English 124 Current Event Essay 3 Prompt
For your third paper you will be required to write an essay at least
8 pages long
building an argument based on one of the topics covered in Chapters 18-20, 23-25, or the Classic
Arguments section of your textbook. Choose which chapter you wish to use, draw evidence
from the readings in that chapter, and make a persuasive argument of your own based on the
chapter’s topic. These chapters and classic arguments give you a wide range of choices for
topics, so choose the one you find most interesting.
Your essay needs to be clear and unified under your thesis. Make sure to include specific
evidence from the articles you read, to show how and why you analyzed the articles the way you
did in your essay. Make sure to review the section in your textbook on proper MLA citation for
any quotes or paraphrases you use from your outside source.
Make sure to use one or more
sources outside the book to support your argument.
Grading Criteria
Successful papers will have:
- A developed introductory paragraph, with a clear thesis.
What argument will you
make about the topic you have chosen? What key evidence will you
use for support?
(10 points)
- Well-supported, unified body paragraphs with specific examples that reinforce your
thesis. Evidence must support the position taken in your introduction.
Essay must
demonstrate the student’s own thoughts about the topic, supported
by the articles they read from the chapter they selected.
(80 points)
- Student must describe and refute at least one counterargument to their essay.
(10 points)
- Smoothly integrated quotes from the book and one or more outside source. (10 points)
- A conclusion that summarizes your main point, and offers a final thought about the value
of your argument. (10 points)
- Your paper will also be thoroughly edited for sentence-level errors. If you have any
questions on sentence structure or grammar, visit the Writing Center, or see me in my
office. (5 points)
Total points: 125
- What is the writer’s thesis? Quote it. Does it state the writer’s topic, and their argument position on the topic?
- Does their introduction identify the article or articles from the chapter that they used to analyze their subject? What are they? Does the introduction identity their main evidence areas?
- Does the writer explain how their evidence supports their thesis? Which evidence point was the most persuasive and why?
- What were the original ideas or points the writer made that you thought were most persuasive and why?
- Are any quotes used to support the argument? Are they all properly cited? Is each evidence point followed with 2-3 sentences of analysis of it?
- Which quote was most effective to support their argument? Why?
- Were you convinced of their argument overall? What was the strongest and weakest area of their argument? Why?