Presentation/Report/Poster Sessions: 15 to 17 November (assignment and rules to

Presentation/Report/Poster Sessions: 15 to 17 November (assignment and rules to come and will count as
part of the grade for Essay 5)
This essay should be around 600 words, typed/printed, double-spaced, in MLA Format. Submit the essay as follows:
By Monday, 22 November at 11:59 pm, post the essay in Blackboard as an Assignment.
Format of file submitted for the essay to be accepted:
1. This essay should be around 500 to 600 words, double-spaced. Format the essay using MLA formatting (see link below or google “MLA Formatting”)
2. Save the file as a MS Word or Text file. “Pages” software (Mac) is not acceptable (note that I use a Mac but I must organize the essays on a PC).
3. Do not copy the essay into Blackboard/Assignment tool directly. The essay will not come through clearly.
4. Attach the file for your essay and submit it in the assignment tool by the deadline to have the essay counted as
submitted.
5. An essay I cannot read is an essay I cannot grade!
6. Finally, in the file name include both Essay 5 and your name! Please remember to include your name: this is
very important!
Grading: The grade for this essay is determined through a modified grading rubric from the others used for the course. (1) Participating (or not) in presenting a Presentation AND (2) careful use (or not) of MLA documentation will affect the grade.
1. About the essay
As you know already, the general topic for the research paper is: The Everyday Object, the same topic you wrote about for Essay 2 and Essay 4:
For this course, I am asking you to consider the word “thing” literally—focusing on a concrete object created by humans that you could find in the world around you. Based on this idea,
1. What arguments are focused on a particular object that exists around us but that many of us don’t usually think much about?
2. How does this object relate to or emphasize something important about a particular culture and society or possibly changes in or directions for this society or culture?
3. Why is this object important? How does it affect our lives or how have our lives been changed because of it? What positive or negative effects have occurred because of this object’s impact on humanity?
Construct an argument essay based on your research on your object. Use and cite appropriately at least 5 sources in this essay.
Of all of the ideas you’ve discovered while researching, focus on one and work to convince a reader to be persuaded about your position on this topic. Use the argument essay to emphasize a concept of importance culturally, socially, politically, or some other way to suggest how crucial your object is to humanity.
Use the elements of argument and research we’ve been examining.
1. You should have five (5) print or online sources by the time you write this essay. Choose sources that reflect differences in their origin or strategies of evidence (scholarly/expert opinion; primary sources/perspectives of average people; popular sources in print or on the web, interviews, data from
surveys, etc.). Make references to each of these sources as you address the following issues. Using in- text citations (signal phrases and/or parenthetical references) and a works cited page, cite these sources when you’re using words or ideas from them. Use both (1) quotations and (2) paraphrases from these sources (not necessarily both of these from each source) in your essay. When you use quotations, remember how to edit quotations (brackets, ellipses, [sic]) and use one or more of these one time. Demonstrate that you understand the strategies for editing quotations, for cutting or adding information, for using indirect quotations, and for acknowledging errors in quotations as appropriate.
2. Use several of the strategies of argument we’ve been examining when looking at how writers use evidence: primary sources, secondary sources, expert opinion, common knowledge, arguments from the heart, character, facts and reason, etc. You don’t have to label what you’re doing (unlike what we did with essay 3) and you may find that several of the strategies work at the same time. Demonstrate 2 or more strategies of using evidence as you craft the text of your essay. You don’t need to use the terminology below! (If fact, most likely don’t at all!) But show from how you construct the paper that you are using the concept as you connect and develop ideas. (Refer to the strategies we examined for essay 3 and listed below.)
3. Be sure that you use MLA style of documentation to document the use of these sources with in-text citations (use both forms—signal phrases and parenthetical references) and a works cited page. I grade this essay with a modified grading profile, to account for MLA style issues.
4. Be sure you are not plagiarizing: quote sources if you are using their words and cite sources when you are using their ideas. In your essay, do not present as your own sentences and phrasing that you have not written.
NOTE: you may find that you have use for sections of the earlier 2 essays (Essay 2 and Essay 4); this is fine– you’re not plagiarizing when you’re using your own work!
Here’s how this essay is graded:
1. I use the grading profile I use for all essays.
2. I will examine your use of MLA style, and part of the final grade is based on your use of MLA style
documentation..
3. You could lose or gain points associated with the research presentation about your topic and project.
2. About sources
A good research-based essay contains a range of sources. Different kinds of information and different kinds of sources for that information (authors, speakers, participants) make for an objective, interesting project. For the assignment for Essays 4 and 5 consider the following:
1. No to encyclopedias!
2. No to the Wikipedia!
3. Yes to Academic Journals (DO NOW: renew / get access to the Qatar National Library)
Academic Journals are different from magazines or other periodicals. By the end of the project, you must use at least one article obtained from a printed, peer-reviewed academic journal. NOTE: because you access these “printed” materials electronically, they may not seem “printed” to you– but they are– we’ll look at this in class! Note: JSTOR is a wonderful tool for accessing scholarly, peer-reviewed journals. To access JSTOR, use your account with Qatar National Library—through this you may access many scholarly materials and many other databases. Also consider Google Scholar.
4. Yes to original research (surveys, observations, experiments)
By the end of the project, you must conduct some original research: conduct an experiment, interview someone about their experiences, use your observations. I actually view these kinds of sources as the most important for this paper– they can actually make the paper a powerful product– and make the process towards it interesting. (The Blackboard surveys count as this, but I encourage you to consider more original research.)
5. Two sets of goals in terms of numbers of sources:
• 3 sources for Essay 4 AND 5 sources for Essay 5 (at least)
6. Yes to sources that present a range of information—not all the same, but covering a topic from different perspectives, levels, considerations
Overall, by the end of this project for Essay 5, you will need to find 5 sources or more (and for most strong papers, a writer would most likely find more. You’ll need to use these sources at least multiple times in the final Research Argument Essay (10 times or so)– meaning quotations or paraphrases from the sources– with specific, MLA-formatted references to the sources for each time you use information from the source. And you should demonstrate proper processes of editing quotations. We’ll look at the rules for this, soon/later.
Readings in Sourcework:
1. “Guidelines for Choosing Effective Evidence,” pp. 60-66
2. “Integrating Evidence into your Paragraphs,” pp. 78-96
3. “Documenting your Evidence,” pp. 123-136
Other than this, I encourage you to look for interesting sources that help you discover something exciting about your object! You are hunting for interesting information, information that should encourage your thinking and encourage you to develop an argument about your topic. You might change the world.
ESSAY 5 IS THE ESSAY IN WHICH YOU ASSERT A POSITION AND CRAFT AN ARGUMENT ABOUT YOUR OBJECT. TEACH /SHOW /PERSUADE AND DAZZLE.
3. Evidence and Sources
1. Arguments from the Heart—Pathos (use of feelings, emotions/use of humor, sarcasm)
2. Arguments Based on Character—Ethos (focus on authority and knowledge of source or author)
Importance of sources: reliable, trustworthy, accurate, appropriate
3. Arguments Based on Facts and Reason—Logos (focus on logical connection of facts, opinions and reasoning
to support the argument)
• Facts vs. Opinions
• Connection between evidence / proof and the argument (Cause and Effect…Problem and Solution…) • Induction
• Deduction
4. Primary Research/Firsthand Evidence /Primary Sources vs. Secondary Research/Secondhand Evidence /Secondary Sources. REMEMBER:
Primary research can lead to a secondary source or secondhand evidence (interview an expert who has studied and documented a subject)
Secondary research can lead to a primary source or firsthand evidence (Discover the published personal letter of someone involved in something years ago)
5. Average People vs. Experts
6. Common Knowledge
7. Use of concession and refutation
8. Signal phrases / In-text citations
9. Quotations, brackets, ellipses, [sic]
10. Paraphrases
11. Use of Comment
Evidence Comment