ENGL 104, Sections 572 & 873
MWF 1:50-2:40 & 3:00-3:50
Instructor: Kim Wells

Paper #5: Argumentative Research Report

Note: You will do no "official" peer editing. You are encouraged to seek assistance with peer editing on your own.
2000 words, 7-10 library sources appropriate for an academic audience, "Works Cited" page. The paper may develop further the argument developed in Paper #4, or it may take up a different argument about the same topic.

Final Draft DUE. Friday, December 3.

NO LATE PAPERS ACCEPTED!

Objective:

• To produce a well-written, mid-length report.
• To synthesize, analyze, or interpret sources gathered during library research.
• To make and support a claim.

Rhetorical Situation: During the last part of this semester you have done research on an issue, and you are now an expert on this issue, having done reading and thinking about it. Share your knowledge with your peers in a report that informs them about this issue while also taking a stand or making a point. That is to say, provide a context or background information on your topic; but also, argue a claim about it. Provide your peers with a way to see the issue (a perspective), urge them to action, or show why it is important or beneficial to them. Organize and format your report for readability, accessibility of information, and persuasion. This paper asks you to use (and thus integrate) more sources than Paper #4 and to support a more extended argument. This paper is similar in nature to your last one, but it extends further the skills of citation, documentation, argument, close and critical reading, analysis, and evaluation.

One difficulty may be that you must defend a thesis, not simply report on research. Your research should occur in the service of better understanding current views on a topic, coming to an informed position, and entering the "conversation" of texts you have consulted. The argumentative nature of this assignment is essential for your paper's success.

Paper #5 requires that you do the following:

• Demonstrate that you have a thorough understanding of the various perspectives surrounding an issue, especially those in opposition to your own.
• Argue your perspective on an issue, using the research you've gathered to provide relevant background information and to aid you in developing your argument.
• "Call for action," make a recommendation, or propose a solution to a problem

Remember, the thrust of your report should be geared toward making your own argument rather than merely summarizing the ideas of others. Your argument may proceed according to any of the models discussed in Motives for Writing. Specifically, you should focus on one of the following sorts of arguments: fact, definition, cause, value, and policy.

The thesis of the essay should clearly state your own position/perspective on the issue under discussion.

Include the following in your final draft (REQUIRED):

• Memo to your teacher (called a "memo of transmittal") explaining your approach to the assignment and acknowledging its fulfillment. Since the actual report is written to your classmates, use this memo to write to your teacher about the goals you had for this assignment and how you have achieved them.
• Cover page for the whole report listing your name, course, section, the date, and the report title.
• Body of the report, containing an introduction and conclusion and various sub-sections, arranged with persuasiveness and readability in mind. See Perspectives on Argument for organizational strategies.
• Works Consulted page, listing all works cited or consulted in the process of writing the report.
• Documentation: Papers should be typed and documented according to MLA guidelines.