Pam Lange Research Essay 4: Persuasive Writing Directions              ENG 101

Your research essay is a key part of your grade for this course.  As the research essay requires more writing, research, and documentation than the shorter essays, it is only fair that it is appropriately scored.  Therefore, your research essay will count for 200 points.

The research essay will be 5-7 pages in length, excluding the Works Cited page.  Use your textbook, Hacker book, or OWL for MLA guidelines.  The required research for this project is TWO SCHOLARLY ARTICLES and THREE OTHER SOURCES (minimum of five sources), though you will probably read more than that to find your focus and perspective. To meet this goal, please allow enough time to think through your topic, borrow through the inter-library loan system, work carefully on revising, and finally, thoroughly proofread your writing.

 You will be embedding (introducing every quote), citing, discussing and explaining quotes, and utilizing appropriate data from these five sources to support your argument throughout your whole paper.

Pick a topic from these suggestions:

Argue the pros and cons of:

• • Renewable Energy
  • Artificial Intelligence in Daily Life
  • Earning a College Degree
  • Term Limits for Politicians
  • Open Borders
  • Universal Basic Income
  • Your choice (must be approved by Instructor)

In persuasive writing, a writer takes a position FOR or AGAINST an issue and writes to convince the reader to believe or do something.

In this research essay 4, and for J#9, you will be arguing for AND against one of these issues.

To convince the reader, you need more than opinion; you need facts or examples to back up your opinion. Be sure to do your research!

Persuasive writing follows a particular format where the writer incorporates facts and opinions to weave an argument that is strong, concise, and convinces the reader.

Persuasive writing incorporates Aristotle’s three elements of an argument:

1. Ethos (sometimes called an appeal to ethics) is used to convince an audience via the authority or credibility of the persuader, be it a notable or experienced figure in the field or a popular celebrity.
2. Pathos (appeal to emotion) is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response to an impassioned plea or a convincing story.
3. Logos (appeal to logic) is a way of persuading an audience with reason, using facts, figures, and logical arguments.

After writing, like any other piece of writing, please re-read (out loud), revise, conference, and revise again, before publishing the final product.  

Requirements:

• Pick 1 topic, and write your essay with 3 pro arguments and 1 con argument (refutation)
• Or pick 1 topic, and write your essay with 3 con arguments and 1 pro argument (refutation)
• This shows that you have considered both sides of the argument and can write about it rationally.
• 5-7 pages with page numbers
• Typed, double-spaced, 12 font.  MLA format.
• Written in first or third person
• Support for arguments correctly embedded, quoted, discussed, and cited
• Minimum of 5 quotes used, no more than 8 throughout whole essay

• Works Cited on a separate page with five sources correctly cited
• An engaging title

Due dates:

• Outline and 1st draft due:  11-20
• Final revised draft due: 12-9
• Mandatory Conference with me to discuss your research essay