Your paper should use MLA style (if you don’t know what this is, look it up! Or, you can see an example of MLA style in the Grammar Lecture slideshow.)
3-5 full pages in length (3 full pages minimum!)
Times New Roman font, 12 point
Numbered pages
Double-spaced throughout. (Please DO NOT include extra spacing between your title and introduction, between paragraphs, etc.)
First line of each paragraph should be indented 1 tab space
1″ margins (please don’t mess with the margins to make your essay appear longer… I wasn’t born yesterday!)
Include an original title (not just “Argument Essay.”)
Front page (only!) should have a full header, either at the top left or top right (doesn’t matter to me)
Your outside sources should be properly cited within the essay and referenced on a Works Cited page. If you include sources but don’t cite them, you’re accidentally plagiarizing!
Essay Structure:
An introduction (1 paragraph in length) that gives some context for your issue and includes your thesis statement. (Thesis should be the last sentence of the introduction.)
Body paragraphs that deal (one at a time!) with your main points. Ideally, your body paragraphs will address your main points in the same order in which your thesis statement lists these main points.
Please have AT LEAST 3 body paragraphs. (So, at the very least, this will be a 5-paragraph essay, including your introduction and conclusion.)
Make sure that your body paragraphs are clear and easy to follow. That means you need topic sentences, supporting sentences, and concluding/transitioning sentences. (If you’ve forgotten what these things mean, refer to the “Parts of an Essay” video lecture.)
You should also include a conclusion, where you summarize your main points and state the significance of the issue. (Why should we care?)
What else will I be looking for?
In addition to stating your own points, be sure to also refute opposing viewpoints! You can do this either within your body paragraphs (perhaps before or after stating your own points), or you can do this all at once, perhaps in your very last body paragraph (before your conclusion.)
However you choose to do it, it is vital that I see you acknowledging and addressing the fact that there are opposing views out there!
In your proposal, you told me what kind of audience you’ll be addressing. (Since your audience, in reality, is *me*, I’m asking you to make up an audience instead. You can pretend your audience is supportive, wavering, or hostile.)
The point of your being asked to choose an audience is so that you can decide on your rhetorical strategies accordingly! Is your audience supportive? Use pathos in your arguments! Is your audience hostile? Use mostly logos and a little bit of ethos! Please be sure to incorporate the appropriate types of rhetorical appeals into your argument, depending on your selected audience.
Before submitting this essay, please carefully revise it for spelling errors, grammar errors, punctuation errors, typos, formatting issues, etc. I’ve been pretty lenient in this regard in the past, but I’m expecting you to present your best work this time!
