This is a minimum 6-8 page paper. This means it has to be at least six (6) full pages. An essay that is 5.5 pages or anything under six full pages is not achieving the minimum required length. The cover letter and the works cited page do not count as part of the 6-8 pages of the essay, but the cover letter, essay, and works cited pages are all required components of this assignment.
Have a clear thesis. Since this is an argumentative research paper, your thesis should typically appear early on (by the end of the introductory paragraph or paragraphs).
This is an argumentative research paper, so you will want to appeal to your reader (instructor) with the classic appeals. For a formal paper such as this, you will want to appeal mainly through logos (use of organization, presenting a clear thesis and presenting strong logical evidence such as expert quotes and statistics and facts) and through ethos (providing credible sources, presenting a well-organized paper, and maintaining a reasonable tone).
This paper must include at least six (6) credible sources for this essay, all of which must be scholarly/peer-reviewed articles, newspaper articles, or books/ebooks from the Merced College Library. (Recall that you can find scholarly sources through the library databases (and the MLA citations will be built for you). At least three (3) of these six (6) sources must be peer-reviewed/scholarly articles.
As in the previous essays, you must have a cover letter with this essay. In your cover letter, make sure you identify who your audience is and precisely what the point of your essay was. Note: if a cover letter is not included, I will not grade this essay, and it will automatically receive a score of 0 and you will not be able to pass this course!
This paper must include an in-text (parenthetical) citation at the end of any sentence where you have borrowed someone else’s exact words or summarized or paraphrased their ideas. (Even if you are placing someone else’s ideas into your own words, you must acknowledge the origin of that original information.) Recall our lessons on the importance of citing sources as both a safeguard against plagiarism as well as a way to clarify where your words end and where you are integrating the related words of other scholars.
This paper needs to follow proper MLA citation and include a works cited page at the end of your paper. Remember that you can always ask me about any MLA formatting questions, or you can visit the Student Success and Tutorial Center (SSTC) tutors. Neither the cover letter nor the works cited pages count toward the total 6-8 pages of the essay itself (they are in addition to the 6-8 pages).
As research paper writers, you will need to visit the Student Success and Tutorial Center (SSTC) at least once as your work on this paper. (You can either get in-person or Zoom tutoring through the SSTC.) After working with a writing tutor, write down notes about the helpful feedback you received. Then, include a description of your writing tutorial feedback in your cover letter.
