Thinking – Prewriting
** Only use https://reason.com/2020/09/19/end-the-war-on-drugs/** For writing and citing
The articles you choose from present an argument in that the writer takes a position and offers support. The articles are not “based on opinion” as some students have asserted in the past. They are opinions. The writers observe the world around them (collect evidence), interpret what they see, and take a position (or form an opinion). Some of the authors use more empirical evidence than others, but that evidence is still interpreted.
Think
Do a close reading of one of the articles to fully understand how the author makes the argument. Examine the author’s thesis, purpose, methods, persona, audience, and tone. Develop your own thesis about the argument (not the issue or subject), and outline support for that thesis using information from the article you are analyzing.
Write
Write an analysis of approximately 2 pages of the article. Introduce the author and article title. You may include a brief summary that identifies the subject of the article and its thesis. You can safely assume that your audience is familiar with the article, so a long, detailed summary is not needed. Make sure your thesis clearly shows the position your analysis takes on the argument. Use brief quotations from the article to support your points, but do not fill your analysis with long quotations. Quote phrases instead of sentences. Use MLA style in-text citations and include a Works Cited. Failure to document sources properly will result in a zero. Essays will be submitted automatically to Turnitin in for an Originality Report.
Your thinking and analysis should dominate your paper, and additional sources are not required. However, if you include material from other sources, you must document their use.
Use 3rd person perspective to keep the focus on the author and article. (Rather than “I read Gillman’s article and I think…” use 3rd person “Gilman argues that soldiers… He uses an extreme example to illustrate…”)
Format your essay in MLA format. Use the example essay on pages 303-308 of the textbook. Essays not submitted in MLA format will not be graded.
Proofread carefully to eliminate basic writing errors. Essays with multiple, distracting errors will receive a failing grade.
