Essay
Assignments
Wr 122, Fall 2000
College Composition II: Argument
CRN 15499, 1:00 MWF, 184 PLC
Overview of Essay Assignments
|
|
|
|
Essay #1
Analysis of an Argument
October 4 & 6--Small groups,
brainstorming, thesis statement
October 6---Outside of class, work on rough draft
October 9--Rough draft of Essay #1 due for peer review, in
class
October 11--Revision workshop; work on essay in class
October 13--Final version of Essay #1 due at beginning of
class
Preparation
Select one of the essays from Part I of Cyberspace not already discussed in class to analyze. Everyone in your small group should read and analyze the same essay. First, read the essay. By Wednesday, October 4, do a summary/reading response for the essay. Discuss and analyze the argument in your small group during class on Wednesday, October 4. (Link here to a list of small group members and the essays selected.)
To analyze the essay, you will want to locate the writer's thesis, which may be explicit or implicit. Then consider what the author's purpose in writing is. What strategies or methods of argument does the author use? Write out your own thesis, which will be your assessment of the essay's effectiveness. Find material from the essay to support and develop your evaluation.
Your purpose for this assignment is not to argue for or against the writer's stance on the question at issue, or even to argue for or against the question at issue yourself, but to analyze and evaluate how effective the writer's argument is.
Each group will write a short paragraph representing the selected essay's main points and assessing its effectiveness to share with the class.
Writing
The next step is drafting your analysis. As noted above, first write out your thesis statement and chief points of support. The essay you write will be an argument, and the thesis statement should encapsulate your evaluation and assessment of the essay you have read. Be sure to include the author's name and the essay's title (usually, but not always, in the first paragraph). You should also give your reader information about the author's purpose and method early in the essay. Use an outline to decide how you will organize your ideas about the author's and the essay's effectiveness.
You'll want to include some short quotations from the essay you have read in your own essay so that your reader can get a sense of the author's tone and voice. Using quotations will also give you an opportunity to learn how to use parenthetical citation correctly (see more below).
A word of caution--be sure to be fair. Your own essay should address both the strengths and weaknesses of the essay you have read.
You can refer to the Peer Review Checklist for this assignment while you are drafting your essay as an added guide. These are the questions your peer reviewers will use to analyze your essay.
Finished Product
Your final essay should be 3-4 double-spaced, typed pages in length (750-1000 words). Place your essay, rough draft, peer reviewers' comments, mechanics checklist, and notes for/from the Oct. 4 and Oct. 6 workshops (summary/reading response, copy of group paragraph, thesis statement, brainstorming, outline) in your folder to turn in. Refer to the Course Calendar for a list of the other materials that should be included in your folder.
Refer to the syllabus for information about mechanics (margins, for example) and use related assigned materials on style, grammar, mechanics, and citation (see web links on course calendar page). You should cite parenthetically in text the source of any quoted, paraphrased, or borrowed material; refer to guidelines for using parenthetical citations linked here--MLA, APA. If you quote only from the essay you are analyzing, you do not need a Works Cited page for this assignment. If you quote from other material, however, you must add a Works Cited page--MLA, APA. Your Prentice Hall Reference Guide also has information on citation and setting up a Works Cited page, and you can ask me to check citation form during the revision workshop.
Essay #2
Short Argument
|
October 20--Complete Thesis Statement
Worksheet* and Outline* *These should be completed individually by students outside of class. |
Your second essay will be a short argument. You should note that the second paper will be due much more quickly than the first, and that several steps that were covered in class in preparation for your first paper are assigned for outsisde of class. This compression does not mean that you should omit these steps, for they are important; it merely means that a specific class period has not been scheduled for them. You should not wait until we have finished discussing the assigned articles to select a topic. Skim through the essays so you can get started right away. Otherwise you will not leave yourself enough time to complete your rough draft by the due date.
Topics
The topic for your short argument should be related to what we are doing in class. You may go back to any of the essays from Part I of Cyberspace for ideas or may use topics that grow out of class discussion. You may use ideas directly raised in the essays, questions that you had as a result of reading the essays, questions that were raised in class, or any related issue. You may go back to the essay you analyzed for your first essay and this time argue the issue. The important factor that you must consider is whether or not your topic has at least two arguable sides (note: it might have more than two); if not, you do not have a "question at issue" and do not have a topic that will result in an effective argument. Review the steps for generating a thesis and print out and complete the Thesis Generating Worksheet, to be turned in with your essay. Before drafting your essay, be sure to complete assigned reading in the packet and on the website (in particular, the information on leads, opening and closing paragraphs, and using direct quotations). You can also consult the Peer Review Sheet for Essay #2 while drafting and revising your essay.
Final Version
Your final essay should be 4-5 double-spaced, typed pages in length. You will most likely quote from more than one of the essays in the text, so should be sure to use parenthetical citation correctly and to add a Works Cited list (click here for MLA or APA examples). You may use outside sources as well, though these are not required. Leave everything that was in your portfolio folder from the first "turn in" in the folder. Add to this material your new reading responses and your second essay, including the following materials related to your second essay: rough draft, peer reviewers' comments, mechanics checklist, working outline, and thesis generating worksheet.
Essay #3
Longer Argument
|
November 17--Select a topic for Essay
#3*; Complete Thesis *These should be completed individually by students outside of class. |
Your third essay will be a longer argument (5-6 pages).
Several steps that were covered in class for essays #1 and #2 (brainstorming, thesis, outline) are left for you to do on your own. This compression does not mean that you should omit these steps, for they are important; it merely means that a specific class period has not been scheduled for them.
If somehow you have not done so yet, be sure to read "Leads," "Opening & Closing Paragraphs" (2 separate items with the same title), and "Using Direct Quotations" in the Packet and "Quoting from Sources," pp. 207-209 in the text.
Topics
Once again, the topic for this final, longer argument should grow out of the reading and discussions we have had in class. You may go back to any of the earlier essays we discussed, or use topics related to the sections selected for group presentations. As before, you may use ideas directly raised in the essays, questions that you had as a result of reading the essays, questions that were raised in class, or any related issue. One factor you must consider is whether your topic has at least two arguable sides (note: it might have more than two); if not, you do not have a "question at issue" and do not have a topic that will result in an effective argument. In addition, your topic for Essay #3 must be different than the one you wrote on for Essay #2. Review the steps for generating a thesis and then print and complete the Thesis Generating Worksheet. You can also consult the Peer Review Sheet for Essay #3 while drafting and revising your essay. In addition, you must show in this essay that you can use quotations correctly and incorporate them smoothly (both "in-text" and block), correctly format and punctuate parenthetical citations, and prepare a brief Works Cited list correctly (see below).
Your final essay should be 5-6 double-spaced, typed pages in length. Although using research sources is part of the curriculum of Wr 123, you should include at least 3 different types of sources in your final essay (not just essays from the text) to experience preparing a Works Cited page using the citation style appropriate to your major (see MLA parenthetical citation and Works Cited or APA parenthetical citation and Works Cited examples here, or refer to the Prentice Hall Reference Guide for CBE). Leave everything that was in your portfolio folder from the previous "turn in" in the folder. Add to this material your new reading responses and your third essay, including the following materials related to your third essay: rough draft, peer reviewer's comments, mechanics checklist, working outline, and thesis generating worksheet.
NOTE: Given end-of-term time constraints, this third essay cannot be revised for a higher grade. This factor generally increases the number of students who ask to work with me on their essays prior to the essay being turned in. Working with everyone in both this class and my other class the last few days of the term is physically impossible. Plan your work and time wisely. You might, for example, bring in parts of your essay as you finish them, even if the entire essay is not yet completed.
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Last Updated 11/15/00