Final Essay Instructions

You've already done most of the work (refer to this post) that will determine the shape of your essay, but here is a formal listing of the instructions and requirements.

Using the research you've already completed, write a 1700-2000 word academic essay that:

1. Contains an original, arguable thesis.  Your essay should add something new to the discussion of your topic rather than simply summarize existing research.
2. Supports claims with examples from credible sources.
3. Uses a suitably professional tone.
4. Cites sources according to MLA guidelines.
5. Builds on the effective writing strategies already discussed in the course: specific examples, paragraph focus, essay focus, format/punctuation/mechanics, strong ethical appeal, thesis/support, etc.

This essay is due at the time of the final exam (Monday, June 6).  In addition to your final draft, you should submit all earlier drafts, outlines, brainstorming, research notes, etc.

Good luck.

Final Exam Review Topics

Here is a general outline of final exam topics.  I will review it during class on 5/22, and you will have in-class opportunities to ask questions.

Although the final exam may include any concept we covered this quarter, I intend to focus on the following:

I: Sentence level issues

            A. Commas

                        1. Separating items in a series

                        2. With coordinating conjunctions to form compound sentences

                        3. After introductory elements

                        4. With nonrestrictive elements

                        5. Comma splices

                        6. Fused sentences (run-ons)           

           

            B. Semicolons

                        1. To join independent clauses

                        2. To separate a series of items already containing commas

            C. Apostrophes

                        1. To indicate possession

                        2. With conjunctions

            D. Using punctuation with quotation marks

                        1. Placement of periods, commas, and question marks

                        2. Using ellipses to indicate omissions

                        3. Using square brackets to indicate changes

            E. Pronouns

                        1. Vague pronoun reference

                        2. Pronoun-antecedent agreement

            F. Manuscript format           

            G.  Title format

                        1. Italics, underlining, quotation marks, capitalization

II. Paragraph and essay level issues

            A. Specific and concrete language

                        1. Avoiding generalizations and clichés

            B. Paragraph focus

                        1. Topic sentences

                        2. Supporting examples and development

                                    a. Sensory details, analogies, facts, statistics, testimony, metaphors

            C. Essay focus and argument

                        1. Thesis/claim

                        2. Evidence/support

                        3. Counterarguments

                        4. Types of appeals: logical, ethical, emotional

                        5. Fallacies

            D. Research and documentation

                        1. Evaluating sources

                        2. Incorporating sources

                        3. Quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing

                        4. Introducing and interpreting material from outside sources

                        5. Parenthetical citations

                        6. Works cited lists

For the sentence level section of the exam, you will be presented with sentences containing one or more error.  You will be asked to rewrite each sentence so that the error no longer exists.  The exam’s paragraph/essay level section will include multiple choice and short answer questions.

Topic Proposal Instructions

By now you should have discovered a precise topic and done a significant amount of reading about it.  Hopefully, you've become something of an expert on it.  Now it's time to draw on your expertise and tell the world what it needs to know about your topic.

This assignment is intended to get your started in formulating your argument and thinking about the examples you will use to support it.  Here are the instructions:

In a document modeled on the example on page 405, describe your topic, working thesis, and major examples.  After reading your proposal, I should have a sense of:

1. What your topic is.
2. Why the topic matters to you.
3. Why the topic matters to readers (and who those specific readers are).
4.  What you have observed and concluded from your research thus far.  In other words, what do you plan to argue?  What is your essay’s working thesis?
5. What reasons and evidence (mention specific sources) you plan to use to support your argument.

This assignment is due on Monday, May 23.  Please email me if you have any questions.
 

Reading for Wednesday, 5/18

Please read this article and be prepared to discuss it in class on Wednesday.  Although it appears in a popular publication rather than an academic one, it nevertheless utilizes most of the research skills we're discussing in class.

And it's about commas.

REMINDER

Don't forget that Monday's class will meet in the library instruction lab in Elson Hall.  If you exit the library and walk down the hallway toward the atrium, the lab is the first door on your right.

Please arrive on time.  Reference librarian Janelle Hubble will be instructing us on locating sources in library databases.

Assignment for Monday 5/16

I apologize for the length of these instructions, but every point here is important.  Please read them carefully.

1. Your final essay will require research on a topic related to your major (or potential major).  Begin by deciding what general topic you're going to research.
2. Spend some time reading/browsing information on your topic.  Don't worry too much about the credibility of your sources (for now).  Your goal here isn't to discover information you can use in an essay; your goal is to discover what interests you most about your topic.
3. Between now and Monday, work to narrow your focus and identify a minimum of five specific, original questions that would require research to answer.  To put this a slightly different way, what do you most want to know about your topic? 
4. Remember that you are writing an academic essay, not a career report.  Your focus should be on your topic itself, rather than the lives of people involved in a specific profession.
5. An academic essay is also different from an informative report.  Your essay should do more than summarize existing knowledge on your topic.  It should, instead, DRAW AN ORIGINAL CONCLUSION.  You should have this purpose in mind as you write your research questions.  

Here are some sample questions: 

• How has the popularity of text messaging affected literacy among today's youth?
• What impact does the availability of bike lanes have on obesity rates?
• How accurately does the film Black Swan depict the lives of actual dancers?

The above questions are suitable because each one A) requires research to answer, B) would likely lead to a conclusion (an arguable claim) that could serve as an essay's thesis, and C) seeks to discover something new about its topic.

Please bring your questions to class on Monday.  We will discuss them.  See you then.

Essay II Instructions

By now, you're well on your way to completing this assignment.  Everyone should have a suitably specific topic picked out and at least a general idea of what you plan to say about this topic.  For the record, the official instructions are to follow the guidelines for Assignment 2 on page 101 of your textbook.  Use "Uncle Sam and Aunt Samantha" and "Is Cursive Dead?" as models.

Here are some additional suggestions and guidelines:

• Your essay should be 1000-1200 words long, so choosing a suitable topic is vital.
• Although research is necessary to thoroughly explore your topic, academic (MLA or APA) style documentation is not.  Do be sure, however, that you acknowledge the source of any outside material.  We will discuss this concept in class.
• This essay is due on Wednesday, May 11.  With your final draft, please submit all prewriting/outlining work involved in producing this essay.
• Your final draft should follow the same format guidelines used for Essay I.  On the first essay, I pointed out a lot of issues with stapling, line spacing, page numbers, titles, etc.  As we progress through the course, I'll be deducting an increasing number of points for not following these guidelines.  Be sure to get it right.

This essay will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. Topic: Is the topic suitably specific to address in an essay of this length?
2. Thesis: Is some overall claim apparent?  Is it arguable?  Does it pass the "So what?" test?
3. Support: Does the essay provide focused, well-developed support for its claims?  Does the essay make a strong ethical appeal?  Does the essay contain any flaws in reasoning?
4. Mechanics/Grammar/Punctuation/Etc: Is the essay correctly formatted?  Has it been carefully proofread?  Are there any sentence level errors of any type we've discussed in class?

We will review and discuss these guidelines in Monday's class.  See you then.

Instructions for Wednesday, 5/4

Hi.  Here are some more detailed instructions for Wednesday's class:

1. Read the Slate article on cursive writing (linked in the previous post), and be prepared to discuss it.

2. Based on what you learned about specific topics and claims in Monday's class, choose a suitably precise essay topic.

• Write your topic down.
• Spend some time reading about your topic and discovering what other people are saying about it.  It will help to make some notes.  (Any notes you include don't need to be organized or even legible to anyone but yourself.)
• Try to develop a working thesis.  This is a tentative thesis that you will use to begin organizing your ideas.  It's okay if this changes as you write your essay.  This is an expected part of the writing process.  You will receive feedback during class on whether your thesis is specific and arguable.  

Please email me with any questions.  See you in class.