Passing Portfolio

As with all assignments, one concern is producing an overall product that meets the assignment criteria in a manner that will also produce an essay that passes the portfolio process.

Getting the work done on time

Finish reading Locke if you haven't. As you read, think about possible issues to write about for this final essay. See the Course Schedule for days and dates by which time you should have finished reading the text and posted a passage with commentary, as well as due dates for drafts. Along with that passage, describe/explain how that passages works with an issue you could write about.

Introduction Expectations

Remember that the introduction introduces both the argument and the person behind the argument (you!). As with previous essays, you want to open the introduction in your own words in a way that sets up the Locke quote you will use. Once you've created the background and context for the quote, provide it for your reader, using Locke's full name on the first mention and providing the proper citation, whether a quote or a paraphrase. Moving from the quote, the next step is to set up the thesis, tying the claim the essay will make into the idea behind the quote or the quote itself. From there, provide your reader a thesis, a claim that you will argue, keeping in mind the thesis description: a precise statement of what the reader should come to believe.

Effective Argument Format

The argument will be expected to make use of the assigned Aristotelian Argument format where you introduce the topic, present the evidence in support of the thesis, provide the merits of the opposing view, refute that opposing view, and then conclude the essay by driving home the point of the primary claim as expressed in the thesis. None of this can work without a clear and concise thesis.

Argument Essay Goals

• Make readers accept your position as valid (possibly the most reasonable of the stated goals), and/or
• Lend support on a social, political, or global issue, and/or
• Enlist support for your position, and/or
• Motivate reader toward an action, and/or
• Change reader's behavior

Be Persuasive!

For the most part, you won't change the mind or behavior of the person you address in your essay (and you'll have to decide just who your audience is). The most reasonable goal of this argument is to get your reader to see the validity of your viewpoint as expressed in your thesis. How you do this is simple in theory, but not so in practice. Se the paragraph information for one element, the thesis and conclusion being the other two of greatest importance.

Paragraphing

Each paragraph should open with some general discussion regarding the point you seek to make. That general discussion should be illustrated with a specific example. When appropriate, that example should come from an authoritative source. If there is a general sort of example, it should be validated by one of your research sources. The paragraph and point should conclude with a warrant that explains how the material in that paragraph supports the claim of the thesis. Without this, you are not likely to get your reader to see things your way.

Source Incorporation

Sources are required to bolster the argument made in the essay. These will appear as quotes and citations. Sources are to be treated as if they are salt, used sparingly to enhance what it is YOU have to say. The sources are to be incorporated in the essay in a way that bolsters the credibility of what you are arguing that fits relatively seamlessly into the rhetoric of your essay. We'll be talking about this in class. In-text citations are required at as well. We'll discuss the specifics of doing this in class. However, keep in mind that of the four required sources, only two may be from the web, and at least one must be a print source from the last six months. Your text, which you will use as a springboard, is not considered one of those sources.

Grammar and mechanics

Solid grammar and mechanics are expected.

Evaluation Criteria

General Criteria

The essay is expected to have a thesis that is clearly arguable and worth the reader's time to consider. The evidence in the body of the essay must provide specific evidence in support of the argument, opposing view, or other elements being discussed. There must also be some explanation making clear how these pieces of evidence are supporting the essay's thesis. There must also be some reasonable organizational structure along with clearly effective grammar and mechanics, which includes proper citation in the body of the essay and a properly done works cited page.

See the web expectations above as well.

Self Evaluation

In a brief paragraph, provide an explanation that spells out how your essay achieves the above listed assignment goals. What about your argument is effective? Your choice of details and examples? Your use of essay format? Your thesis? Make it clear how these elements are (or aren't if that's the case) making your essay successful. Turn this in with your final draft.