Final Essay

Introduction

Everything has built up to this. In RA1 and RA2, you analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments others made–and now, you’ll take the techniques that worked best for others and use them yourself, building on the work you’ve already done planning and researching your topic.

It’s time to take all that work and turn it into a piece of writing that will change the world for the better.

Assignment

In an organized, evidence-filled essay, develop a claim of policy on a topic that is related to your life. Write an essay that could really convince someone who disagrees with you to take specific actions.

Assignment Details

• Sources: You must cite at least 10 sources in your essay, following the same minimum requirements you followed in the annotated bibliography assignment: at least three articles from peer-reviewed journal articles, at least one book or book chapter, and no more than two of these required sources being interviews you conduct.
  • These 10 sources must appear in parenthetical citations in your text (meaning that you quoted, summarized, or paraphrased them) and on a formal Works Cited or References list.
  • These 10 sources might be the same 10 you wrote about in your annotated bibliography, but they don’t have to be the same.
  • You can cite more than 10 sources if you like.
• Length: There is no page requirement; write enough to reflect the importance of this essay to your grade (30%). (I imagine strong essays being eight to ten pages long, but that’s not a strict requirement.)
• Format: As with RA1 and RA2, format your essay to strictly follow MLA or APA format, including attention to things like margins, headings, spacing, and a Works Cited or References page. Use Times New Roman 12-point font.

Assessment

This essay counts as 30% of your final course grade, more than any other assignment in this class.

Your essay will be assessed using the same rubric I’ve used on major essays throughout the semester, which assesses your ideas, organization, evidence, style, and format.

Deadlines and Submission

We’ll do a variety of in-class writing and peer-review exercises during weeks 12 and 13. Here’s how you can be prepared:

On Wednesday, April 23, bring a printed, four-page draft to class for peer-review. This will count as a small assignments grade.

Before class begins on Monday, April 28, upload a complete draft to the appropriate forum in Moodle. We’ll spend that day in class doing final proofreading tricks in the lab.

Finally, upload your final version of the essay to the appropriate dropbox in Moodle before class begins on Tuesday, April 29.

Tips

• Engaging with sources: Remember that entering a conversation with your sources is stronger than simply quoting from a source and moving on. Try finding sources that disagree with each other, and quote both next to each other, commenting on what you find strongest and weakest in both.
• Use your annotated bib: You’ve had lots of practice judging the authority and bias of sources. Use that to your advantage in this essay: if you use a source that may seem suspicious to some audiences, take a moment to explain to your readers what makes it a strong or weak source, and then explain why you want to use it anyway.
• Use your book: It would be unwise to proceed as if the EoA book never existed. Some of the vocabulary from those readings will be especially helpful. Here are some suggestions with page numbers from EoA:
  • What enduring issues is your topic linked to (16)?
  • What is your exigence as a writer (31)? Have you convinced your reader that this topic matters?
  • Are you clearly stating your claims and supporting them all with appropriate evidence (98-103)? Are you accidentally relying on warrants that some readers might not be inclined to accept (103)?
  • Since you’re writing a claim of policy, are you following the advice that EoA gives when developing that kind of essay (306)?
  • Are you purposefully appealing to ethos, pathos, and logos (ch. 7)? If not, can you try to work in appeals to all three?
  • Have you considered structuring your essay as a Rogerian Argument (226)? Would that approach win over more readers for your topic?
• Knowing my values: If you feel like it’s hard for you to get a sense of what I value in essays, skim back over previous assignments and blog posts. My “Tips” sections are always designed to tell you what I value, and many of those points continue to be important now.

Image: Nomadic Lass, “4/366(Y2) – Research“