Persuasive Essay One NOTE: I strongly suggest you PRINT OUT these instructions because you will not remember all the details. STAGE ONE:  INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH & FIRST BODY PARAGRAPH:  Due by midnight, Friday, September 12th. Overall, this first essay will require you to take a position on one of two current social issues (detailed below) and support that position.  In other words, you will choose one  of the topic options below and write an essay on it, but for this first essay, you will not turn in the entire essay at once.  You will first turn in only the introductory paragraph and first main body paragraph, so I can give you feedback and make sure you are headed in the right direction. You will be expected to use the Three-Part Format outline, which you have just studied, for this essay.  Minimum length will be approximately 1000 words for the entire essay, with preference given to essays with even greater development. (Note that most word processing software has a word-count feature under Utilities or Tools.) To repeat:  the entire essay is not yet due; first, I want to see your introductory paragraph and first main body paragraph. In general, by "social issue," I mean some problem or question which potentially affects great numbers of people in our society. Choose one of the two issues explained briefly at the end of these instructions.  The issue you choose will be your writing topic, and you will be asked to take a position on it. This position--your opinion--will become your thesis.  Then think of 3 supporting reasons which justify and back up your position on the issue.  These will go in your preview.   (Hint:  several possible supporting reasons are either stated or implied in the explanation of each topic.) Next, write a draft of an introductory paragraph that includes these three things: Choice of topic (in your Background Information sentences); Thesis Sentence, stating your opinion on the topic; and a Preview of Supports consisting of one sentence for each support--no more!  Don't ramble!   Your entire intro paragraph will usually be about five or six sentences long, for the length essay you will be writing in this class.  Also be sure, when writing your preview sentences, to begin with transition wording ("One reason why...") and to include some key words from the thesis itself, to make it clear that you are listing a support for the thesis.  For further help in writing this draft, go to this link on Sample Paragraph or review the appropriate sections of the Three-Part Format. Once you have written your introductory paragraph, you will then write your first body paragraph, including these four elements:  A Topic Sentence (Note that if you did as I asked in writing your preview sentences, the first one of those can be only slightly reworded and used again as your topic sentence!), About half a dozen sentences of General Explanation, A Specific Example consisting of an appropriate story, also about half a dozen sentences long (give or take),  And a Concluding Sentence.  Again refer to either the Three-Part Format link or the Sample Paragraph link for more help with all this. Then, by midnight, Friday, September 12th, submit both these paragraphs, in Blackboard, as one file.  Save the file as Richtext, as you did with the quizzes, and name the file D1yourinitials (example:  D1mwj).  Because everyone will be writing on one of the same two topics, I anticipate that, of course, many of you will have the same thesis.  However, the wording you use should be your own.  Similarly, there may well be some duplication of thesis supports.  That is okay since there are not an unlimited number of useful supports to draw from, but again, your wording should be your own. The purpose of this assignment is not only to get you started on the entire essay, but to give me a chance to supply feedback to you early on.  I will not pay too much attention to grammar, since it's a draft.  I will give two separate grades, one for the introduction and another for the body paragraph.  Both will be daily grades.  The final draft of the essay will become your first major grade.    I will post your grades in Gradebook within Blackboard, as usual.  But I will also send everyone a file attachment of your graded two-paragraph draft.  I will comment on each paragraph and at the end of each paragraph will be its grade--remember, two separate grades, both of which count only as daily grades.  Everyone should take adequate time to read my feedback comments on your own paragraphs, of course, and perhaps even my comments on the paragraphs of classmates, as well. In grading your introduction, I will consider three things closely: Whether you have clearly chosen one of the two optional topics; How clearly you state your thesis; and Whether your supporting reasons are clearly stated (best: one sentence each, using transition words), and also whether it seems that your three supporting reasons will indeed support your thesis. In grading your body paragraph, I will consider these things: Does it begin with a clear Topic Sentence that contains transition wording, key words linking the support to the thesis, and of course does it clearly mention the support itself, as it was previewed in the intro; Does it contain effective General Explanation, and enough of it (one or two sentences is not enough); Does it contain an appropriate story as a Specific Example, and is it detailed enough (again, one or two sentences is not enough); And does it end with a Concluding Sentence which links the SE back to the rest of the paragraph? With all this in mind, here are the two topic options.  Choose one or the other: Topic Option One:  Does Divorce Always Hurt Children? Opinions are divided as to whether divorce hurts children.  Almost no one argues that divorce is always good for kids.  However, many people do claim that there are certain times when divorce can help children, for instance when abuse of one kind or another is present. On the other hand, many other people claim that divorce is always harmful to children in some way, even when divorce may be the best thing for the parents.  Those arguing this side point to factors like the decrease in attention, less discipline, lack of a role model, and so forth. Do you think that divorce can sometimes be helpful to children, or that it is always harmful to them in some way?  Choose one position or the other; I will not accept essays trying to argue or compare both sides.  Your purpose is to convince your readers to agree with you.  Also, you will note that certain potential supports for either side have been listed above.  Yes, you may "borrow" these.  Whichever position you choose, you must support that position with three supports. Topic Option Two:  How Hard is Success in College? This topic is about the difficulty many students (like yourselves) have in finishing their college educations.  Note that you should not focus this essay only on yourself.  Word it so that what you say can apply to other students who might share your circumstances.  The exception to this focus beyond yourself will be in any stories about yourself which you may use as specific examples. Please approach this topic in one of the two ways below: (a)  Write a thesis stating how difficult you think it is for many students (not just you) to successfully complete college.  (This thesis assumes you do think succeeding in college is hard.)  As main body supports, choose three major problems students encounter in trying to succeed in college.  Note that these problems do not need to have anything directly to do with the classroom, but instead may focus on students' lives, problems at home, on the job, etc. (b)  OR, write a thesis stating that despite the many difficulties, students can still succeed in college if they will do certain things.  Then as main body supports, discuss three major strategies or ways in which students may help themselves succeed in college. In either case, be sure to include specific examples to illustrate each body paragraph.  These specific examples will be stories about yourself or others you know.

Persuasive Essay One, STAGE TWO FINAL DRAFT:  due date to be announced This is the final draft stage of this second major writing assignment.  You will read my feedback on your introduction and first body paragraph, revise those as needed, then complete the other two body paragraphs and the general concluding paragraph, revise them also, and proof everything (including the first two paragraphs--don't forget those!).  When you have finished, you should submit the entire essay via Blackboard, as usual.   Please save as Richtext and use the filename pattern of E1yourinitials (for essay one) for this attached file. Also be sure and put your name again in a heading at the beginning of the essay, just before the title. (Your title should written using the key words from your thesis, or at least stating the topic.) There may be a five-point penalty for each of these instructions if not followed.  In other words, please have more awareness of audience than to send me a file which just launches into the first sentence of the essay with no heading, no title, nothing.  And do not confuse the filename with the heading:  the filename is the name of the file, visible to me before I open the file; your heading is inside the file, and would be at the top of a printout of the essay. You can help your grade on this essay first by re-reading my comments on your own intro and body paragraphs; second, by asking me questions via email. As a last reminder, BE SURE AND FOLLOW THE 3-PART FORMAT STEPS in writing your essay. Your essay will be graded on five criteria: On focus on the assignment and on your chosen issue; On organization according to the full three-part essay format; On development regarding the GE and SE parts of body paragraphs, especially. These parts are where your length should be, mainly; On awareness of audience, beginning with the use of proper filename and heading; And on effective proofreading for errors.

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