In this essay, you will create your own argument with the four essential elements (#1), and meaningful ideas about an issue or a topic surrounding a human quality (#2).
Look at qualities that have deep and greater meaning like vulnerability, shame, divisiveness, etc., and then make a narrowly defined idea in that general arena. This doesnt mean youll want your essay to be general.
Example: If youre writing about shame, you shouldnt be writing about your ideas of it as an overall emotion or thing; you should start with identifying a problem with the quality (Do people feel shame? Why? What’s causing it), point your finger (i.e., blame) something for that problem with that quality, and then unravel the various effects of it from there.
While this is a research paper of sorts, it is not simply a regurgitation or summary of information or ideas already said about your topic. This essay requires analysis, which means youll need to use what others have said and think critically about those ideas and explain how others’ ideas help you prove your own argument.
This is not an opinion-centered paper. It should be written as an objective argument. This means that you will be writing in the third person and take an unbiased tone that presents information rather than tries to convince or persuade an audience to see things your way. The logic of your argument should be convincing.
You must use at least 3 outside sources, all of which must be a book, journal, or from some other sort of academic database. (The validity of Internet sources is questionable compared to articles found in scholarly journals, periodicals, and bookswhich are readily available to you through the librarys online database.)
The demonstrated ability to conduct and analyze outside sources and effectively incorporate them into your own argument
Supporting ideas that prove the thesis/purpose and build off each other
Quotes that are correctly integrated into your own structured sentences
A conclusion that leaves the reader with something to think about
Sentences that vary in length, structure, and style
Sentences that correctly incorporate underutilized punctuation (em dashes, colons, etc.)
Six or less major mechanical errors
