Project 3

Length: 6-7 pages, typed and double-spaced, 1″ margins on all sides

Font: Times New Roman, size 12 pt

File Format: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF

Documentation Format: MLA

Rough Draft due 11/22 (hardcopy)

Revision Reflection due 12/1 (hardcopy)

Final Draft due 12/6 (Canvas)

In Projects 1 and 2, we’ve been focused on analyzing other people’s arguments. Now, with Project 3, your goal is to invent your own argument, and to write a 6-7 page researched paper in which you make and develop that argument.

Previous students have written about the following topics (just a few examples):

  • Except for strictly limited medical research, lab-based animal testing should be prohibited.
  • The U.S. military’s Purple Heart award (given to those wounded or killed during combat) should be expanded to include soldiers with “mental” wounds such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
  • Fighting should be banned from hockey at the professional level.
  • College athletes should be treated as paid employees, not as “amateur” athletes undeserving of pay.

Of course, you’re not limited to just the above topics. I encourage you to come up with an entirely new topic. To this end, peruse the news media—sites like Vox.com and Google News—as well as library resources like Opposing Viewpoints in Context.

Rubric

  • The paper provides a solid introduction and a clear, identifiable, and arguable thesis statement: Maximum 10 points
  • Pathos: The paper demonstrates a recognition of, and persuasively appeals to, the emotions of the target audience: Maximum 15 points
  • Ethos: The essay contains at least three outside sources, two of which must be scholarly in nature: Maximum 15 points
  • Logos: The essay is logically organized and develops in a way that supports the initial claim in the thesis statement. Each paragraph/section is clearly identified by a topic sentence(s) and flows well with good transitions: Maximum 25 points
  • Exigence: The essay clearly explains what’s at stake in your topic, effectively proving that it’s a topic worth arguing about in the first place. (Imagine your reader asking you, “What’s the problem you’re trying to solve with this paper? Why tackle this problem now?”): Maximum 25 points
  • Formatting: MLA citations, Work Cited page, and general paper formatting and length are correct: Maximum 5 points
  • Clarity: On the whole, the paper is clearly written and free of grammatical or proofreading errors: Maximum 5 points