Essay #3: Argumentative Essay

Swanlund

English 101

Rough Draft Due 12/06/10
Final Draft Due 12/08/10

Essay Assignment #3 – Argumentative Essay

Arguments are a part of everyday life and a major component of your college work. In fact, I believe you can become a better citizen if you know how to disassemble arguments and create your own, as you will be able to make choices for yourself and question those made by people around you – or even those in power. I also believe that if you cannot argue your point, you are a detriment to your cause, as you must not only believe in something and support it, you must also know why. So for this essay you must write a well-developed, cohesive paper that states a point and supports it. Additionally, you must support your point with at least one scholarly source, as knowing how to research an idea before arguing it is extremely important.

Write a 4 page paper minimum (roughly 1,400 words) in which you argue a position. This position can be virtually anything: taking a side on a political controversy, propose a policy change, provide an answer to a personal crisis, something you want, etc. Whatever your topic, you must focus on a debatable point—something someone could, theoretically, at least, disagree with. However, you must pick something that can be supported with evidence, so try to stay away from faith based arguments (things like abortion and so on). If you would like to argue on something that often uses a faith-based argument but approach it in a different way, you may talk to me.

Additionally, you must avoid fallacies. Fallacies in your argument not only weaken your ethos on the position, as they show you do not have a grasp of logic, they do not provide a valid argument, and thus will not satisfy this assignment.

Remember to place your thesis statement at the end of the introduction in which you clearly articulate your topic and your stance regarding your topic, so that your argument is explicitly clear from the beginning. You will also need to include a counterargument in which you recognize and address the major opposition to your view point. As always, papers shorter than the four-page absolute minimum will be severely penalized or summarily failed, depending on how short the essay is. There will be no second chances on this one. If you anticipate wanting to revise, you might want to get your paper to me before the deadline; however, this does not guarantee that I will get to it before the end of the semester, so try to turn in your best work the first time around. Talk to me if you have questions. I am happy to help.

Choose a topic you are interested in and write a well-developed, cohesive essay arguing your point. Make sure you acknowledge the opposing side’s argument in a counterargument and include at least one (no more than three) scholarly source.

The essays must be:

- Double spaced                                                          

- **Typed in 12-pt Times New Roman font**

- **At least 4 full pages long.**

- and Follow MLA guidelines for citations and format

Note: Failure to comply with these specifications will result in an unredeemable loss of points.