English 12 Argumentative Research Paper - PC\|MAC

English 12 Argumentative Research Paper

Due Dates:

1. Introduction and Outline (Written or Typed, Double-spaced) - Due Friday, December 2, 2016 - 100 Test Pts 2. Rough Draft (Typed Hard Copy, Double-Spaced) - Due Wednesday, December 7, 2016 - 100 Test Points 3. Final Draft (Typed Hard Copy, Double-Spaced) - Due Monday, December 12, 2016 - 100 Test Points

Note: WHETHER WRITTEN OR TYPED, KEEP A COPY OF YOUR WORK. DO NOT WAIT FOR THE WORK TO BE RETURNED TO REVISE YOUR WORK.

Final Draft Due Date: Monday, December 12, 2016

Note: Each day that the paper is late will result in 10 points being deducted from the final score. Your presence or absence at school does not affect the due date of the paper or the reduction in points.

Note: Read the directions for each step and turn in each step on time.

Step One: Choosing a topic and locating sources Step Two: Developing a thesis Step Three: Writing an introduction paragraph and outline (100 points) Step Four: Writing the first draft (100 points) Step Five: Editing, evaluating, revising, and proofreading the first draft Step Six: Writing and proofreading the final draft (100 points) ____________________________________________________________________________

Step One: Choosing a topic and locating sources

The purpose of an argument is to change someone's mind. That purpose is accomplished through a quality argument that explains why your opinions, beliefs, and ideas are reasonable. First, select a topic. For this essay, I have provided you with the list of "301 Argumentative Writing Prompts" from the New York Times. This handout and the links to sources are available on the school website.

1. Go to the school website: 2. Click "News & Events." 3. Follow the link "School Staff." 4. Scroll down the School Staff page to "McRae, Joseph" and click on the name. 5. Follow the link marked "Forms." 6. Download the PDF file "Handout - English 12 - Paper Topics." 7. Read through the list of questions and choose one or more prompts that you find interesting. 8. Go to the following site:

for-argumentative-writing/. 9. Scroll down the page until you reach the numbered prompts. Note that each question is

linked to a selection of New York Times articles. 10. Find your chosen prompt(s) and explore the links. 11. Each article attached to the question is a source that can be used in your paper. 12. Read and take notes on the articles attached to your questions. You will need three

sources for your final draft.

English 12 Argumentative Research Paper

13.Print or bookmark the attached articles and note the author, title, date of publication, and the date that you accessed the article on the web.

____________________________________________________________________________

Step Two: After selecting a topic and locating sources, create a working thesis statement. It must be one sentence long and must reflect the main idea of your research (and of your future essay). Your thesis sentence should reflect your opinion clearly and strongly and should convey a persuasive tone. Make sure that your thesis statement is one complete sentence. ____________________________________________________________________________

Step Three: Using Steps One and Two, you will create an introduction paragraph and a working outline. Your introduction paragraph needs to set up your thesis statement, which will be the last sentence of your introduction paragraph. In the introduction, you want to capture your readers' attention and involve and interest them in your issue. You might want to start with a question or a demand or a quote. Your introduction needs to set up the thesis statement and prepare the readers for the facts and examples you will later explain in your body paragraph(s). Your introduction paragraph should be about three-seven sentences long.

Your outline will illustrate how you plan to organize and discuss your opinion. See "Handout Creating an Outline" for instructions and a template for the outline. A hard copy of your introduction and an outline of your essay are due Friday, December 2, 2016. ____________________________________________________________________________

Step Four: Using Steps One, Two, and Three, you will write or type your three-or-moreparagraph first draft. The first paragraph is, of course, your introduction that ends with your thesis statement. The second (and/or third and fourth, etc.) paragraph(s) will be the body paragraph(s) that discuss(es) and persuade(s) your readers to agree with your thesis statement. You should express your beliefs and ideas and should include your facts, details, examples, and explanations. You must support your opinions. Use your sources to help you provide scholarly and valid details. You must incorporate in-text citations. Then, create a conclusion paragraph in which you restate your thesis in a new and fresh way and in which you persuade your readers to agree with you and/or in which you appeal to them to take action. Try to end your conclusion with a positive persuasive statement. Provide a working title for your essay. A hard copy of the first draft is due on Wednesday, December 7, 2016. ____________________________________________________________________________

Step Five: Read and revise your paper. When your first draft is returned to you, read and incorporate the feedback given on your essay. It is highly suggested that you have a peer read your revised draft and offer feedback. Add a Works Cited page listing all your sources in MLA format (a model essay is available on the class website). ____________________________________________________________________________

Step Six: Step Six is the final draft. After incorporating your teacher's and your peers' feedback, type or retype your essay. Make it your best effort. The final draft should be doublespaced, in eleven or twelve-point type, using a common font such as Helvetica, Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman. DO NOT GET CREATIVE WITH THE FONT. Head and number the paper using MLA format (Jane Smith, Mr. McRae, English 12, 12 December 2016). Remember to add your title. Proofread and edit it. If necessary, revise it again. Staple it in the top left corner. (Note: Remember that this paper will contain a Works Cited page that will indicate from where you gathered your data to support your opinion.) The final draft is due Monday, December 12, 2016.

PLAGIARISM WILL RESULT IN A GRADE OF ZERO.

Creating an Outline

Your thesis statement can help you to organize your essay. Now that you have a thesis, you can develop an outline for your essay. An outline organizes your ideas, and it makes writing your essay easier. A clear essay must be well-organized, and an outline helps you to think about the logic of your argument. It can also help you to show relationships among ideas in your writing, and it can define boundaries and groups of ideas.

How do I create an outline?

There are many ways you can organize an essay. A well-structured thesis too may help you to shape your outline. You might do any of the following:

Brainstorm: List all the ideas that you want to include in your paper. Organize: Group related ideas together. Order: Arrange material in a logical order appropriate to your topic (e.g., general to specific,

chronological, point by point). Label: Create main and sub headings.

Creating an outline will make organizing your thoughts easier, either before or after you have written an initial draft of your essay. Even if you end up departing from the structure you create with the outline, making any kind of outline (even just jotting down some main ideas) will be beneficial to your writing process. Outlines, as well as thesis statements, can and should be revised as you write, as your ideas should become sharper and more refined throughout the writing process.

As you continue to read, reread, and think about the ideas and information you have decided to use, you will begin to see new connections between items, and patterns of organization will suggest themselves. Bring related material together under general headings, and arrange these sections so that one logically connects with another. Then order the subjects under each heading so that they, too, proceed logically. Finally, plan an effective introduction and a conclusion appropriate to the sequence you have worked out.

Organizing Principles: Common organizing principles include

chronology (useful for historical discussions--e.g., how the Mexican War developed) cause and effect (e.g., the consequences a scientific discovery will have) process (e.g., how a politician got elected) deductive logic, which moves from the general to the specific (e.g., from the problem of

violence in the United States to violence involving handguns) inductive logic, which moves from the specific to the general (e.g., from violence involving

handguns to the problem of violence in the United States)

Methods of Development

As you choose an organizational plan, keep in mind the method or methods you will use in developing your paper. For example, which of the following do you plan to accomplish?

to define, classify, or analyze something to compare or contrast one thing with another to argue for a certain point of view

Creating an Outline

The procedures you intend to adopt will influence the way you arrange your material, and they should be evident in your outline.

Integrating Quotations and Sources

It is also a good idea to indicate in the outline, specifically and precisely, the quotations and sources you will use. All this planning will take a good deal of time and thought, and you may well make several preliminary outlines before arriving at the one you will follow. But the time and thought will be well spent. The more planning you do, the easier and more efficient the writing will be.

Sample Research Paper Outline

I. Introduction (2-3 paragraphs)

A. Story, quote, questions, anecdotes, something of interest B. Statement of the problem (your "why" questions) C. History of the problem D. Thesis

II. Body Section One (4-6 paragraphs)

A. Extent of the problem / How bad is it? 1. What has happened 2. Why should we be concerned

B. Who is affected? / How are they affected? 1. Examples 2. Stories 3. Facts

III. Body Section Two (3-4 paragraphs)

A. Cause / Effect 1. Because of this problem, this has happened....

B. Repercussions of the problem 1. If we don't solve this problem, this will happen...

IV. Body Section Three (1-3 paragraphs)

A. Possible Solutions 1. What will work 2. What will not work 3. Possible oppositions

V. Conclusion (1-2 paragraphs)

A. Relate back to introduction (story/quote/question) B. Restate thesis/clincher

Outline for Argumentative Essay

General Topic / Title: _________________________________________________________________________________

I.

Introduction

SOURCES:

A. Background information to introduce issue:

_____________________ _____________________ _____________________

B. Thesis statement, or, your position on the issue. (full sentence):

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

II.

Body

A. First Supporting Point (full sentence):

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

B. Evidence: support your point with facts and specific examples

i.

_____________________

ii.

_____________________

iii.

_____________________

C. Second Supporting Point (full sentence):

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

D. Evidence: support your point with facts and specific examples

i.

_____________________

ii.

_____________________

iii.

_____________________

E. Third Supporting Point OR Counterargument and Rebuttal (full sentence):

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

F. Evidence: support your point or rebuttal with facts and specific examples

i.

_____________________

ii.

_____________________

iii.

_____________________

Outline for Argumentative Essay

III. Conclusion A. Summarize thesis. B. Comment on significance of topic: _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________

Argumentative Essay ? Sample Introduction and Outline

Read the student's example below and use it as a model to help you create your own introduction paragraph and working outline. Please double-space your introduction paragraph.

Should we be listening to the environmentalists and heed their warnings about the seriousness of pollution: the "greenhouse effect," acid rain, the ozone hole, and endangered oceans? And, if we do agree with their pleas to "do something about pollution," what can we, as individuals, really do? Isn't pollution a problem for industrial corporations and the government to solve? How can we, as individuals, make a difference? Actually, we can help to decrease pollution within our own homes and communities. In fact, if we want our world to become a safer, cleaner place in which to live, it is imperative that we, as individuals, take action and become part of the solution, not the problem, of pollution: we have to make a conscious effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

I.

Introduction paragraph

A. Building up to the thesis statement--getting the reader "hooked"

B. The thesis statement

II. Topic sentence--why we need to reduce, reuse, and recycle

A. Briefly discuss the "greenhouse effect" 1. Mainly caused by industrial nations that produce carbon dioxide 2. Also caused by release of methane and CFCs

B. Briefly discuss acid rain, ozone hole, and endangered oceans 1. Caused by car exhaust and certain chemicals 2. Oil pollution 3. Dumping of waste, sewage, and garbage

C. Briefly discuss litter and waste management

III. Topic sentence--Reduce: Think about what we buy and reduce our use of certain items

A. Reduce our consumption 1. Buy recyclable items or only what we need and avoid wasteful packaging 2. Buy less hazardous materials such as pesticides, fertilizers, etc.

3. Don't buy items in spray cans--use pump sprays 4. Reduce use of disposable items that pollute--batteries, plastics, Styrofoam

B. Reduce use our cars and use our legs and bicycles more

C.

These efforts will help reduce the production of carbon dioxide, methane, and CFCs and

will lessen the car exhaust and certain pollutants in the air

IV. Topic sentence--Reuse-- not replace

A. Reuse paper bags, plastic bags and containers, old fabrics and rags B. Compost--use yard and kitchen waste C. "Toss means loss"--there will not be as much to throw away, so this will lessen the

amount of waste, sewage, and garbage

V. Topic sentence--Recycle--easy to do and can even bring in money

A. Recycle paper products (newspaper, magazines, old books, etc.) B. Recycle aluminum, tin, steel, glass, plastics, batteries (even oil, tires, and sewage) C. Instead of littering or creating more garbage for waste management, recycle (In the long

run--more efficient and even can be profitable)

VI. Conclusion

A. Restatement of thesis statement B. Note how positive and easy the methods of reducing, reusing, and recycling are C. Encourage the reader to take action--become a part of the solution, not the problem

VII. Works Cited

A. At least three sources B. All should be cited according to MLA format

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