Stand Your Ground and Stretch Your Mind
Because That Ground is on the Other Side!
Q. Huh? What does that assignment title even mean? A. Well, for starters it means you can plan on exercising some serious critical thinking (think of it like serious bench-pressing of the mind)
In Preparation. . .
The first step to preparing for this essay assignment and/or research paper is by going to the “Arguments about Current Issues” section located in the “Contents by Genre” part of the Table of Contents in your Arguing About Literature book.
Once you are in this section, look for an essay towhich you ENTIRELY AGREE.
Part A of this assignment requires you to write at least one full page (MLA formatted) of rationale/explanation as to WHY, specifically, you agree with the essay. Feel free to use first person in this portion because it is personal; in fact, what I would like to see everyone do in this portion is discuss or identify any inherent personal biases that may be involved in gravitating you towards the essay you’ve selected; such biases may be the result of anecdotal experiences.
Part B (where the fun happens) of this assignment requires you to write a strong, CLAIM-DRIVEN ARGUMENT ESSAY AGAINST your selected essay(you know–the one you wrote glowing things about in Part A). In this essay, which is 80% plus of the assignment overall, you will be expected to establish solid grounds and a warrant for the argument–in addition to a strong claim that effectively responds to the question: “what am I trying to prove?” The essay needs to contain plenty of evidence and support from a variety of required sources (see list at the end of this prompt), in addition to demonstrating fair-mindedness towards opposing views (in case it did not occur to you yet, the “opposing views” in this unique case are actually the views you expressed in part A; indeed, in this essay, you are actually the opposition you will be writing against). The essay must be persuasive! It cannot be flat or apathetic, meaning that it must contain strong appeals to ethos, logos and pathos! It must be written with a clear desire for readers to agree!
Part C is the “Works Cited” page; this is categorized as distinct, even though the essay as a whole will contain all three parts in one unified document. This is categorized as distinct because there are several source types required within it, and it will be assessed based upon its accuracy regarding MLA format.
Sources Required:
1. The essay selected from Arguing About Literature(naturally)
2. Either another essay from the book, if it applies, ORan applicable short story, OR a poem from the book (feel free to use two sources from the book if you wish)
3. Three or four “peer-reviewed” articles from scholarly journals (obtained through the HCC library databases) that are, of course, pertinent to the subject of your selected essay
4. Two websites from .org, .gov, or .edu domains
5. Wildcard source; your selection
General Requirements:
Length: 5-6 pages for Part B
Sources: 8 (including the selected story)
Voice: Strictly 3rd Person Voice for Part B
Format: Strictly MLA for both general format AND internal source citations
Percentage of Words from Source Material: No more than 30%
Submission of Parts A, B, and C will occur at the same time—as ONE COMPLETE DOCUMENT (divided into the three parts)
It’s one thing to talk critical thinking, and it is even impressive in an argument to truly understand the “other side” of an issue, but the true litmus test occurs when youneed to become that other side!
In my humble opinion, an essay assignment like this ought to be a requirement for every partisan politician in Washington D.C. who is incapable of seeing beyond their side of an issue!
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