Documented Essay Assignment
Word count: 1,000
(Essays that do not meet the minimum word count will be reduced on letter grade.)
Turnitin will be used for this assignment, so give yourself enough time to submit drafts of your essay to the drop box so that you can view your Originality Report before the due date. When you are ready to submit your assignment, go to the “Documented Argument Essay Drop Box.”
**Save your essay in Word and upload it as a .doc or .docx document. If you use a different word processing program, make sure to save and upload your essay as a PDF file.
Purpose
Think of a documented essay as a way to explore information about a topic, integrate ideas from secondary sources, and present what you discover. You will be graded on the quality of your writing, depth of analysis, use of secondary sources, adherence to MLA format and documentation, grammar, and punctuation.
1) Getting started and choosing your topic
For this paper, choose an issue that you are interested in. (For topic ideas, you will access the PSC Library resource, “Opposing Viewpoints in Context” database. Using this database, you must find two secondary sources for your argument paper: one that agrees with you and one that disagrees with you. In your paper, you must cite from each source at least once. You are also free to use additional secondary sources, but they must come from an academic source (sticking to the “Opposing Viewpoints” database is your best option).
The “Opposing Viewpoints” database is extensive, so you should have no problem finding an issue that interests you.
To access the PSC Library Web site, follow these steps.
1) Click on the “PSC Library” button on the column at the left side of our course home page.
2) Click “Launch Pensacola State College.”
3) You will see links across the top of the page; choose “Databases A – Z.”
4) Scroll down to “Opposing Viewpoints in Context.”
5) The opening page of “Opposing Viewpoints” will show you a number of categories. Choose one that interests you and click on the “View All” link in the corner. Here, you will see an extensive list of topics within that category. You will always have an “Overview” section to give you a better understanding of the issue. Click on the article links below the overview for sources that you can use in your paper.
(To get a better idea of how to navigate the PSC Library Web site, view the “Library Orientation Video” in this week’s module.)
2) Developing a thesis statement
Once you decide on a topic, your next step is to come up with an argumentation thesis statement.
Remember that you must take a position on the issue you have chosen. You are not showing advantages and disadvantages—that’s a whole other kind of paper. When you are writing your tentative thesis statement (which should be one sentence), try filling in the blank for one of the sentences below:
I think that _______________________. OR I believe that _______________________.
For example:
I think that marijuana should be legalized for medical purposes.
Then, when you are ready to use your thesis in your paper, take out the first part:
I think that marijuana should be legalized for medical purposes.
You are left with the following sentence, which functions as your argumentation thesis:
Marijuana should be legalized for medical purposes. Notice that your thesis is in the THIRD person; there should be no first person (“I think”, “I believe”, “In my opinion”, etc.) ANYWHERE in this essay.
3) Developing your support and structuring your essay
Once you decide on a thesis statement, begin outlining your ideas. For this type of paper, you are basically providing reasons to support your position. Do some prewriting to generate ideas. If you already know your reasons, list as many as you can, and then choose the three or four strongest reasons to use in your essay. Each strong reason you can find will be the topic of a body paragraph.
Your paper should begin with an introductory paragraph that ends with your thesis statement.
Follow your introductory paragraph with at least three body paragraphs that develop your thesis statement (central idea), and end with a concluding paragraph that brings closure to your paper.
For this assignment, one of your body paragraphs must be a “refutation” paragraph. In a refutation paragraph, you address the “naysayers,” or those who disagree with your position.
Choose two or three of the strongest objections to your position and answer these objections. In a refutation paragraph, you are basically poking holes in the opposing point of view. You might place it after your introductory paragraph so that you can address the opposing points of view as a springboard to your argument. However, if your refutation is your last body paragraph (before your concluding paragraph), then you can address the opposing point of view after you have made your own position clear. The placement of your refutation paragraph depends upon how you are developing your argument.
4) Format requirements
Type your paper in MLA format (double spaced, 12 point font) with the proper heading in the top left corner of the first page (see 540 in your textbook) and your last name and page number in the top right corner of every page. Your essay must be at least 1,000 words, and your works cited page does not count toward that word count. You must include a minimum of two secondary sources (one that agrees with your position and one that disagrees with your position) and cite them correctly–provide in-text citations AND include a works cited entry for BOTH of your sources.
5) Citing correctly
- ALWAYS introduce quotes for frame them with your own material—don’t plop them in the middle of your paragraph with no explanation.
- See “MLA Style” on page 498 in The Norton for how to insert in-text citations correctly:
The first entry shows you how to cite a quotation when you have named the author in your sentence; the second one shows you how to cite when you have not named the author in your sentence.
- See entry #19 on page 525 for the way to format your Works Cited entry. Center “Works Cited” above the entry. Begin the entry with the author’s last name and then first name.
Place the title of the article in quotation marks (capitalize it correctly). The first line should be at the left margin; subsequent lines should be indented. At the end of the entry, list the page range of the article.