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Assignment Guide: The Argumentative Essay
Assignment Prompt
For this assignment, you will be writing an argumentative essay–a piece of writing that requires you to take a position, what rhetoricians call a claim, on a debatable topic (that is, a topic with more than one side). Specifically, you will present a policy claim where you argue for or against a change of some kind. This claim should be supported by reliable, credible evidence (i.e. scholarly sources) backed by research. In addition to presenting your claim, you will also need to acknowledge the other side, which is called the counterargument. For this assignment, you may choose your own topic. Hint: browse topics that interest you in “Opposing Viewpoints” our article database accessed through the banner.
Assignment-Specific Requirements:
Length: This assignment should be at least 750 words.
Thesis: Underline your thesis statement or the main claim of your letter.
Supporting Points: Plan to develop at least three strong supporting points to accompany your thesis and at least one counter. Each supporting point should equate to at least one body paragraph.
Sources Needed: The essay should integrate at least 4 reliable and credible sources, to help prove the argument for or against a policy change. Be sure to use MLA guidelines for all in-text and Works Cited citations.
While we encourage you to acquire sources from Gale’s Opposing Viewpoints, you may access credible, scholarly sources from other resources. Tertiary sources, such as online encyclopedias, dictionaries and Wikipedia, are not scholarly sources, and should not be cited within your work; however, they may offer helpful foundational information as you develop your understanding of an issue. (For more information, please review Berkley University’s resource on scholarly and popular sources: “Evaluating Resources.”)
Page Formatting: See Appendix C – Formatting and Submitting Your Work. Please underline your thesis statement.
MLA Requirements: See Formatting your Essay: MLA 8th Edition
Rhetorical Mode
When we talk about argument writing, we are not talking about an emotional and heated argument, but one that is neutral in tone and uses evidence/facts to convince your readers of a claim. Your argument is your claim, or the point that you want to convince readers of–in this instance, you will be making a claim for or against a policy change. Because everything depends on the strength of this claim (and the supporting points that you use to scaffold it), the organizational structure of an argumentative essay is incredibly important to its success. Every idea, topic sentence, paragraph, and page should always align with your argumentative claim. Be sure that you use scholarly evidence purposefully to support the claim you are making and do not veer too much into exploratory or informative writing, which is trickier than it sounds. You’ll also need to think carefully about how to integrate researched evidence with your own ideas, to build a fully developed and supported stance throughout. Finally, you will want to acknowledge the counterargument in the body paragraphs, even if you cannot refute it entirely.
Rhetorical Considerations
Purpose:
Remember that this is an argumentative essay: that means your goal is to prove your claim for or against a policy change to readers. This piece of writing should be aimed at convincing readers through the inclusion of a strong argumentative thesis, specific supporting points, acknowledgement of the counter, and carefully chosen scholarly evidence.
Audience:
The argumentative essay is written for someone else–a community of readers that is most impacted by the policy you are proposing to change (or keep the same). In this instance, you are writing to argue for or against a change (and thus convince readers that a change should or should not occur). Keep this audience in mind by angling everything in your essay towards a strong argument that can appeal to a more general population.
Form:
This is a formal writing project, written in third-person, relying on strong organizational strategies, integrating researched evidence (the academic sources you choose), and following MLA formatting guidelines.
Choosing a Topic for Your Argumentative Essay
Selecting the right topic is an important step in ensuring your success in writing a Argumentative essay. You’ll want to choose a topic that has the following features:
Of interest to you
Relevant
Current
Debatable
Well-researched
Narrow in scope
Academic or “scholarly” in nature
Topics to avoid, as they are either too complex to argue in a single essay, or not considered appropriate for an academic or scholarly essay, are as follows:
The death penalty
Euthanasia or self-assisted death
Abortion
The (il)legalization of drugs (e.g. marijuana)
Religion or religious readings (e.g. existence of a higher order/being, or life after death)
Gun rights/rules
Global warming
Please do not select one of the above 7 topics, as your essay may be returned without grading, and you will be asked to rewrite it.
Need assignment ideas?
Take a look at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Writing Center for topic ideas and additional resources.
Mini-Lesson on ETHOS – PATHOS – LOGOS
Plan to use these appeals heavily throughout your Argumentative essay.
Ethos
This is an ethical appeal. It relies on your reliability and credibility as the author.
Includes reliable sources
Is written from an unbiased perspective
Shows the writer’s expertise through the presentation of careful insight and research
Pathos
This is an emotional appeal. It relies on the construction of careful connection between the claims presented and the emotions of the readers.
Includes the writer’s values and beliefs
Uses stories or examples that convey emotion
Contains broader appeal and focus
Logos
This is an appeal to logic and reason. It relies on facts and figures that can convince the reader of the claims.
Relies on fact and opinion
Focuses on reasonable claims and organization of ideas
Only includes relevant material with a narrow focus
More info:
Grading Guide: The Argumentative Essay
ENG 101 Rubric: Argumentative Essay
Points
0-1
Points
2
Points
3
Points
4
Points
5
Introduction
17.5%
Hook
Argument is defined
Consideration of audience
Thesis statement
Limited introduction paragraph that accomplishes none of the following: effectively hooks the reader, clearly defines the argument, offers necessary background and contextual information, shows excellent awareness of the audience, and delivers a strong thesis statement. An undeveloped introduction paragraph that accomplishes few of the following: effectively hooks the reader, clearly defines the argument, offers necessary background and contextual information, shows excellent awareness of the audience, and delivers a strong thesis statement. Moderately developed introduction paragraph that accomplishes some of the following: effectively hooks the reader, clearly defines the argument, offers necessary background and contextual information, shows excellent awareness of the audience, and delivers a strong thesis statement. Well-developed introduction paragraph that accomplishes all but one of the following: effectively hooks the reader, clearly defines the argument, offers necessary background and contextual information, shows excellent awareness of the audience, and delivers a strong thesis statement. Exemplary introduction paragraph that accomplishes each of the following: effectively hooks the reader, clearly defines the argument, offers necessary background and contextual information, shows excellent awareness of the audience, and delivers a strong thesis statement.
Body Paragraphs
17.5%
Angled towards argument throughout
Include clear transitions
Coherence/Organization
Reference a counterargument
The essay is not angled towards argument throughout. Transitional phrases are lacking or ineffective. The organization greatly hinders the argument. A counterargument is missing.
The essay may/may not be angled towards argument throughout. Little to no attention is paid to transitions. The organization may deter from the writer’s point. A counterargument is missing and/or not effective. The essay attempts to angle towards argument throughout. Some attention is paid to transitional phrases, but further attention is required. The essay is lacking thoughtful organization. A counterargument is presented, but may/may not be effective. The essay attempts to angle towards argument throughout. Transitional phrases are attempted and mostly successful. Thoughtful organization is evident. A counterargument is attempted and somewhat effective. The essay succeeds by angling towards argument throughout. Transitional phrases are present and effectively used. The organization enhances the essay. The essay is effectively organized. A counterargument is evident and effective.
Source Synthesis
17.5%
Integrates researched evidence
Synthesizes sources with original insight
Sources are reliable, credible, and relevant to topic
The writer may/may not include sources and the sources may/may not be synthesized with original insight and do not support the thesis and claims; research is not at all relevant to the topic. The writer includes some sources, but they are not adequately synthesized with original insight and do not support the thesis and claims; research is not clearly connected to the topic. The writer mostly includes reliable and credible sources and sometimes attempts to support the thesis and claims by synthesizing sources with original insight; research is somewhat relevant to the topic. The writer includes reliable and credible sources and attempts to synthesize them with original insight; research is relevant to the topic and mostly helps the writer to support the thesis and claims. The writer includes reliable and credible sources and synthesizes them with original insight; research is relevant to the topic and helps the writer to skillfully support the thesis and claims.
Sources Used
8%
Count only—not integration or formatting
The writer references no scholarly sources within the argument. The writer references at least 1 scholarly source within the argument. The writer references at least 2 scholarly sources within the argument. The writer references at least 3 scholarly sources within the argument. The writer references 4 or more scholarly sources within the argument.
Conclusion
17.5%
Includes a reminder of the explicit thesis and supporting points
Makes a direct attempt to engage the audience
Does not introduce new ideas/claims
The conclusion paragraph does not remind readers of the argumentative thesis and supporting points.
There is no attempt to engage the audience one final time. New ideas/claims are present and therefore underdeveloped.
The conclusion paragraph does not remind readers of the argumentative thesis and supporting points.
Little to no attempt is made to engage the audience one final time. New ideas/claims are present and underdeveloped.
The conclusion paragraph attempts to remind readers of the argumentative thesis and supporting points, though improvement is possible.
Some attempt is made to engage the audience one final time. New ideas/claims may be present and underdeveloped.
The conclusion paragraph reminds readers of the argumentative thesis and supporting points.
An attempt is made to engage the audience one final time, though some improvement is possible. New ideas/claims are not presented.
The conclusion paragraph thoughtfully reminds readers of the argumentative thesis and supporting points.
A final attempt at audience engagement is attempted. No new ideas/claims are presented, but the writer still gives readers food for thought on the topic.
Language and Style
11%
Sentence Structure (Grammar)
Word Choice/Vocabulary
(Redundancy, repetition, awkwardness)
The writer has given very little or no apparent consideration to language and style. Word choice is sloppy and/or incorrect. The writer’s use of language and style diminishes the nature and strength of the argument. Word choices make the essay less cohesive and/or difficult to understand. The writer’s use of language and style, at times, deters from the argument. Word choice sometimes detracts from the overall message. The writer’s use of language and style helps convey the argument. Word choice is mostly effective and enhances the essay. The writer’s use of language and style accentuates the argument. Word choice is effective and enhances the essay.
Punctuation, Capitalization
11%
Comma errors, comma splices, apostrophe errors, capitalization errors, semicolon errors, colon errors, typos/misspellings
Contains more than 6 different punctuation/capitalization errors.
The identical or similar errors may be repeated throughout.
The errors help to significantly deter from the writer’s overall argument. Contains many (more than 4) different punctuation/capitalization errors. The identical or similar errors are repeated throughout.
The errors deter from the writer’s overall argument. Contains more than 3 different punctuation/capitalization errors. The identical or similar errors may be repeated throughout. At times, the errors deter from the writer’s overall argument. Contains 1-2 types of punctuation/capitalization errors, which may be repeated throughout the essay. The errors do not deter from the writer’s overall argument, but they serve as a distraction. Contains either no punctuation/capitalization errors, or no more than 2 different errors with no repetition, and/or the errors do not deter from the writer’s argument.
HERE’S SOME WRITING TIPS:
Writing Tips: The Argumentative Essay
Budget your time. This piece of writing is time-intensive, with multiple steps that should not be skipped. Plan ahead for brainstorming, collecting sources, outlining, drafting, and proofreading & polishing.
Organize your research. Create a project-specific bookmarks folder in your web browser. Or check out Zotero, an excellent program that helps compile, organize, and cite research.
Outline. An argument is a network of interdependent elements; thesis, major claims, supporting research, and minor claims–all of these pieces of the puzzle need to fit together for the argument to work. Put differently, this type of writing is complicated; outlining will help you to see your argument simply.
Ensure your introduction catches your readers’ attention and uses a hook to keep it. Be specific about why your argument is worth your readers’ time and why the argument you have chosen is important.
Avoid arguments from personal experience. Mention nothing of your background, nor your expertise, though they might seem relevant–another convention of formal style. Likewise, avoid direct emotional appeals. Formal arguments are derived from shared histories and literature, from research and scholarship. A good rule to argue by is to only claim what your research lets you.
Be wary of mixing the argumentative purpose with that of informative writing. This is more difficult than many imagine. Only offer context when it is necessary to understand an essential part of the argument. Subject questionable passages to the simple litmus question: “Is this material either making or supporting a claim?” If the passage isn’t doing one of those two things, odds are, it’s purely informative, and it needs to go.
Develop at least three strong arguments for your thesis/claim, and develop them fully. Long body paragraphs are okay here–provided they are focused. As stressed in previous assignments: avoid writing body paragraphs that make multiple claims.
Do write a conclusion that includes a revisitation of your main claim and supporting points for or against a policy change. Don’t write a conclusion that is a verbatim repetition of what your reader has just read. The conclusion is your best opportunity to provide your “so what” for your claim (to convince your readers that your claim has merit). Offer your most powerful version of your argument. Ask an evocative question. Give your reader something to think about after they’ve put your writing down.
HERE’S MORE INFO:
Color-Coded Argumentative Essay
Last N
name 1
First Name Last Name
English Composition 1
Argumentative Essay
25 May 2019
National Security Overrides Citizen Privacy
Why is national security more important than some minor impediments to citizen privacy? (1) The answer is very simple: national security helps to ensure that the citizens of its country can openly enjoy the freedoms and protections allotted to them. Adam Moore, a longstanding expert in privacy and security, explains, “Privacy may protect important interests, but these interests will never be as important as the security of life and limb.” In other words, privacy is related to one’s personal interest whereas national security measures are related to collective interests, and priority for collective interests can help safeguard privacy measures for the individuals of those served groups.(2) When national security entities can protect the best interest of large populations, citizens should step aside to allow protective agencies to do what is necessary for the good of the whole; some citizens only need to relinquish very inconsequential matters for both their benefits and the entire community.(3) Therefore, United States citizens should prefer national security over personal privacy(4) because those measures protect the states from terrorism, ensure economic prosperity, and safeguard political elections.(5)
The first major benefit of American national security that is more important than any personal privacy is safety from terrorism.(6) National security measures aim to impede the way of terrorists by thwarting destructive plans. For example, the tragedy of 9/11 and subsequent terror attacks shed light on the greater needs for security and development of new security concepts and strategies that shift the balance between security and the observance of human rights (Pavone et al.).(7) Needless to say, terrorism not only invades countries, but it can also lead to destabilization of a country by creating unrest, and in that case, entire states and populations are affected, which leaves citizens without concern for their privacies because chances are they are left without any if their country was overthrown by a terrorism group. In addition, with the advancement of science and technology, the terrorists have organized their activities, making them a greater and continuous threat that must be monitored. In fact, hundreds of potential terrorism acts were believed to be thwarted in one year alone following 9/11 (Straub), and the country used less security measures at that time than they do now (Tolbert), which means that the chances of stopping these crimes improves each year, especially as national securities agencies gain more and more data from citizens. Monitoring sometimes means national security agencies listening in on the personal phone calls of those who may pose a threat or have ties to crime organizations, and some citizens worry about these national security agencies encroaching upon their private calls (Straub), which is a valid concern. However, if a socialist country takes over a capitalist region, the capitalist country’s freedoms are surely to change (Ebeling), so citizens who oppose national security measures over personal privacies withstanding a bit of worry over the unlikely hood that a beneficial, security-focused company is listening is surely worth the minor nuisance.(8) In summary, to prevent drastic safety concerns and uphold the freedoms of some nations that terrorist groups target, it becomes unavoidable for the states to adopt defensive measures even if or when the average citizen has to experience negligible discomfort.(10)
National security is also necessary for economic growth of the individuals and the states, even more so than protecting individual freedoms.(6) To clarify further, Straub explains that social instability “deters investment and makes normal economic activity impossible.”(7) A country’s strong, prosperous economic state cannot be undermined or devalued. Sound economies allow men and women to work and be paid fair wages that, in turn, afford them the ability to feed their families. In some cases, infringement upon personal privacy comes in the form of unwarranted, extensive background checks for one reason or another: criminal history, citizenship, etc. Ensuring that all workers in the United States are qualified for employment, whether that is by birth right or visa, can help to determine if a country’s workforce upholds and maintains a set of standards upheld by the government and works in the best interest of the country and its people. Referring to 9/11, had national security agencies looked further into the backgrounds of those terrorists who caused massive destruction as pilots of the planes that took down buildings across the country, other, purely intended pilots could have filled those roles, preventing so many family catastrophes. As a matter of fact, according to The Washington Post, one of the plane hijackers was on a US watchlist prior to him carrying out this horrific event. Knowing this, citizens should freely welcome national security measures because a well-intended citizen would not want this type of destruction in addition to lose work opportunity to an unqualified, ill- intentioned worker. Part of conserving valuable roles in the country is establishing measures, even if they infringe on personal privacy, for getting qualified people into open roles—those who have families to feed within the country and those who have the country’s best interest in mind.(8) Considering the drastic measures a child’s guardian may go to in order to protect the wellbeing of his or her child, it would come as no surprise that these same guardians would likely happily undergo any number of personal privacy discomforts for the betterment of their country, which trickles down to benefit their own personal protections.(10)
Finally, a country such as the United States that is considered a world leader on various fonts, if not the world leader, must safeguard their people’s political elections.(6) All American citizens of a certain age have the right and freedom to vote, which is a distinct and unique privilege, especially in comparison to other countries.(7) One could argue that the right to vote might be one of a citizen’s most important roles and therefore should be protected at all costs, and protective measures may be as simple as national security agencies going to great lengths to verify the qualifications of each voter. However, when other entities strive to influence the outcome of an election to best serve their needs and are successful, the citizens of the country of that newly elected official are subjected to policies that may not be of their benefit and wellbeing.(9) For example, some people believe that Russia interfered with the United States’ 2017 election and were successful, and if this is true, citizens in favor of the other official should feel a sense of immense uneasiness that outside forces took away their right to a fair election, and in a sense, negated one of their freedoms. No matter the party for which a group of citizens favors, all citizens should be willing to relinquish the most minute of personal privacy in effort to protect their right to vote. Having an unfavorable leader in office, one that has policies that benefit a country that is not necessarily a top ally should worry the people who must serve under that falsely selected leadership.(8) Citizens choosing to team up with the country’s government to safeguard the government’s job to protect the well fair and freedoms of its citizens are ultimately helping to ensure their future privacies.(10)
To conclude, no doubt, some people are right in their reservations about national security, but it is unavoidable. The reason being, sometimes for greater interests, smaller interests have to be sacrificed. Human life, freedoms, property, and even the wellbeing of future generations are more important and valuable than privacy. It is national security agencies that ensure people’s lives, protect their prosperity, and bring about peace and calm in the society,(11) and citizens must team up with their government to help the government in their number one job—safeguard their citizens. If there is no life, there will be nothing. It is life and those associated freedoms, especially in the United States, that gives opportunity to enjoy everything.(12)
Works Cited
Ebeling, Richard. “War, Big Government, and Lost Freedom.” The Future of Freedom Foundation, 4 Nov. 2015, www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/war-big-government-lost- freedom/. Accessed 2 May 2019.
Moore, Adam D. “Why Privacy and Accountability Trump Security.” Privacy, Security, and Accountability. Rowman and Littlefield International, 2016. www.researchgate.net. Accessed 2 May 2019.
Pavone, Vincenzo et al. “The Privacy vs Security Dilemma in a Risk Society: Insights from the PRISE Project on the Public Perception of New Security Technologies in Spain.” Research Gate. Feb. 2019. www.researchgate.net. Accessed 2 May 2019.
Straub, Stefan. “Citizen Summits on Privacy, Security and Surveillance: Synthesis Report.” Research Gate. Institute of Technology Assessment, Austrian Academy of Sciences, 2015. www.researchgate.net/publication/284173314. Accessed 2 May 2019.
Swain, J. E. “Approaching the Biology of Human Parental Attachment: Brain Imaging, Oxytocin And Coordinated Assessments of Mothers and Fathers.” US National Library of Medicine, 15 Mar. 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4157077/. Accessed 2 May 2019.
The Washington Post. “Four Planes, Four Coordinated Teams.” www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/graphics/attack/hijackers.html. Accessed 2 May 2019.
1. Hook
2. Background Information
3. Importance of Topic
4. Thesis Statement Claim
5. Thesis Statement Subtopics
6. Topic Sentences
7. Explanation/Evidence of Proof of the Problem
8. Interpretation/Analysis of Research/Supporting Discoveries
9. Counterargument and Consession or Rebuttal
10. Concluding Sentence
11. Summarizing
12. Synthesizing
MORE INFO:
Annotated Argumentative Essay
Last Name 1
First Name Last Name
English Composition 1
Argumentative Essay
25 March 2020 [SS1]
Educational Systems Need Plagiarism Detection Software [SS2]
Technological innovations and growth over the years have given people access to an unprecedented amount of information. However, this new era of technology and online information also brings up a problem: plagiarism. Plagiarism is caused by several different reasons. However, whether it is a misconception of proper citation and credit or intentionally due to outside pressure, plagiarism undermines the value of academic research and the credibility of learning institutions in which it occurs, and it is not something that should be accepted as a common practice.[SS3] Higher learning institutions should adopt plagiarism detection software [SS4] to promote a fair learning environment, help develop critical thinking skills, and instill fundamental values of honesty and morality.[SS5]
To ensure that a post-secondary school encourages a fair and equal learning environment, plagiarism detection software should be used to prevent piracy.[SS6] According to a survey created by Donald McCabe,[SS7] a Rutgers Business School professor who spend many years researching academic integrity,[SS8] out of 63,700 US undergraduates and 9,250 graduates over the course of three years, “38% admit to paraphrasing/copying a few sentences from a written source without footnoting it. 7% self-report copying materials almost word for word from a written source without citation. 7% self-report turning in work done by another.” Researchers and writers spend exorbitant amounts of time researching and writing academic papers, and when over half of a selected student population inappropriately borrows content from these resources, some major plagiarism concerns exist and may be, unbeknownst to professors, slipping by undetected. It is only fair for students to not only respect the efforts of the researchers, but the efforts put in by their peers in projects and assignments as well. It would not be just if a student gains a higher score than a peer on an assignment if he or she plagiarizes the information or hard work of another person. All parties are affected: plagiarizing students may not learn the assignment’s intended concepts [SS9], students plagiarized from may later be in unfair competition for careers with il-equipped peers, higher learning institutions may suffer credibility status concerns when news of their loose plagiarism rules spreads to accrediting counsels, etc. However, if higher learning institutions implement a plagiarism detector software, professors would be able to better and more easily identify those who plagiarize and take the right steps to ensure that it does not happen again in order to maintain a fair environment for all students to learn. For example, Turnitin, which is one of the more popular plagiarism software, continually scores higher than its competitors in tests for effectively discovering intentional and unintentional plagiarism (Strumshein). Understandably, some critics are concerned about a plagiarism software that cannot distinguish between the two, but higher learning institutions are provided with guidance from plagiarism detection software companies, such as Turnitin, that instruct professors how to use the percentage match reports to draw plausible conclusions for both intentional and unintentional plagiarism so that instructors can then enforce their learning institution’s relevant [SS10] policies.[SS11] In fact, Central Coast University found higher instances of intentional plagiarism, more than they were able to discover years prior, during the first few years it implemented a plagiarism detection software. The following two years saw a substantial decrease in intentional plagiarism, and as professors learned how to instruct students to work with the software to weed out unintentional plagiarism, even unintentional plagiarism decreased. Remarkably,[SS12] one can deduce that Central Coast University was quite successful in creating a fairer, more equal learning field, and students will leave the university—one that can boast optimal academic honesty practice–feeling well prepared. Therefore, any higher learning institutions can implement a plagiarism software and see similar results—results that are immeasurably beneficial to so many parties instantaneously and looking forward.[SS13]
Other than maintaining the integrity of both researchers and students, restricting plagiarism can stimulate a student’s critical and logical thinking skills to some extent. As technology advances at a phenomenal rate, information is ready at hand through a quick search on Google or other online search platforms, which is further exasperated by the amount of research required at a post-secondary institution. However, while it may be convenient, more and more students have the opportunity to rely on online information without doing any independent critical thinking. Because of this, “students do not clearly distinguish their own thoughts from those of others; ask them what they think on any controversial subject and they will simply repeat what they heard someone else say or what they have read” (Saalbach).[SS14] Simply copying and pasting or rephrasing another’s words can damage a student’s ability to develop his or her own opinions through critical thinking, and critical thinking is at the forefront of collegiate learning. If plagiarism detectors were to be implemented, students would be forced to sort through information, summarize what they are reading
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