Argumentation Paper Assignment English Composition II Learning Objectives: • Construct a comprehensive argument using relevant evidence •
Construct an effective claim of fact, value, policy, or definition • Employ critical reading skills in response to primary and secondary sources •
Organize an argument utilizing Classical, Rogerian, Toulmin, or other academic argument structure •
Integrate accurate, credible, objective, and timely evidence to support the argument •
Demonstrate critical and analytical thinking skills when incorporating patterns of reasoning •
Identify and discuss counterclaims • Identify and avoid fallacious logic •
Document source material correctly using APA style • To increase the civic awareness of students Description of Assignment: For this assignment, you will need to construct an argument persuading your readers to pass, amend, or repeal a law or policy to solve or improve societal problems.
The policy that you are advancing can be local, state, or national in scope. You should not reaffirm an existing policy, but instead, should advocate for a change in policy. Students should not argue a question or claim that has an absolute answer (e.g. who is the first woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court?). Assignment Guidelines Requirements Details/Instructions Value • 5 points for Argumentation Paper Topic Posting • 20 points for the Rough Draft Peer Review of Argumentation Paper • 150 points for the final draft of the Argumentation Paper Topic • You will need to construct an argument persuading your audience to pass, amend, or repeal a law or policy.
Each student needs to have a different topic. The first student to post his or her topic to the appropriate Blackboard discussion board has exclusive rights to the topic. If you decide to change your topic before you turn in the final draft of your paper assignment, please return to the discussion board area and re-post your new topic. Banned Topics that are off limits include: • Abortion, Capital Punishment (the death penalty), Steroids Usage (Ex. baseball), Driving Tests for the Elderly, Lowering the Drinking Age, Legalizing Marijuana or Physician Assisted Suicide (Euthanasia), Banned Topic List Construction & Length •
Your paper needs to be written in 3rd person (no personal pronouns). • Your paper must be typed using Times New Roman Font Size 12, double-spaced, and proofread. • Your paper needs to include an APA Style title page. Paper margins should be no larger than one inch. • Your paper must be between 5 – 7 pages in length. These pages do not include your title or reference pages. You will be penalized 10% off your grade for not complying with the page restrictions. Organization of Paper • Your paper should exhibit the six elements of the Toulmin Model. • You will also need to include a completed copy of the Toulmin Model Graphic Organizer with your paper (see next page for template) Plagiarism • If you copy and paste your information directly from a website or other digital source, without paraphrasing, summarizing, or quoting the information in APA style, you will be in violation of the Student Code of Conduct. You will receive a zero on this assignment for plagiarizing the content. APA Citations & Reference Page •
Your paper will need to contain in-text citations using APA style. • Each student needs to turn in a reference page in APA style and provide a minimum of five source citations for your final paper. • There are no limitations on the types, combinations, or number of sources of information. Toulmin Model Toulmin Model Graphic Organizer
Directions:
Identify where and how you will use the Toulmin Model in your paper. You can use bullet points to briefly describe each element.
Toulmin Components Description of the integration of the Toulmin Model into your paper Claim (with or without qualifier) Grounds Warrant Backing Rebuttal
