MLA Format 3 pages (double spaced), not including the Works Cited page In-text citations in the body of the ? Works Cited page

AEH Division 1

ENGL 1213: Composition II Value: 200 points

Essay 1: Classical Argument Essay Purpose of Essay The purpose of Essay 1 is to further expand on your argument abilities gained in Composition I. In Composition I, the final assignment is the Classical Argument. This is one of the most important structures in academic discourse. It cannot be mastered in one go. Reflect back on your strengths and weaknesses with your first Classical Argument and write a new argument using the same structure from Composition I.

Requirements The essay should include the following: • MLA Format • 3 pages (double spaced), not including the Works Cited page • In-text citations in the body of the essay • Works Cited page with your credible sources • A minimum of three sources properly developed Works Cited page and in-text citations

Tasks to Complete To complete this assignment, you should

• Reflect: Think back on what you did well on in the first attempt of the Classical Argument in Composition I. What were some of your strong points? Why do you think so? Also, think about your weak points. Why did you not do so strongly in some areas? What can be done this time to make the essay better? You must submit a reflection technique as part of the final essay grade.

• Utilize invention techniques: Before writing the essay, begin identifying your issue through a series of invention techniques, including but not limited to the following: brainstorming, listing, clustering, questioning, and conducting preliminary research. You must submit invention techniques as part of the final essay grade.

• Plan and organization your essay: After the invention process, it is important to begin planning the organizational pattern for the essay. Planning includes gathering and evaluating sources, identifying your thesis, establishing main ideas (or topic sentences) for each paragraph, supporting each paragraph with appropriate evidence, and creating ideas for the introductory and concluding paragraphs. You must submit evidence of a planning process as part of the final essay grade.

Grade for this Essay

20% grade for the Of the overall course

Think back on what you did well the first time you wrote a Classical

Argument.

Complete the invention strategies.

Planning and organize your

essay.

Write a rough draft and

complete revision exercises

Submit a polished, academic level essay using MLA

citation and format

AEH Division 2

• Draft and revise your essay: Once you have completed the planning process, write a rough draft of your essay. Next, take steps necessary to improve, polish, and revise your draft before turning it in for a final grade. The revision process includes developing ideas, ensuring the thesis statement connects to the main ideas of each paragraph, taking account of your evidence and supporting details, checking for proper use of MLA citation style, reviewing source integration, avoiding plagiarism, and proofreading for formatting and grammatical errors.

Skills This assignment helps you practice the following skills that are essential to your success in school and your professional life beyond school. In this assignment you will:

• Access and collect needed information from appropriate primary and secondary sources • Synthesize information to develop informed views to produce and refute argumentation • Compose a well-organized, Toulmin argument to expand your knowledge of a topic

Prompt In Composition I, you wrote about a belief system and took a position about a part of the belief. If you did not do this in Composition I, think back on what you believe you did well the last time you wrote a Classical Argument.

In Composition II, think the research problem you selected in the Research Proposal. Using the information discovered during the research proposal assignment, there needs to be an examination of a larger debate where you takes a side in the argument, defend their stance with credible evidence, examine the counter points, and propose solutions to the problem.

Criteria for Success A summary of the grading criteria for this assignment can be found in the table below. For detailed criteria, see the assignment rubric.

Category Description Points Mechanics Students will communicate using academic language and conventions of

Standard American English. 35

Formatting Students will format an essay utilizing MLA style formatting. 25 Critical Thinking Students will demonstrate the ability to think critically to analyze,

critique, and draw reasoned conclusions. 45

Organization Students will present information in a unified and coherent manner. 50 Content Students will write an essay that responds to all parts of the prompt. 45

Total 200 pts.

EAH 1

Classical Argument Outline

RHETORICAL SITUATION:

Purpose: Compose a Classical Argument essay that aims to persuade your audience by using evidence and research to back up your thesis.

Audience: Peers with an opposite or indifferent viewpoint to yours

Subject: Issue that is debatable and arguable

Thesis: Arguable, Specific (problem), Feasible (solution). See pages 110-113 in Let’s Get Writing!

INTRODUCTION:

The introduction will provide a very brief overview of the issue, capture the reader’s interest, and state the arguable thesis. Consider the following questions to gather the information needed for this paragraph:

• Consider using a quote, statistic, or an interesting fact to catch reader’s attention and establish context of persuasion (appeal to pathos)

• Briefly describe the problem with the issue that you are going to address (background and context)

• Why is this issue important? (engage the audience) • If your argument proposes a solution, you may want to hint at it here. • Usually, the thesis statement comes at the end of the introduction. Remember, the

thesis must be arguable (readers can agree or disagree with it), describe a specific problem, and offer a feasible (workable) solution.

EAH 2

BODY SECTIONS:

NARRATION/BACKGROUND:

What is the history of your topic/issue/claim? Give the audience essential background information. Provide research sources for anything that isn’t common knowledge, especially when providing statistics.

• Begin maybe 5-10 years ago with your topic. What are some key events, topics, ideas (or people) that have happened to make your issue debatable and something to argue?

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• Define key words in your position statement that will help convince your audience to believe the way you do. Think about defining at least two words in your claim/position statement. 1. Do you need to redefine or clarify any terms that have specific meaning in this

context? For example, what does “institutional racism” mean, and what does it mean in the context of higher education?

PARTITION:

The partition is like an expansion of your thesis statement before you begin your detailed argument. It is typically one to two paragraphs.

• Provide a larger overview about your position on the issue, the exact problem you see and your proposed solution.

• Give specifics and provide support from outside sources as needed.

EAH 3

ARGUMENT:

Develop your argument by creating a list of specific reasons (subclaims) that prove your position. Before you write this section, consider the following:

• As you develop your subclaims, consider the warrants (principles/laws of society) and assumptions (shared values/beliefs) of your audience. Make sure your subclaims appeal to what you have in common with your audience. This will make your argument much more convincing.

• Each reason will become a paragraph with a clear topic sentence; each paragraph will need outside sources to support the subclaim (data, statistics, expert opinion, etc.)

• Aim to provide a balance of ethos (objective and fair support), logos (factual information), and pathos (human interest/emotion).

• Be careful to avoid unsupported assertions: opinions without outside support to validate their truth. Ex: “Most people don’t like to spend a lot of money” is an assertion that will need outside support in order to be accepted by readers.

Quick Brainstorm Activity: What warrants and assumptions does my audience share with me? Try to identify at least two and use them to help develop your subclaims.

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Argument Section Body Paragraphs:

Think back to your brainstorming list above and develop paragraph topics that are subclaims for your thesis. Try to create subclaims that appeal to the commonly shared values you considered in the brainstorming list you just created.

Use as many subclaims as needed to thoroughly argue your position. Each subclaim will become the focus of a paragraph and should be reflected in the paragraph topic sentence.

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EAH 4

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REFUTATION OR COUNTEREVIDENCE:

What are some major objections to your claim? In other words, what are some reasons your audience might disagree with your thesis? Explain why your audience could be wrong, and how you are right. Maybe they just need more information; maybe you need to remind them of shared warrants/values. Maybe an objection contains a logical fallacy that you can reveal. Remember to keep your tone neutral. Don’t confront or condescend to your audience. Consider using logos and ethos more heavily in this section.

• Objection 1:

§ Explain why this is wrong/your suggestion is better:

• Objection 2:

§ Explain why this is wrong/your suggestion is better:

• Objection 3:

§ Explain why this is wrong/your suggestion is better:

Conclusion:

• Briefly, and without repeating yourself, restate the specific problem and your claim. • Summarize your main points, being careful to not add any new subclaims • You may consider ending with an emotional appeal such as a call to action, asking

readers to consider what may happen if your solution isn’t accepted, or providing a humorous observation to lighten the mood.