Online English 101: Composition
Essay #3: Researching and Arguing a Position
Length:
A minimum of 6+ (not 5.5) pages in addition to a works cited page, typed, double spaced, one-inch margins, Times New Roman 12 font. The essay will include information from four or more written sources.
Required:
MLA Format is required. Please format your papers in MLA style, using parenthetical citations for every quotation, summary, and paraphrase, with a works cited entry for all texts mentioned in the essay.
Using MLA Format, you’ll need to cite a minimum of four professional outside sources (only one can be Wikipedia or encyclopedic websites and another should come from Opposing Viewpoints if applicable). Through the li
ary homepage, find these sources in databases such as Proquest, EbscoHost, CQ Researcher, and Opposing Viewpoints.
See sample student research paper.
The Assignment:
Your topic:
Once you have chosen a topic, explore how it evolved (fructose, for example) and why as well as how it is still evolving. Consider what has impacted its evolution (laws, social trends, etc.) as well as how it has impacted society, politics, the economy, and the environment. Consider how your topic reflects American values, such as wanting it “faster, fatter, bigger, cheaper” (Food, Inc.). And undermining assumptions such as convenient, cheaper, fast, etc.
You will now be formulating your formal research paper centered on a clear thesis statement about an aspect of a topic with reasons and supporting evidence from your research. You will be writing an argument.
Congress should ban advertising that preys upon children. And then provide a forecast of key reasons to develop in the essay.
Congress should stop subsidizing dead-end jobs with federal tax money.
Congress should create a single food safety agency with sufficient authority to protect the public. Consider why the cu
ent one is stalled in the Senate.
Much tougher sanctions should be imposed on behalf of the thousands of meatpacking workers who are needlessly injured each year.
Consider the cu
ent debate in Washington state about privatizing workers’ compensation. Or the defunding of CHIP, healthcare for kids. Or the push to close abortion clinics but not make birth control affordable and accessible. Or the escalating numbers of teen suicide, with Washington state above average. The possibilities are endless.
The essay must be developed as an argument.
Your Position Paper Should Include:
A Solid Introduction Your introduction should include a thesis statement that XXXXXXXXXXsummarizes and outlines your argument and a forecast XXXXXXXXXXstatement that summarizes and outlines the reasons you XXXXXXXXXXwill offer for your position in your body paragraphs. XXXXXXXXXXPlease open the essay with a well-written hook to draw XXXXXXXXXXreaders into the topic before presenting your thesis and XXXXXXXXXXforecast statements.
Strong Evidence The use of reasons and support to justify your argument. XXXXXXXXXXEvidence should include at least four well-chosen reasons XXXXXXXXXXyou are for or against an issue based on facts, statistics, XXXXXXXXXXcitations (quotations/paraphrases) from authorities, XXXXXXXXXXscenarios, case studies, anecdotes or textual evidence.
Counter-Arguments Remember that counter-arguing involves anticipating and XXXXXXXXXXresponding to possible objections, challenges and questions XXXXXXXXXXfrom your readers. Papers should include at least two XXXXXXXXXXcounter-arguments. These should acknowledge the other XXXXXXXXXXposition’s viewpoint, then accommodate or refute these XXXXXXXXXXobjections.
A Solid Conclusion Avoid cutting off the paper a
uptly. Use summation and XXXXXXXXXXframing devices (“full circle”) to
ing the paper back to XXXXXXXXXXthe opening hook, and to explain why the topic matters. End with XXXXXXXXXXan upbeat – What can we do about your topic?
Clear Organization Organize your evidence in your body paragraphs XXXXXXXXXXusing AXES to open the paragraph with the topic XXXXXXXXXXsentence/Assertion followed by your eXamples/proof, your XXXXXXXXXXExplanation of that evidence and the paragraph’s XXXXXXXXXXSignificance to your thesis. Within your paragraphs, use XXXXXXXXXXtransitions and connectives to link neighboring ideas XXXXXXXXXXtogether.
Grading Criteria:
Central Idea Evaluated on the relevance, scope and clarity of your thesis and XXXXXXXXXXforecast statements.
Organization/ The a
angement of your ideas and how well they are connected.
Coherence The progression of your ideas through your use of cueing devices, XXXXXXXXXXtime markers, AXES and transitions.
Support Your choice of evidence (facts, statistics, examples, quotations) XXXXXXXXXXand the degree to which, and the manner in which (word choice, XXXXXXXXXXlogic, order, etc.) you employ your evidence.
Readability The use of grammar, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, XXXXXXXXXXword variety and sentence variety.
Tips:
Starting with a working thesis statement centered on the word should; begin your outline by listing your reasons for taking this position. This will give you a working outline in which to find support for your claims. Use the essay template to help map the writing.
Make your thesis and your topic sentences clear and lucid. Position papers require you to choose a side on an issue and defend it.
Remember to base your arguments on appeals to reason (logos), not appeals to emotion (pathos), religion, or character (ethos). Look for sources that will support your position with statistics, facts and examples. Avoid Logical Fallacies such as the sob story, confusing co
elation with causation, hasty generalization, and false analogy.
Don’t forget to proofread both for content and for structure. Good content can become buried beneath grammar e
ors, passive voice sentences, and overuse of choppy, simple sentences.
Please refer to the “Instructions 1” document before this one. Make sure to go over all of the documents I provided before starting the assignment. I provided an essay sample as well.
My topic of choice for the essay: Self-driving cars. Should they be legal? You can decide whether you think they should be legal or not for the essay. But choose a side and argue it.
Below you will find links to four articles you can use in the essay but add others if you would like. Make sure to use in-text citations and a works cited page MLA format. Very important.
Fleetwood, Janet. “Public Health, Ethics, and Autonomous Vehicles.” American journal of public health vol. 107,4 (2017): XXXXXXXXXXdoi:10.2105/AJPH XXXXXXXXXXhttps:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5343691
Law, Clifford. “The Dangers of Driverless Cars.” Natlawreview.com, Volume XI, Number 125, 5 May 2021, www.natlawreview.com/article/dangers-driverless-cars
Pattinson, JA., Chen, H. & Basu, S. Legal issues in automated vehicles: critically considering the potential role of consent and interactive digital interfaces. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 7, XXXXXXXXXXhttps:
doi.org/10.1057/s XXXXXXXXXX
Ryan, Mark. The Future of Transportation: Ethical, Legal, Social and Economic Impacts of Self-driving Vehicles in the Year 2025. Sci Eng Ethics 26, 1185– XXXXXXXXXXhttps:
doi.org/10.1007/s XXXXXXXXXX
Below you will find an assignment I did relating to the essay. Use it for examples on things to include in the essay if you would like.
The Abstract
In this essay, I will weigh out the pros and cons of self-driving cars and what our future generations will look like having them on the roads. There’s a big concern around the safety of these vehicles and through research I will find if SDVs will in fact be safer and more environmentally friendly.
I. The Thesis Statement
Self driving cars have the potential to save nearly 30,000 lives each year in the US by eliminating accidents caused by human e
or.
A. The pros of self-driving vehicles.
1. SDVs promise to reduce road deaths, which will reduce costs on governmental healthcare spending.
2. Around the world, autonomous cars could save 10 million lives per decade, creating one of the most important public health advances of the 21st century.
B. SDVs take the workload off of the driver allowing for commute time to be spent effectively.
1. People will be able to commute longer distances because of the comfort of SDVs, which allows moving further from work, thus reducing the strain and congestion in u
an areas.
2. Some businesses view them as offering the possibility of cutting out needless driving time, allowing people to get work done while in their vehicle.
II. SDVs have multiple benefits and promise a
ighter future for generations to come.
A. Awareness to the positives of SDVs might get more people interested in them.
1. Motor vehicle safety ranks among one of the past decade’s ten great public health achievements in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
2. President Barack Obama proposed spending $4 billion to “accelerate the acceptance” of autonomous vehicles in the United States (Alphabet, Inc. Waymo FAQ).
B. The environmental and economic benefits of SDVs outweigh the negatives.
1.