Argumentative EssayPrompt Description: Think about your Online Journal Post 3and theargument or viewpoint thatyou wroteabout.In this essay assignment, you are going to expand further into your argumentand elaborate into an essay form. Your argumentativeessay should be clear and indicate, in detail, how your argument, opinion or viewpoint is valid. Person: 3rdperson –he, she, they, and it. Do not use 2ndperson –you –or 1stperson –I, we, me, us, etc. You will practice writing in 3rdperson for this essay. Format: In this essay, youwill write inAPA formatfor your argumentative essay. After writing in thisformatin essay2, you should now be familiar with its form. You must also have three body paragraphs, not one or two. If you write less than three body paragraphs, I will deduct points. Sources: You will need to cite from at least threeto fivesources using reliable information from online databases, Google Scholar, blogs and other forms of data exceptfor Wikipedia. Your best sourcesshould have authors and peer-reviewed information. Instructions: Write an argumentativeessay that you posted on the online journal discussion board. The final draft will be uploaded intoD2Lby the assigned due date (you can view the due date in D2L under Assignments). Pages: Do not focus toomuch on pages, but a good argumentativeessay amount for this class would be anywhere from5 to 5½ pages(this does not include the cover sheet, abstract,and reference page). Keep in mind that if you followAPAformatof 2.0 spacing, the essay will stretch out further.Anything less than 4 ½ pages means you have not fully considered the argument and it may need to be revised during the final draft process. Reminder: Failure to follow instructions will result in points being deducted from the total assignment. To get an idea of what is expected, view the sample outline, essay and rubric. Turn in: Be sure to uploadyour outline(5pts),rough draft(5pts)and final draft (5pts) in D2Lby the due dates on the syllabus schedule. No late assignments will be acceptedunless prior arrangements are made beforehand. Only Word files, no PDF, .pages, or anyother files –if you upload anything else, I will give you an automatic 0 until you upload the correct filewithin 48 hours. Final drafts will need to be checked by the ASC, Tutor.com or by scheduling a one-on-one with your instructor. Be mindful of scheduling times anddo not wait until the last minute to get helpfrom any of these sources. As a rule of thumb, please upload your rough drafts in Grammarly.com to avoid typos and simple punctuation mistakes. Be sure to have your file named like this: FirstName_LastName-Final-Draft. After you submit your essay in D2L, you will receive a confirmation email. Do not forget to email your instructor your self-assessment with “Self-Assessment: [Your Name]” in the subject line.
Points For AGood Argumentative Essay The purposeof the argumentative essay is to convince the reader of your ideas by making clear and strong arguments for them. You will also need to explain why your argument is better in some way than the opposing argument. This skill is called refutation. Points to consider while drafting your outline, rough draft and final draft: •An introductory paragraph that introduces the topic and necessary background information, leading readers to the thesis statement. •Two or more body paragraphs that build the argument by explaining each point, or reason, and giving clear evidence to convince the reader that the point or reason is valid. •A final body paragraph which raises a counterargument and a refutation that explains the counterargument’s weakness and tells why your argument is more valid. •A concluding paragraph that restates the thesis and ends with a suggestion, prediction, or call to action. Introductory Paragraph An introductory paragraph for argumentative essays has a few important features: •The hook helps writers attract the attention of the reader. •The background information helps the reader understand the topic and shows them why the topic is relevant and important. Think about how much your reader may or may not know. Ask yourself: -What does the reader know about the topic? -How much do I have to explain? -What common perceptions and views on the topic do my readers have? •The thesis statement states your position or point of view and usually your main reasons, which you will develop in the body paragraphs. Thesis Statement A thesis statement is also called a claim in argumentative essays. A strong thesis statement does the following: •It answers the question in the prompt. •It contains the topic, the writer’s point-of-view, and the main reasons for it. Those main reasons are then covered one-by-one in the body paragraphs. •It is narrowly focused. If your thesis statement is too general, it will be hard to come up with good reasons and evidence to support it. •It contains only one point of view. To write an effective argumentative essay, you must decide what you believe and try to persuade readers of that one idea only, not other ideas or points of view. Avoid writing weak thesis statements by followingthe rules below: 1.Do not simply introduce the topic.
2.Do not just state an opinion that is vague. 3.Do not just make statements of fact that everyone would agree with. Building Strong Arguments in Body ParagraphsThe argument is developed in the body paragraphs, where writers give reasons that support their point of view. For each body paragraph, writers include a topic sentence that identifies the reason from the thesis. To make an argument strong and convincing, each reason is supported by evidence such as examples, facts, statistics, research, quotations, and personal experience. Below are examples of the types of evidence that writers use to support the arguments in their body paragraphs. •Facts–are ideas that can be proven or are accepted as true. They make your arguments seem more logical. •Statistics–are numbers and data that come from research, surveys, and polls. They make your arguments seem more credible. •Quotations–are the exact words of another person, usually an expert, authority, or other respected individual. They make your arguments more valid. Writers can also paraphrase quotations and cite the source. •Examples–are specific stories or cases that illustrate a point. They help the reader imagine and understand what you mean. •Personalexperience–are stories that happened to you or someone you know. They make your arguments more real and believable. In an argumentative essay, strong evidence is key for convincing your readers to agree with your point ofview. Strong evidence is specific and relates directly to the topic sentence of the body paragraph. Weak evidence is general and does not relate to the topic sentence. Counterargument and RefutationIn an argumentative essay, the final body paragraph often presents a counterargument, or opposing argument, and a refutation, or reasons why the argument is weak. This technique makes an argument stronger and more persuasive because it shows that the writer is knowledgeable about the topic and has considered other points of view. Therefore, it is a good writing skill to master. Follow these steps to develop a counterargument and refutation: 1.Introduce the counterargument. Explain the argument and identify the people who believe it. 2.Describe the evidence or reasons people give for this counterargument. 3.Acknowledge any part of the argument that may be true or partly true and explain why. Then refute the counterargument by calling attention to a weakness based on evidence or reasoning.A refutation should be based on evidence, logic, and objective facts, not emotion or bias. 4.Conclude by showing how your evidence disproves the counterargument.
Concluding Paragraph A concluding paragraph in argumentative essays contains the following unique elements: •It states reasons why the writer’s point of view is more valid than the opposing views. •It emphasizes the importance of the topic being argued. •It ends with a strong comment, recommendations, or call to action. Source:Asplin, Wendy, et al. Final Draft. Cambridge UP, 2016. We will discussmore about argumentative writing and rhetoric in the upcoming weeks. This is the link for the material that I will cover: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/rhetorical_situation/index.ht
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