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Murray State University
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Basic Requirements for all English 102 Essays

Before you submit your essay in a pocketed folder you will want to evaluate your essay using the following checklist of requirements. These are the requirements I will use when evaluating your work. To the left of the requirement is a number that indicates the maximum number of points that may be lost for problems in this area.

-10 Preparation
-Were you present for in class exercises? -Do you have a rough draft attached?

-15 Basic Requirements

-Is your essay typed, double-spaced, 12pt plain font, 3 pgs. Min/ 4 pgs. Max
(research paper min. 8-max. 10 pgs), MLA formatted, and in a pocketed folder?

-10 Smooth Introduction
-Do you get the readers attention?
-Do you orient the reader to your topic?

-10 Clear specific narrowly focused thesis statement
-Can you identify a single sentence that explains the entire essay?

-30 Spelling and Grammar mistakes
-Have you spell checked AND proofread?
-15 Transitions within and between paragraphs
-Do you provide clear signposts within the writing to link ideas and sections?

-30 Appropriate topic/ assignment/language
-Are you doing the right assignment?
-Have you written a formal academic essay?

-20 Unity
-Does the paper stay within a single topic and avoid irrelevant detours?

-20 Coherence
-Are sentences clear and logically arranged?
Do you blend sentences effectively?
-Did you consider your audience?

-30 Completeness
-Do you adequately support your main ideas with primary and/or secondary sources?
-Is your research/support valid and relevant?

-10 Conclusion
-Do you summarize and restate your position?
-Do you include a works cited page?





Argumentation/Persuasive Writing

All of the essays we will be writing in this course will be some form of argumentative writing.
When we talk about arguments in class we mean a very different connotation from the vicious verbal cat fight or bloody bar room brawl most people think of when they hear the word "argument."
In the academic environment, argumentation is the art of influencing thinking or changing behavior through logical reasons or proofs.,
A logical argument must go beyond a summary of an article or of a particular position. An argumentative essay should not read like a book report!
must take a side and stay on that side throughout the entire essay.

Also, be careful not to confuse argumentation with an emotional appeal, which involves provoking strong emotions like fear or pity to persuade. Your goal is not to make the reader feel, but to make them think.

How To Write An Argumentative Essay
While good essays often come in many different styles, there is one consistantly reliable method many writers use to produce good argumentative essays. This formula is surprisingly simple to learn and is applicable to essays in many different genres (business, history, architecture, etc).
excellent creative writers, with whom I sympathize, protest writing in a forced formula. However, college level essays often require not just creative talent, but unity coherence and completeness, all of which can be generated by using this formula.

  1. The first paragraph should first generally introduce the theme or direction of your essay and then clearly state your premise.
    premise should not be just your opinion, but rather a logical conclusion based on a set of established facts that you plan to provide in the body of your essay. Word your premise as a thesis sentence, a single sentence located in the first paragraph which clearly summarizes the entire essay. As long as a premise can be supported by valid research, is not based on a fallacy, and can not be contradicted by more recent research you should feel free in this class to argue any premise you wish.

  2. Organize the main ideas that will prove your premise. Although you do want to have more than one main idea for your argument, quality is much more important than quantity. Most three page essays have two or three main ideas.
    Try asking yourself: Why do I believe in this premise?
    Prewriting (freewriting, chaining, clustering, etc) can help you organize before you start writing. Be careful to avoid fallacies and always provide accurate and recent support material.
    Also, remember you are trying to prove your ideas to as broad an audience as possible. Try to make as much of an outline as you can before you plunge into the first draft.

  3. Develop each of your three main ideas with two or more supporting facts. For a strong argument is not enough to simply state personal feelings. The more evidence you can provide the more convincing your argument will be.
    Support for your claim can come from data or evidence (books, magazine articles, quotes, web sites, interviews, etc) which will prove your claim.
    Be sure to keep very good research notes and citatations for every source you use including internet sources.

  4. Conclude with a quick summary of the essay and thoughtful clencher sentence. The idea behind a conclusion is to bring everything together. Do not simply repeat your thesis sentence and never bring up new points in the conclusion.

Remember all essays should be your very best academic writing:


The art of good writing is nothing more than using your own language to "say what you mean and say it simply " (T.S. Eliot).


First Paper Assignment English 102
Is the Writing Process Graded?

YES!


Prewriting, drafting, revising and editing skills are uniquely individual processes and thus are not graded separately, but rather are considered in an evaluation of the final product.
Common sense and the experience you have as writers already tells you that the amount of time and attention you give to each of these steps improves your chances of producing quality work.

"NOT GRADED" DOES NOT MEAN "NOT EXPECTED

IN ORDER TO PRODUCE A QUALITY ESSAY A WRITER, ALL WRITERS, MUST:"!.

I. PREWRITE IN ORDER TO:
A) GENERATE IDEAS
AND
B) ORGANIZE THOSE IDEAS
II. DRAFT THOSE ORGANIZED IDEAS INTO AN ESSAY FORMAT
(DUE Sept 13)

III. SUBSTANTIALLY REVISE TO PRODUCE A NEW DRAFT (Due SEPT 15th)
IV. EDIT TO CORRECT CARELESS MISTAKES

REMINDER:

There will be deduction from your essay grade for not having a first draft on Sept. 13th and for not have a revised draft at your conference.

Although neither draft will be numerically graded on it's merits, a draft, even a first draft, should be well organized and easily readable as an essay.

Drafts are NOT prewriting!

The draft should not read like freewriting or a journal entry.
It should evidence the considerable prewriting, including some form of outlining, that the writer must has done before they began composing. However, by no means should it be perfect!

Try focusing on getting the body of the paper (thesis, two main ideas and support) in good shape. This will help your peer editor understand the overall structure of your argument.

After your paper has been peer edited you should be able to revise it before your conference.

The draft you bring to your conferences should be substantially revised and of such a quality that you should have only minor editing to clear up afterwards.

Also, be aware that conferences are short and thus I can not possibly find all the possible problems that an essay may have.
Hopefully, you will get some cursory suggestions regarding the major problems and strengths to help you in the final editing process.

Supplemental Readings are strongly encouraged!
*For additional sources visit the class web site: https://www.angelfire.com/ky2/eng102murray/index.html