English 101 Essay 3 Guidelines
The Disagreement Paper
This essay should be a critical response to one of the essays we have covered in your text. This means that you must find something that the author says with which you disagree (even if you agree with the essay as a whole).
This essay should be no less than 8 and no more than 10 paragraphs long. The first paragraph should introduce your overall thesis and briefly touch on what will be covered more fully in the following paragraphs. Each paragraph should be no less than 5 and no more than 7 sentences long. The first sentence should be a topic sentence stating your main idea. All other sentences should support this main idea. The last sentence is the “clincher” sentence, and restates or summarizes the main idea. Attempt to use a variety of sentences differing in both length and structure.
Your first paragraph should identify the essay you’re writing about and demonstrate a clear understanding of its main idea or ideas. Most importantly, your first paragraph should contain your thesis (a statement of your critical response to the essay you’re writing about), which is in disagreement with one of the ideas in the essay you are writing about.
The paper that follows should be an analysis of the essay idea you are disagreeing with (not a summary). State your writer’s idea and briefly but fairly give the gist of your writer’s argument.
You may then respond to the argument in part or in whole, supporting what you say. When quoting the essay or any other source, cite the quote according to MLA guidelines (see MLA citation instructions in your handbook).
This paper should include at least one primary source and three secondary sources.
Formatting:
Include in the upper left corner: Your Name
Dr. Hartnett
Course/Section
Essay One
Type on a computer using 12 point, Times New Roman font, double-spaced. Write in complete sentences and use proper punctuation. You may use a spell-checker.
