.

Grading & Rubric:

The Big Question Essay is worth 50% of your final exam grade.

Missing deadlines will result in a grade deduction of 10% per class day.

Your teacher is happy to provide feedback to you, but you need to make an appointment before May 15th for help.

The rubric is determined by the county and is provided as part of this packet. The guidelines in this packet provide the organization for the essay. Refer to the rubric on how exactly you will be graded. Submit your best work at all times.

Turnitin.com:

Block 2: Class ID: 9949660Enrollment Password: lowry2

Block 4: Class ID: 9952435Enrollment Password: lowry4

Turnitin.com Guidelines:**

How to enroll in turnitin.com:

  1. To register and create a user profile, go to and click on the Create Account link on the homepage.
  2. The new user page will open; follow the directions on this page to help you create your user profile. To create a profile, you must have a class ID and an enrollment password (see above).
  3. Your class will show up on your homepage. Click on the name of your class to open your class portfolio.

Submitting a paper by single file upload:

  1. Start by clicking on the class name you would like to submit to after logging in to Turnitin.
  2. Click on the Submit button to the right of the assignment name
  3. Select single file upload from the choose a paper submission method: pull down menu
  4. Once the requirements for single file upload have been reviewed, students have a choice to upload a file from:
  5. the computer
  6. Dropbox
  7. or Google Drive
  8. Click one of the submission buttons and then select the file you would like to upload.
  9. Fill in the submission title field with the title.
  10. Click upload to upload the file. A status bar will appear displaying the upload progress.
  11. Review the preview panel. This is a text only version of the paper being uploaded. Confirm it is the correct version of the file to send.
  12. Click the "submit" button. Warning:This step must be completed, or the submission is not finished. The paper will not be available to the student or the instructor

After the submission has been completed on step 7 a digital receipt is displayed on screen. A copy is also sent via e-mail to the address for the user login. Save the receipt and the paper ID it contains, as this is proof of a completed submission.

The digital receipt contains a unique paper ID number, the name of the user profile submitting, the paper title given by the submitting party, the assignment title, and the e-mail address for the user submitting, as well as the body text of the file submitted.

Cut and Paste Submissions:

The cut and paste submission option allows users to submit information from non-supported word processors or file types.

Please note that only text can be submitted via the cut and paste method - any graphics, graphs, images, and formatting are lost when pasting into the text submission box.

Submitting a paper by copy and paste:

  1. Start by clicking on the class name you would like to submit to after logging in to Turnitin.
  2. Click on the "Submit" button to the right of the assignment name.
  3. Select "cut & paste upload" from the "choose a paper submission method:"" pull down menu
  4. Fill in the submission title field and copy the text from the text document. This must be done from a word processor able to open the file you wish to submit content from. Do not manually type an entire paper in the copy/paste field, which could cause the user login to time-out, losing all the entered data.
  5. Tip:To cut and paste text, highlight the text of a paper in a word processing or text editing program and select copy from the edit menu. To transfer the text into your browser, place your mouse cursor in the text box of the submission page and select "paste" from your browser’s "edit" menu.
  6. Click "submit" to complete the cut and paste submission of the text pasted into the content box.

*By default, students cannot see their own Originality Reports. IF you see the text “Not Available” instead of an originality report icon in your portfolio, then your instructor has disabled the ability for students to view Originality Reports for this assignment. If you would like to see your report, contact your instructor.

**Instructions provided by Turnitin.com. Please see their website for additional help or contact your instructor BEFORE the due date if you run into problems.

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