WRT 205, Sect. 270, Spring 2008, Syracuse University

Sixth graded assignment


Researched argument



You've chosen and narrowed a topic, and you've located and read a number of sources. Now it's time for you to exercise your creative, critical judgment on your topic.


To prepare for this assignment:

  1. Identify the debates, controversies, tensions, debates, and varying perspectives on your topic. These may not be quarrels but may simply be different ways of looking at or resolving an issue. Think, too, about issues that are being ignored but should be taken up. Also, are you feeling you would like to challenge a perspective or argument that you've encountered?
  2. Choose of these that you think is both interesting and significant.
  3. Figure out your own position within the debate you've chosen.
  4. Figure out why you position yourself where you do.
  5. Identify who would argue with your position, and why.
  6. Find any additional sources that you need for understanding your topic or arguing your position.

Features of the researched argument:
  1. Title
  2. Introduction that includes a (a) thesis. The introduction should identify your topic and the controversy that you will explore. (b) The introduction should explain why this topic or issue matters to you and why it should matter to your audience. (c) It should also give readers a "blueprint" of the paper--a good idea of how the paper will unfold. The thesis should identify your own position within the controversy even though that position is probably provisional, expressing the best interpretation or resolution that you can offer at this time.
  3. Body: Overview your topic; explain what your sources think about it; explain why you believe what you do (evidence); explain other points of view (counterevidence).
    As you compose, you should feel free to cut and paste from your previous writing this semester. When you do so, of course, you'll need to fully integrate the pasted material into its new context.
    The number and type of sources you use in this paper will depend on your argument. You need as many sources as are necessary for making a convincing argument. You need to choose types of sources that are authoritative for your purpose. Your paper should make clear that you have spent an entire semester preparing for this paper and that you really know what you're talking about. I am assuming that most of you will need to do research beyond what you had for the researched synthesis; feel free to integrate new sources.
    Whenever you paraphrase, summarize, refer to, or quote from a source, use MLA parenthetical references to cite the source (handbook pp. 193-200).
  4. Conclusion.
  5. List of Works Cited. Use MLA style (handbook pp. 201-234).

Feel free to email or IM me while you're working on this or any assignment. I try to answer IM messages immediately and email within 24 hours.


Length: 1750-3600 words, which would come to 7-12 double-spaced pages. Since you're submitting this document electronically, you can single-space the pages, though. Just do a word count to be sure you're within the limits.


Manuscript preparation: Follow the specifications here.


Due date: May 5, 7:00 p.m.: Final draft. Papers received by this date will be graded and will be returned with comments. I will be able to accept papers up until May 7, but anything received after May 5, 7:00 p.m., will only be graded; I won't be able to write any commentary on them.


Grading: As I grade the final draft, my primary concerns will be whether you have written a comprehensible, engaging, and plausible argument, as well as whether you have followed the directions above. I expect precise MLA citation style. If you are using a program such as EasyBib or RefWorks, you'll need to verify that your citations are completely accurate in their format, layout, and the like. As always, the manuscript presentation matters, and the editing of your final draft matters a great deal. An argument is unconvincing if the writer seems to have been in too much of a hurry to edit and proofread; badly edited text signals a writer who doesn't care about what she's saying, and it also calls the writer's authority into question. We'll be spending our last class sessions on some stylistic issues. If you have other issues and questions that we're not covering, I'll be glad to meet with you in an appointment, and you can also go to the Writing Center. If you do the assignment as requested and hand it in on time, you'll get a "C." If you do it well, you'll get a "B." If you do it exceptionally well, you'll get an "A." This assignment counts as 30% of your final course grade.