Argumentative / Research Essay Project

Background: Just like Jonathan Swift did with his pamphlet, "A Modest Proposal," in this assignment you will be addressing a societal issue that is a concern for you and your country. Not only will you be addressing the issue, you will be offering a solution to the problem and then arguing why your solution is the best solution to the problem.

Unfortunately, in today's society, there are a number of issues that you could choose to write about. The choice is yours to make. Remember to steer clear of topics rooted in deeply religious or personal beliefs. You want to be able to win this argument! If you have trouble deciding on a topic, talk to your parents or your teacher to help get ideas. Turn on the TV and watch the news or pick up the local newspaper. Any one of these resources will help you get an idea for your topic.

Assignment: Your assignment is to choose a societal issue that the United States is currently facing.You are to offer a logical solution to the problem through an argumentative essay. You will be required to do research in order to write the paper.

1) Introduce a topic of concern to your reader. Explain the topic and its effect on our society. (Paragraph 1/Intro paragraph)

2) Offer a logical solution to the problem. (Thesis Statement)

3) Argue why your solution would work to solve the problem. Offer evidence from your research to help prove your point. (Paragraphs 2 and 3)

4) Address the major counter-arguments that might be presented against your solution. (Paragraph 4)

5) Conclude the essay powerfully, reiterating your position. (Paragraph 5)

6) Document and cite the sources for your evidence. (Works Cited page)

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Process: Since this is a research paper, you will be completing the project in phases. You will receive several grades through the various phases. Use this document to keep you organized as we work through this unit. Keep adding to it (and submitting it) for each assignment. Your job is to make sure all the gray boxes are completed!

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Step 1: What is your topic?

E07 Topic Choice Assignment
Write your topic in one or more complete sentences

Step 2: Do your research! You are going to create an Annotated Bibliography. Findat least 3 sources you can use as support for your argument. Check out thisslide deck with information about how to access free academic databases. If you want to hear from an ASU Librarian about how to research effectively, check outthis video.

Create your MLA citations. Check out this website for citing guidelines.

Then write a short paragraph about each source; each paragraph needs three parts.

Part 1: 1-2 sentence summary of the major points of the article

Part 2: Evaluation of the credibility of the source

Part 3: Your judgment on this source's usefulness for your purposes

E07 Research Assignment
Source 1 citation
Source 1 Annotation paragraph
Source 2 citation
Source 2 Annotation paragraph
Source 3 citation
Source 3 Annotation paragraph
Feel free to add additional sources if you want!

Step 3: You did a lot of research, so you should now have a clear idea of how you want to approach your topic. Write your thesis statement. Check out these resources (video, thesis generator, site) if you want some tips. REMEMBER-your thesis (and the whole essay) should be writtenin third person POV.

E07 Thesis Statement Assignment

Thesis:

Step 4: Now it's time to start putting ideas together. Use this template to organize your thoughts.

Introduction

Opening Statement - An opening line that evokes your audience's curiosity (this is a cool resource to help with opening strategies)
Background Information - What does your reader need to know for context? (1-3 sentences)
Controversy - A statement outlining the issue and any controversy regarding the topic
Thesis (use the one you created above)

Body Paragraph 1: This paragraph should be a major concept or idea that supports your thesis. Answer the question of why your side is true.

Topic Sentence:

"Before the Quote" commentary that summarizes the quote that follows, in your own words, or transitions from your topic sentence to your evidence.
Quote from the researchthat supports your reason; use asignal phrase+author/title or a parenthetical citation
"After the Quote" commentary that explains how the quote supports your reason, in your own words

"Before the Quote" commentary that summarizes the quote that follows, in your own words, or transitions from your topic sentence to your evidence.
Second Quote from the researchthat supports your reason; use asignal phrase+author/title or a parenthetical citation
"After the Quote" commentary that explains how the quote supports your reason, in your own words

Concluding Sentence: (This should be a final statement that sums up your argument for this paragraph, and explains how it connects back to the thesis)

Body Paragraph 2: This paragraph should be a major concept or idea that supports your claim. Answer the question of why your claim is true.

Topic Sentence:

"Before the Quote" commentary that summarizes the quote that follows, in your own words, or transitions from your topic sentence to your evidence.
Quote from the researchthat supports your reason; use asignal phrase+author/title or a parenthetical citation
"After the Quote" commentary that explains how the quote supports your reason, in your own words

"Before the Quote" commentary that summarizes the quote that follows, in your own words, or transitions from your topic sentence to your evidence.
Second Quote from the researchthat supports your reason; use asignal phrase+author/title or a parenthetical citation
"After the Quote" commentary that explains how the quote supports your reason, in your own words

Concluding Sentence: (This should be a final statement that sums up your argument for this paragraph, and explains how it connects back to the thesis)

Counterclaim and Rebuttal Paragraph: What is the other side of this argument and how would you respond?

Counterclaim Sentence:

use a starter such as: "others claim" "some believe" "opponents suggest"

Quote that supports the counterclaim; includes citing with a signal phrase or parenthetical citation
Counterclaim commentary that explains how the quote supports the counterclaim, in your own words

Rebuttal: Why is the counterclaim wrong? Make sure that your explanation of why the other side is wrong also gives another point to support your thesis.

Quote from the research that supports the rebuttal; includes citing
Rebuttal commentary that explains how the quote supports the rebuttal and links back to the claim

Concluding Sentence: (acknowledges the opposing viewpoint but states that the claim is ultimately correct; begins with a closing transition phrase)

Conclusion

Signal sentence uses a closingtransition phrase and summarizes the argument by mentioning the topic, counterclaim, claim, and rebuttal
Reverb statement that answers the question, "Why does it matter?" and evokes an emotional connection for the reader. (2-3 sentences)
Call to Action that recommends an action the audience can take as they begin to understand the writer's side of the controversial issue. (2-3 sentences)

[SUBMIT STEPS 1-4 to the E07 Template Submission Assignment]

Step 5: Congratulations, you have all your ideas planned out and written! Now take all that amazing writing to create your rough draft.

Open a new document. Copy and paste all of the work from the template above into an MLA-formatted formal essay.See this example. That means I should see a heading, page numbers, and paragraphs. Thisvideo shows you how to set up the page. Don't forget to create the Works Cited page using the citations from Step 2. (Youonly need the citations, not the annotation paragraphs.)

Pastea link to your rough draft document in the box below (make sure to adjust the sharing settings so I can access it).

LINK ONLY:

Step 6: It is important to take the time to revise and edit your work before you submit a final draft.

Check out this list of tools you can use. Each one has different features that can help you analyze your work. I want you to tryat least 2of them and evaluate their effectiveness in your process.

Hemingway App- Highlights areas where you can improve the clarity of your writing Paper Rater- Some great tools to help you analyze your vocabulary, sentence variety, and sentence starters Natural Readers- A screen reader so you can hear your paper out loud; it can help you gain an objective perspective of the ideas and flow of what you have written. Trusted Reviewer- Ask someone you trust to read your work and give you feedback. Ratiocination- The process of exact thinking Turn It In- Turn in your work to the assignment in Canvas. Then open your Turn It In Report. The purple menu on the right-hand side will highlight possible areas to revise.	Which ones did you try? Post evidence to show which tools you chose. (This can be screenshots or links to the worksheets.)
What worked well for you? What was something the revising process helped you notice about your writing or change? Are there any tools you would use again?

Step 7: You have researched, written a cohesive argument, andrevised your work(if your final draft is exactly the same as the template and does not show revision, that is a problem). You should now be prepared to submit your final draft to theE07 Final Argumentative Research PaperAssignment. This is the final formal essay of your High School English career, so make it count!

Can someone please help me with this? I know it's a lot but I'm desperate. My last tutor couldn't help me and I need help really bad. With all of it.