Develop argument well and paying attention to your claims
The next project in this class is an Argumentative Synthesis essay. Argumentative Synthesis essays are persuasive essays. That is to say, your thesis will present a claim that a reasonable person could disagree with, and throughout your paper you will support your claim with evidence. Because it is a synthesis paper, you will be using a variety of sources to support your claim. To do this effectively, it will be important to understand the arguments that the sources are making and be able to incorporate them into your own text.
In order to help you create effective Argumentative Synthesis papers, throughout the next few weeks we will be analyzing arguments for their elements (thesis, claims, evidence, underlying assumptions). This will help you as you analyze your own sources and also as you write your own arguments. Because this is a synthesis paper, we will also be discussing various tools to help you incorporate sources – including paraphrasing, summarizing, quoting, and citing. Much of what we discuss in this unit will also be important for your final research project.
The topic for the paper relates to the role of censorship, hate speech, language, and trigger warnings. We will read a number of articles related to this topic – you will choose what kind of argument you want to make about this broad topic and provide evidence (from the sources) to support your argument. I will provide you with readings you can use for this paper, but you can add information from outside research as well.
Guidelines for the paper:
1. Your paper must have a clear, persuasive thesis statement.
2. You need to use at least 2-3 sources.
3. Your sources must support your argument. You should develop your main idea throughout the paper and use the sources to provide evidence and support for your main argument. When sources disagree with your argument, refute them in your paper.
4. Develop your argument well, paying attention to your claims, grounds, and warrants. Incorporate quotes and paraphrases from your sources to support your main idea. Integrate your sources into your paper smoothly using attributing phrases and connecting sentences.
5. Cite all of your quotes and paraphrases according to MLA style.
6. Organize your paper logically:
a. State your thesis clearly and make sure it reflects the main point of the paper.
b. Make sure your main points are clearly stated (use topic sentences) and connect clearly to your overall thesis.
c. Divide paragraphs logically.
d. Use appropriate transitions between and within paragraphs.
7. Use clear, unambiguous sentence structure. Make sure there are no fragments or run-on sentences. Pay attention to verb tense, subject-verb agreement, appropriate punctuation, and other grammatical and mechanical issues.
8. Your essay should be 4-5 pages, typed, double-spaced, times new roman, 12pt font, 1 inch margins. It should follow the MLA guidelines for formatting and citation.
