Climate Change -- 5
Budget: $10 – $30 USD
Thesis: Due to the human population’s high demands for both agricultural and industrial land, it has environmentally devastated many rainforests and other lands we occupy today. A minimum of FOUR secondary sources are required for research to support the argument. They must be cited and documented according to MLA standards. The minimum for the essay is 1,000 words and the maximum is 1,600 words. Once again, the MLA Works Cited page does not impact the word count. Current: is your topic one that is ongoing and relevant to your audience?
Controversial: is your topic debatable? In other words, are there at least two opposing and reasonable sides? (For instance, arguing against human trafficking would not work as a topic. No reasonable person would argue in favor of it, so there’s nothing to debate.)
Issue: is your topic a specific issue that could be addressed through passing a law or regulation? Does your topic have a weight and seriousness to it? Does it impact enough people to matter? You don’t have to choose a topic that no one’s ever written about, but avoid those issues that are overused (gun control, abortion, capital punishment, marijuana, mask requirements, etc.) unless you can bring a fresh perspective to the subject. Issues of local interest are often good choices. To support your argument, you must provide convincing, authoritative evidence as well as show that you know the opposing arguments and can deal with them. In order to provide convincing evidence, you must include a minimum of three secondary sources for this assignment. The research you do should be as authoritative and trustworthy as possible. In other words, you have to ensure the quality of your sources. You shouldn’t use a source simply because you happen to agree with its point of view: that’s never a strong enough reason for including it in an argument. Furthermore, you may not use anything like an encyclopedia (including Wikipedia), dictionary, student writing (essay, blog, etc.), or the Bible or any other religious text. If you have any doubt about a source, please ask. You must both cite your sources in the body of the essay and document them with a Works Cited page according to MLA standards. Examples of MLA can be found online at the Purdue OWLLinks to an external site.. As with Paper Two, do not refer to yourself in the essay. Keep the focus on the argument, not on you. Finally, please note that this is not an advice essay or self-help piece: the goal is not to convince readers to change their individual behavior. The goal is to persuade them of a particular position on a current, controversial issue. Some important criteria to keep in mind: how clearly you express your thesis and defend it in an organized manner; how well you explain the basic elements of the issue; how well you develop points with specific, concrete evidence and examples; how well research is integrated and MLA guidelines are followed.
Controversial: is your topic debatable? In other words, are there at least two opposing and reasonable sides? (For instance, arguing against human trafficking would not work as a topic. No reasonable person would argue in favor of it, so there’s nothing to debate.)
Issue: is your topic a specific issue that could be addressed through passing a law or regulation? Does your topic have a weight and seriousness to it? Does it impact enough people to matter? You don’t have to choose a topic that no one’s ever written about, but avoid those issues that are overused (gun control, abortion, capital punishment, marijuana, mask requirements, etc.) unless you can bring a fresh perspective to the subject. Issues of local interest are often good choices. To support your argument, you must provide convincing, authoritative evidence as well as show that you know the opposing arguments and can deal with them. In order to provide convincing evidence, you must include a minimum of three secondary sources for this assignment. The research you do should be as authoritative and trustworthy as possible. In other words, you have to ensure the quality of your sources. You shouldn’t use a source simply because you happen to agree with its point of view: that’s never a strong enough reason for including it in an argument. Furthermore, you may not use anything like an encyclopedia (including Wikipedia), dictionary, student writing (essay, blog, etc.), or the Bible or any other religious text. If you have any doubt about a source, please ask. You must both cite your sources in the body of the essay and document them with a Works Cited page according to MLA standards. Examples of MLA can be found online at the Purdue OWLLinks to an external site.. As with Paper Two, do not refer to yourself in the essay. Keep the focus on the argument, not on you. Finally, please note that this is not an advice essay or self-help piece: the goal is not to convince readers to change their individual behavior. The goal is to persuade them of a particular position on a current, controversial issue. Some important criteria to keep in mind: how clearly you express your thesis and defend it in an organized manner; how well you explain the basic elements of the issue; how well you develop points with specific, concrete evidence and examples; how well research is integrated and MLA guidelines are followed.