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 write a short essay that makes an arguable claim and provides focused support using detailed examples.  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.
• 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?

Due dates are as follows:
T/R: 10/18
M/W: 10/19
F: 10/21