Should a College Education be Free?

Argument with integrated research, the final essay assignment of the course, is an extended research project of at least 4-6 pages in length. in which you will argue a position concerning a specific issue.

As you start planning your essay, think about the following questions:

• Who is your intended audience (the audience with whom you want to share your perspective)?
• What goals do you want to accomplish with the essay? Do you want to change your audience’s mind? Do you want to promote your audience’s cause? Do you want your audience to understand your perspective?
• What choices will you make (about language, structure, development, format) in order to achieve those goals?

Suggested process

1. Begin by identifying specific controversies in your chosen topic.
2. Choose one controversy to focus on for your annotated bibliography and essay.
3. Research the controversy, develop an annotated bibliography, refine your topic, generate ideas, and develop a working thesis.
4. Draft the essay and revise your thesis as needed.

You should

Your final essay should be detailed in terms of content, evidence, sources, and support. The topic should be tight and focused, and your position should be responsibly, persuasively, and credibly argued. As with any strong argument essay, you should:

Introduction

• Create interest in and introduce your topic
• End with your thesis

Body

• Support your argument with a series of focused body paragraphs
• Reference outside sources smoothly and effectively to illustrate points and to support claims
• Use the 1 or 2 quote body paragraph format
• Address and respond to counterarguments

Conclusion

• Conclude with a focused conclusion in which you sum up your main points and emphasize the significance of your argument
• Emphasize the significance of your argument

In addition your essay should:

• Format the essay MLA style
• Maintain an effective balance of ethos, pathos, and logos
• Convey your points through professional college-level writing
• Maintain crisp, clear prose
• Ensure that your finished essay is free of errors
• Demonstrate awareness of your rhetorical situation
• Include a minimum of four sources,
• Include a works cited page (in MLA format) with at least four sources.

Body Paragraph Format

For the Rhetorical Analysis Essay, you used the 1 quotes body paragraph format. Many times you find you would like to add a second quote to your paragraph. Adding the second quote is an easy addition. Use the format below:

1. Topic sentence –– this is the first sentence of the paragraph that clearly states the part of the argument this paragraph will examine
2. Evidence setup– Briefly give context to the quote. This could include general information or information from the source that helps the quote make more sense.
3. Evidence — provide 1 quote of that supports your argument
4. Buffer sentence…. you need some sort of sentence between the two quotes to transition to the next piece of evidence. Either give commentary to analyze the first quote and/or evidence setup for the second quote.
5. Evidence — provide 1 quote of that supports your argument. Consider using a quote from a different source here. It adds additional support to your argument
6. Commentary — explain/analyze how this quote(s) support your claim made in your topic sentence
7. Transition sentence –– transition to the next point by writing wrapping up this paragraph and giving us a sneak peak into the next paragraph.

You should have no more than 1-2 quotes per body paragraph. This way you can fully set up up and analyze each piece of evidence you are providing.

Counterargument

The goal of a counter argument paragraph is to acknowledge the other side of the argument and then prove why it is wrong. The counter argument(s) is typically the last paragraph before the conclusion but it can also be placed anywhere within the essay –> see the

Use following structure for each of your counter argument paragraph(s):

1. Start with a Turn Against. This is where you acknowledge the other side of the argument. Using phrasing like “Some say…”, “Proponents of this plan say…” or “It may be true that….”
2. Then come back to your side of the argument with a Turn Back. Key words help here too! Using phrasing like “However…”, “But..” or “Nevertheless….” Here you make another supporting point to your argument. This is your topic sentence!!
3. Briefly give context to the quote. This could include a brief explanation of what the rhetorical strategy is and/or information from the article to help make the quote make more sense.
4. Next, provide 1-2 quotes of the use of that appeal in the text.
5. Last, explain how this quote(s) support your claim about the effectiveness of that appeal.
6. Get ready to transition to the next point by writing wrapping up this paragraph and giving us a sneak peak into the next paragraph

First, identify a strength of the MLA style. Then, offer suggestions on their use of MLA. Check the paper against these MLA guidelines:

• Double-space the paper,
• Use Times New Roman, font size 12 pt.,
• Leave only one space after periods and other punctuation marks,
• Set the margins to 1 inch on all sides,
• Indent the first line of each paragraph one half-inch from the left margin,
• Create a header with your last name and the page number in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin,
• List your name, your instructor’s name, the course, and the date in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. Make sure this part is also double-spaced. Make sure that the date format is “date, month, year.” Like this: 15 May 2022.