Persuasion/Argument Research Essay Assignment Guidelines
100 pts.
Section I: Assignment Overview
1. How is research done? You will begin by coming up with a topic, asking a
question about that topic (thus generating a research question), searching the
literature for what experts have said, taking a position on that question, and
communicating that idea through an essay.
2. How does one choose a research topic? Because you have limited time, keep
your topic choice to something you are interested in but can ask some question
about. Your topic should remain narrow enough to research and write about
within the next few weeks. Some good ideas will come out of issues and events
that affect you directly. For example: Are tuition costs too high for most college
students?
3. The Research Essay: Once you have completed your research, it is time to start
writing the paper. Identify your thesis (your position on the issue) first, then
construct an outline detailing the methods and strategies you will use to support
that thesis.
4. Persuasion/Argumentation: Your essay should be persuasive or
argumentative. An arguable thesis will have a counter argument. For example,
some might argue that violent TV shows help children release daily tensions in a
healthy way, while others could argue that TV violence contributes to the
increasing violence among young people today.
Section II: Assignment Description
1. This essay should be 800 - 1000 words and more than five paragraphs in length:
an introduction, 4+ body paragraphs and a conclusion.
2. It should contain a minimum of THREE sources - books, journal articles or
websites. At least ONE of those sources must come from one of the SPC Online
Library Databases.
3. Use MLA formatting for this assignment.
4. The sources must be documented within your essay using correct MLA in-text
parenthetical documentation.
5. The essay should also include a Works Cited section which lists your resources.
6. Refer to this organizational chart for the use of transitions in your writing.
7. Post your Essay draft to Smarthinking or go to the Learning Center for some
review!
8. Revise, proofread, and edit: Submit your final paper to the
Persuasive/Argumentative Research Essay Drop Box.
Section III: Assignment Topics
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High school graduates should take a year off before entering college.
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All students in high school and in college should be required to take at least two
years of a foreign language.
Government financial aid for students should be based solely on merit.
People have become overly dependent upon technology.
Censorship is sometimes justified.
Privacy is not the most important right.
All citizens under the age of twenty-one should be required to pass a driving
education course before receiving a license to drive.
To encourage healthy eating, higher taxes should be imposed on soft drinks and
junk food.
The production and sale of cigarettes should be made illegal.
Romantic love is a poor basis for marriage.
Zoos are internment camps for animals and should be shut down.