Skilled Writing through Inquiry
WR090.98 Spring 2012
Essay One:
The Expository Essay
Can Fast Food Be Sustainable?
Due Dates

Linking Sentences, Wednesday, May 9th

Blueprint / first draft: Monday, May 14th

Second draft: Wednesday, May 16th

Final draft: Monday, May 21st
Essay Purpose
This essay will serve one primary learning purposes: You will use this assignment in order to
demonstrate that you have beginning skills in writing an organized, formal five-paragraph
essay that demonstrates you have learned how to use coordinating conjunctions,
conjunctive adverbs, concession, and appositives. You will find that this approach leads to
strong writing because it is based on disciplined thinking, and the result will be a unified,
well-written paper.
Assignment Description
You will write an essay of five to six (5 – 6) paragraphs in which you argue for or against the
idea that fast food can be sustainable. You might want to use the definition of
sustainability presented in the videos. (See the portal for notes from the short videos we
watched and discussed in class.) As you develop your argument, you will use the sources
and ideas presented thus far in the course, drawing on Food Inc, “Is Junk Food Really
Cheaper,” class discussion, and outside sources. This means that you may use the sources
we have already explored in the course—the Bittman article, the movie (Food, Inc), webbased resources, our class discussion, and your previous writing on sustainable food and
agriculture. Please also draw upon what you know and learned about the topic outside of
this course. Your own experience , of course, is invaluable, so you should also use it.
Your paper will have a descriptive title, one that hints at or summarizes the content of the
essay.
Your introductory paragraph will introduce your thesis and paper by explaining why your
reader should care about the topic (its importance) plus your thesis statement. Your thesis
will advance your own ideas, pro or con, about the sustainability of fast food. Your thesis will
Mt. Hood Community College
Mary Kelly-Klein, Instructor
2
be a clear normative statement of your own argument on this issue. This means that you
will use the words should, need(s) to, must, or similar words in your thesis.
Each body paragraph will explain a reason to support your thesis in at least 5 or 6 sentences.
The ideas in the paragraph will be framed by a topic sentence. You will use reliable facts,
statements by acknowledged authorities, and examples whenever possible. So, for example,
if your thesis is solution-focused, one body paragraph might describe in some detail what
the solution(s) is (are), another may discuss projects that currently exist. Or one of your
body paragraphs may discuss the plusses and minuses of solutions.
You will use the vocabulary of the inquiry in your essay (Food Inc, and “Is Junk Food Really
Cheaper?”).
Your conclusion will summarize your major points and reflect back to the thesis. You will not
introduce any new material or major points in your conclusion.
Essay Length & Formatting
Your essay will be composed of an introductory paragraph, three to four (3 –4) body
paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. Your essay will be between 2 and 3 pages in
length, double-spaced, with margins of 1.25 inches on both sides, and use 10 to 12 point
standard fonts. You will title your essay with a descriptive title, and your name and a page
number will be present on each page.
Please carefully review and use the essay rubric as you write your paper. I will use it to
evaluate your essay. And please do call me with your questions or concerns!
Citations & Avoiding Plagiarism
You will cite the sources of all material that you either paraphrase or quote, and you will use
quotations marks when you do directly (word-for-word) quote an author or source. You will
name the person you are quoting in the body of the paragraph itself, and you will use an
appositive to state the credentials or authority of that person. You will cite by placing the
name of the source of your quotation in parenthesis after the quote. If you use a website,
you will copy and paste the specific web address where you found the material right into the
body of the paper, enclosing the in parenthesis as in the example below. If you omit words
from a quote—which you should do if the quotation is lengthy, you will use an ellipsis (three
dots in a row). You will learn how to do official MLA style citations in WR115 and beyond.
Please refer to the sample, below:
Smart-Alec Knowitall, distinguished professor of food science at Elite University and head of the National
Poultry Science Association reminds us that “…food science is an emerging science…” Knowitall adds,
“… if we do not take action soon, we may find ourselves in an untenable situation” within one or two
generations (http://www.npsa.gov).
Mt. Hood Community College
Mary Kelly-Klein, Instructor
3
A Word about Revising and Re-Writing this Essay
You will receive a raw score, a score converted to a percentage, and a letter grade for this
paper. You will be wise to schedule an appointment with a writing tutor and/or your kind
and helpful writing instructor (that would be me). Since writing tutors become quite busy
at this time of the year, you might think about scheduling your appointment sooner rather
than later in the process.
What Must Accompany Your Essay (please check off)
 These instructions
 A heavily annotated copy of “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?”
 The Essay Blueprint, using complete sentences throughout
 Your second draft and peer review notes (unity, coordination, concession,
appositives)
 Your proofreading draft, marked up
 The ABCs of any websites or videos you use
 Your final draft
And as always, email/text your questions!
Remember, the only silly question is the one not asked!
Mt. Hood Community College
Mary Kelly-Klein, Instructor