Research Paper Assignment Sheet
English 1302
The research paper for this section of English 1302 must be an
argumentative/persuasive paper in which you attempt to persuade a hostile or
wavering audience to accept your position or stand on the issue you have
chosen. Your paper should follow the components of classic argumentation as
suggested in the Study Guide on p. 36:
 Contention
Introduction
Confirmation—Most of body of paper
 Refutation
Concession
Rebuttal
 Conclusion
You do not need to use the names of the components as subheadings
within the paper, but you should use strong topic sentences to clearly indicate
what you are covering in the body paragraphs. Be absolutely certain to include a
strong thesis in the introduction. The thesis should express your position on the
issue you have been researching and should include strong verbs like should,
must, should not, or must not. You can take a middle ground position, but not
a neutral one. If you are unsure about the difference between middle ground and
neutral, please see me.
The refutation should be comprised of two parts: concession and rebuttal.
You will need one concession and one rebuttal (or counter-argument) For the
concession, find at least one point in the article you used for your critical analysis
paper that you can concede to the other side. In other words, find a point that
you think is valid, or that has merit, or with which you agree. You will make your
concession based on the point. For instance, you are against abortion, yet your
article says that a woman should have the right to an abortion if she is the victim
or rape or incest. If you feel that these are valid reasons for abortion, then you
would concede those points to the other side.
In the rebuttal, give counter-arguments against the point that you have
conceded. In other words, try to show why abortion for rape or incest is still
wrong or flawed as an argument. Try to poke holes in the opposition arguments
backed up by research information. The concession and rebuttal should take
only one or two paragraphs.
Remember that you can draw from the other assignments to build and
develop your body paragraphs (exception: refutation). For instance, if you want
to give background about your issue topic or explain why it is an issue, you might
have information in your exploratory paper that you can use. To avoid a high
turnitin %, however, you will need to reshape your original language and to avoid
a simple cut-and-paste.
Additional requirements:
 Length—6-8 pages (not counting works cited page)
 Sources—at least 10; must be from HCC databases.
 MLA format throughout the paper
 Submit to turnitin.com. If you resubmit, before due date please be
aware that the originality report will not be ready for 24 hrs. No
excuse accepted if paper is late because of resubmission.
DUE: ___May 5, 2015 @ 11:59 p.m.____________________________