ENG 123: Assignment Two, Milestone One Guidelines and Rubric Draft Overview: Persuasion is a constant in each and every one of our lives. No matter where we look, what we read, what we see, or who we interact with, we are inevitably going to encounter some form of persuasion. Advertisements want us to buy things. Newspapers and television want to convince us of what we should feel about events. We are put into positions where we must defend our thoughts and beliefs to others, and the process we apply is typically some form of persuasion. Persuasive writing is one of the most powerful forms of writing—it has the ability to influence one’s thoughts, and also the ability to change one’s mind about a particular issue. The persuasive essay is an ideal opportunity to support an opinion on an issue utilizing researched facts and information. This also gives the chance to recognize that there is an opposing viewpoint to a position and to refute their argument, noting they are the intended audience of the piece. Prompt: For this milestone, you will submit a draft of your persuasive essay. At this point in the course, if you have completed the previous milestone guided activities, the textboxes should be combined and transformed into a draft. This milestone will help you address the critical elements from Sections II – IV below, which will ultimately inform your final submission of the persuasive essay. You have until the deadline to work on this draft. Whatever is completed by the deadline will be submitted to your instructor for grading and feedback. Specifically the following critical elements must be addressed: I. Introduction: This is where readers will have a chance to get an idea of what your essay will be about and what you will prove throughout. Do not give all of your information away here, but give readers a sample of what is to come. Do not forget to review your writing plan to make sure you are hitting all of the points that you planned out, while also stating your argument. A. Overview the issue you have selected, briefly describing main points and your argument. B. Compose an engaging thesis that states the argument that you will prove and support throughout your essay. This statement will give direction to your essay and should be well thought out. II. Body: The body is your opportunity to describe and support your argument in depth. Make sure your thoughts and evidence are clear and organized in a way that is easy for readers to follow and understand. A. Be sure that you write multiple paragraphs that are focused, clearly state their intent, and move logically from one to the other, building the thesis argument as the essay progresses. B. Your body paragraphs should support your argument by combining thoughts and ideas with evidence from sources. There is no such thing as a right or wrong argument; the key is how it is supported and the quality of the evidence used. C. Address and refute any opposing viewpoints to your argument. This is your chance to discredit any opposing views, thus strengthening your own. III. Conclusion: Think of the conclusion as a review of your argument. Use this section to restate your argument and remind readers of your supporting evidence. Think of this as your last chance to persuade readers to agree with you. A. Review your argument. This section should consist of a review of your main points employed to support your argument. Think of this as your last chance to prove your point or your closing arguments. B. Your conclusion should articulate insights about your argument established through your essay. This should follow logically from your essay, referring to key points or quotes used to support your argument. Rubric Guidelines for Submission: This milestone will be completed through the interactive activity provided in your MindEdge eLearning materials and then submitted within Blackboard. Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center. For more information, review these instructions. Cr iti cal El ements Profi c i ent (100%) Ne eds Improvement (75%) Not Evident (0%) Value Int roduc tion: Ove rvi ew Overviews the issue being analyzed and briefly describes main points of argument Overviews the issue being analyzed and briefly describes main points of argument but contains issues regarding accuracy Does not overview issue being analyzed 10 Int roduc tion: The sis Composes a thesis that states the argument that will be supported and proven throughout the essay Composes a thesis but contains issues related to clarity or relevancy Does not compose a thesis 10 Body: Int ent Writes multiple paragraphs that are focused, clearly state their intent, and build the thesis argument Writes multiple paragraphs but writing does not build the thesis argument Does not write multiple paragraphs 10 Body: Body Paragraphs Body paragraphs communicate argument by combining thoughts and ideas with evidence Body paragraphs communicate argument but do not combine thoughts and ideas with evidence Does not communicate argument through body paragraphs 30 Body: Opposing Vi ewpoints Addresses and refutes opposing viewpoints in a way that strengthens the argument Addresses and refutes opposing viewpoints but not in a way that strengthens the argument Does not address or refute opposing viewpoints 10 Reviews claim and summarizes key Reviews claim and summarizes key Does not review claim 10 Conc lusion: Revi ew supporting points of essay supporting points but contains issues regarding alignment to the intent of the thesis Conc lusion: Insights Articulates insights about argument established through your analysis, following argument logically, referring to key points or quotes used to support argument Articulates insights about argument established through your essay, but does not follow argument logically or does not refer to key points or quotes used to support claim Does not articulate insights about argument 10 Ar ti culation of Re spons e Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas 10 Earned Total 100%
At times it can be difficult to know what information from your sources to include in your paper. The PIE method can help you make decisions about how to structure your writing to make sure you are providing enough evidence at the appropriate times. The following graphic describes the PIE method of paragraph formatting.
Your responses to the questions below will be saved to the Notebook, which can be found under the “Course Tools” menu. At the end of the exercise, you will download all of your responses to a single Word document by following the directions at the bottom of this page.
(1)
I. Introduction
This is where readers will have a chance to get an idea of what your essay will be about and what you will prove throughout. Do not give all of your information away here, but give readers a sample of what is to come. Do not forget to review your writing plan to make sure you are hitting all of the points that you planned out, while also stating your argument.
The next activity uses a rich text area. You can tab to the editor body. Press ALT-F10 to get to the toolbar. Press ESC to return to the editor body. A save button is available in the top toolbar all the way to the right and will become visible when it receives focus.
Introduction Paragraph: What is the topic of your essay? How do you plan to grab your reader’s attention at the beginning of your essay?
(2) Introduction Paragraph: What is your thesis statement?
(3)
I. Body
The body is your opportunity to describe the support your argument in depth. Make sure your thoughts and evidence are clear and organized in a way that is easy for readers to follow and understand.
The next activity uses a rich text area. You can tab to the editor body. Press ALT-F10 to get to the toolbar. Press ESC to return to the editor body. A save button is available in the top toolbar all the way to the right and will become visible when it receives focus.
Supporting Paragraph 1: What is the first main point or reason of your paper?
(4) Supporting Paragraph 1: What evidence have you found that supports your point?
(5) Supporting Paragraph 1: Explain how this evidence supports your point.
(6) Supporting Paragraph 2: What is the second main point or reason of your paper?
(7) Supporting Paragraph 2: What evidence have you found that supports your point?
(8) Supporting Paragraph 2: Explain how this evidence supports your point.
(9) Supporting Paragraph 3: What is the third main point or reason of your paper?
(10) upporting Paragraph 3: What evidence have you found that supports your point?
(11) Supporting Paragraph 3: Explain how this evidence supports your point.
(12) Supporting Paragraph 4: What is the first counterargument you will respond to?
(13) Supporting Paragraph 4: How do you respond to or rebut the counterargument described above?
(14) Supporting Paragraph 5: What is the second counterargument you will respond to? (You may not have a second counterargument, and that’s okay—make sure you address at least one, though.)
(15) Supporting Paragraph 5: How do you respond to or rebut the counterargument described above? (You may not have a second counterargument, and that’s okay—make sure you address at least one, though.)
(16)
III. Conclusion
Think of the conclusion as a review of your argument. Use this section to restate your argument and remind readers of your supporting evidence. Think of this as your last chance to persuade readers to agree with you.
The next activity uses a rich text area. You can tab to the editor body. Press ALT-F10 to get to the toolbar. Press ESC to return to the editor body. A save button is available in the top toolbar all the way to the right and will become visible when it receives focus.
Conclusion Paragraph: What were the most important points you made in the responses above?
(17) Conclusion Paragraph: Reiterate your thesis statement. Be sure to state your thesis statement differently than you did in the introduction paragraph.
