Argumentative Paper Instructions

** I will not accept emailed papers.

** Late papers will be docked 10 points per day (including weekends).

** Points lost due to late penalties CANNOT be regained with a rewrite.

** Please staple your papers before turning them in during class.

Description:

○ Your assignment is to write an argumentative essay in which you take a position on something discussed in class. This can be one of the specific issues from the Finsterbusch text, or you can write on a topic that arose in conversation during class. If you choose the former option, you cannot use the same arguments/support provided in your text for your respective position. We will have discussed at some length the problems with the current research presented in your textbook, so keep this in mind as guides for topics of analysis.

○ Please do not simply regurgitate conversations from class. In order to receive full credit, you must take the conversation deeper or in a different direction in order to learn more about the issue.

○ Please contact me with any questions.

Your papers should follow the guidelines below:

I. Introduction - Give background or perhaps an illustrative example to show the significance of the subject or the nature of the controversy. Consider stating the conclusion of your argument here as the thesis of your essay.

II. Refutation - Give a brief statement of a refutation of the opposing view(s) to make your reader aware that you have considered but rejected it (them) for good reasons. This refutation may be more appropriately placed last, just before your conclusion, or even interspersed at effective locations throughout the essay. You must choose the best location.

III. Presentation of your argument - Throughout the body of your essay you should build your case one point at a time, perhaps devoting one paragraph to the defense of each of your premises, or setting forth your evidence in separate, meaningful categories.

IV. Conclusion - After all your evidence has been presented and/or your premises defended, pull your whole argument together in the last paragraph by showing how the evidence you have presented provides sufficient grounds for accepting your conclusion. You may also add here some conventional device to finish your essay, such as a prediction, a new example, a reference to the example with which you began (now seen in a new light) etc.

Source: http://depts.gallaudet.edu/englishworks/writing/argumentative.html

Format:

Your papers should be double-spaced, 1” margins all around, written using Times New Roman (or equivalent) typeface, and using 12 point font. Papers should be 5-7 pages long and incorporate at least four different sources of scholarly information (e.g., governmental publications, academic journals/books, etc.) BESIDES the course textbooks. (NOTE: Newspapers and magazines may be used, but they are NOT considered scholarly/academic resources). You should use ASA (American Sociological Association) format for your references and citations. An online guide can be found at http://www.calstatela.edu/library/bi/rsalina/asa.styleguide.html. All referencing information should be available here. However, if you have a question that this page cannot answer, please ask me for clarification.

This is a formal paper—use proper grammar, no contractions, no slang, avoid “passive voice,” etc. For more information on the usage of “active/passive voice,” please see http://www.english.uiuc.edu/cws/wworkshop/writer_resources/grammar_handbook/active_passive_voice.htm.

Your writing should be succinct, without errors, and sole-authored. Your writing should flow smoothly from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph—proofread carefully to assure that this happens. If it “sounds” wrong, it probably is. If necessary, please meet with me or contact me for assistance.

Under the CU Honor Code, plagiarism is grounds for failing this course. If I discover you have cheated via this or any other form, no lengths will be spared in seeking the harshest discipline allowed by the University. *Please keep in mind that you may not use in this class a paper written for another class.*

Grading Points Possible (Total=100)

Presentation of counter argument 35

Presentation of affirmative argument 35

Grammar/Spelling/Proofreading/Style 20

Format/Referencing 10

Again, please contact me with any questions.

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