Elements of the Argument Paper Unit
This term we will compose a MLA-formatted, academic argument. Argumentative writing can help you think through issues and hone your persuasive skills. You will also practice evaluating sources and work with academic citations to help you to begin to enter the larger academic conversations going on around the world.
For this assignment, you will be able to choose your own topic. You will be working with the topic for several weeks, so I strongly recommend that you choose something that you already find interesting. You can choose something very specific, like a local law or rule, or a more general topic of world interest, like issues regarding climate. Remember if you choose a more general/generic topic, you will need to find a creative approach to narrow it, so you can create a coherent, whole argument about it. An approach like “How laws affect the climate” is too broad for such a short paper and will hinder your writing process. Focusing on a specific issue within the general topic will help you develop a strong position from which to explore and a connection to your readers.
At the end of the unit, you will turn in a 4-6 page essay (out of 60 points), a 3-entry annotated bibliography (out of 30 points), and a genre translation of the argument (out of 60 points). We will talk more about each assignment as the unit progresses.
This unit necessitates outside research. To facilitate both the collecting of research and the completion of the projects, we will complete 6 research assignments. The research assignments will be pass/fail. As long as you do the assignment on time and as described, you will receive the points. The extra credit for this unit will be the possibility of completing up to 2 additional research assignments. Please see the schedule below. Assignments are marked with a (t) if they need to be typed, an (r) if you can repeat with another source for extra credit.
Topic ExplorationDue Jan 25/26
Source EvaluationDue Jan 30/31 (r)
Annotated Bibliography 1 entryDue Feb 2/3 (t,r)
Audience ExplorationDue Feb 6/7 (r)
Annotated Bibliography 1 entryDue Feb 13/14 (t)
Thesis Statement/Outline Due Feb 16/17
Last day for extra creditDue Feb 21/22
Paper/Annotated Bibliography DraftDue Feb 23/24 (t)
Final paper/annotated bibliographyDue Feb 27/28 (t)
Genre Translation and vocabDue March 2/3
One more thing: Vocabulary—We will be working with vocabulary words weekly. I will offer 5 ACT/SAT words the first day of the week. You will create a list of 20 words from the class list and/or from your research/reading. The list will include the word, the definition, and a sentence which uses the word. From those 20 words, choose at least 5 to use in your everyday life. At the end of your list, write a couple of sentences which indicate how you used the word. For example, last year we had a word of the week. The word was defenestrate which means to throw out a window. One student said to his mother, “do you know what would happen if I defenestrated this butter? . . . I’d make a butterfly.”