formal essay

ASSIGNMENT & GOALS
– IMPORTANT: This is not ENC 1101. This is the next level. Putting forth just enough effort to complete the assignment and earn the minimum passing grade will not get you far. In this course, you will be expected to show your growth as a writer which includes, but is not limited to, showing empathy to your audience by catering to their needs as best as you can, producing a writing style that is both professional AND engaging so as not to lose your reader due to boredom, and actually showing that you care not only about your chosen topic but also the manner in which you present yourself on the page. Any writing that’s loose, doesn’t follow basic grammar/spelling rules, and doesn’t properly serve the audience will not score a high grade. -For this assignment, students will compose a formal essay on any topic of their choice so long as it is debatable & not widely accepted. *IMPORTANT: The topic MUST BE DEBATABLE. For example, An essay arguing for people to stop drinking and driving is a complete waste of time because no reasonable human being will argue against you. If you write an essay similar to this in any way, it WILL NOT receive a passing grade. This is non-negotiable. In terms of essay style, students can choose whichever approach they feel most comfortable writing in (Personal Essay, Exploratory Essay, Boring A, B, C Essay, etc.). I leave that choice up to you. Yes, personal experience is accepted. I also accept any sort of personal research &/or interviews. However, please understand this paper is also a research paper so you must meet the source minimum. For this final paper, the page minimum is set at FOUR AND A HALF PAGES & no less. – Respectfully, I ask that you do not attempt to manipulate the page in any way just so you can meet the minimum. Your line spacing anywhere within the document cannot be more than DOUBLE. Your margins cannot be more than ONE INCH all around. Do not begin your first page in the middle of the page. In general, don’t do anything to try and cheat the process because you will receive an incomplete grade. A sample MLA formatted essay will be posted for you to use as a visual guide. Make sure your paper looks exactly like that formatting-wise. – The support/evidence for your argument will come from credible outside sources AS WELL AS your own experiences and basic knowledge. In terms of source limits, you’ll need to include at least FIVE outside sources with a maximum of TEN. If a student fails to meet the minimum or exceeds the maximum they will be penalized for violating the terms of this assignment. At the minimum, violating the source minimum/maximum will keep you out of A-range. Also, I will be scrutinizing your sources for this final paper much stronger than in WA2. Any sources that lack credibility will result in points being taken away. ***VERY, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT (Please make sure you read. This is what we’ve been building toward the entire semester): Up until now I’ve been emphasizing things like voice, style, empathy, service to your audience, how writing to your audience is a privilege & not a right, etc. No more will I judge these ideas more closely than on this final paper. Everything we’ve been discussing and working on has led to this. When I read your final papers, I’m going to read them as the general public would. A public that’s looking to learn from you & to be moved & inspired by you. In other words, in the exact same way, YOU would read other people’s work. What does this mean? First impressions mean everything. If you lose the reader the first time, you lose them always. In other words, the average reader doesn’t enjoy reading things that are boring & fail to engage their interest/imagination. No one enjoys reading anything that feels like work. No one enjoys reading from writers who are self-righteous or who sound all high and mighty as if preaching to us “lowly” readers because they think they’re smarter than everyone else. DO NOT ASSUME THE AVERAGE READER WILL STICK AROUND TO READ THE REST OF YOUR PAPER JUST BECAUSE. YOU DON’T GET TO ASSUME THAT PRIVILEGE. IF YOU LOSE A READER’S INTEREST, YOUR PAPER HAS FAILED TO REACH ITS GOAL. IF YOUR PAPER IS BORING OR DOESN’T ADD ANYTHING NEW OR FRESH, THEY WILL LEAVE BECAUSE YOU’RE WASTING THEIR TIME. THAT IS THE BOTTOM LINE. I want to make this VERY clear because when I grade this paper, your ability to keep your audience’s attention will weigh heavily. If your final product is ultimately some non-empathetic mess that shows zero interest in what others say or thinks and doesn’t take your audience into consideration at all, you will not be happy with your final grade. This is what RHETORIC is about. It’s about serving your reader (“The art of persuasion”). Knowing how to write grammatically correct sentences or how to structure your paper properly or how to find sources & incorporate them into your paper DOES NOT make you an effective writer. You can do all those things & still write a paper that no one cares about. Give your readership purpose. Give them motivation. Give them inspiration. Make them feel grateful that they read your work. Do not sleepwalk through this paper because your final grade will reflect it. That I can promise. Simply put: WRITE THE PAPER YOURSELF WOULD WANT TO READ.
FORMATTING (Also see rubric)
You must use standard essay formatting that is appropriate to college-level writing (paragraphs, indents, transitions, introduction, thesis statement, body paragraphs, conclusion, etc.). Use proper MLA style for this and all writing assignments moving forward in this class. Information on MLA style can be found within the Little Seagull Handbook and Bedford Handbook (If you have it), as well as anywhere online. Here is the link to the Purdue OWL website which is very helpful: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/13/
Links to an external site because this is a research-based essay, a Works Cited Page is required (MLA Style). Failure to provide a Works Cited will lead to a deduction of points.
You must explain your ideas in detail in order to make any clear claims.
PLAGIARISM
– Simply put, plagiarism of any kind will be penalized in accordance with the plagiarism policy found within the course syllabus (see syllabus). This policy is non-negotiable and no exceptions will be made.

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