Research and Argument Major Paper

Minimum Requirements

All rough drafts must be turned in to each group member on time in order to receive full credit for that portion. All peer review comments must cover each part of the attached rubric in order to receive full credit for that portion and include a substantive report justifying your scoring. Final drafts must include a minimum of 8 pages, not including the Works Cited page. All papers must have double-spaced pages in MLA format and include an MLA heading on the first page (top left corner) and your last name and page number for all subsequent pages (top right corner; use the insert page number feature on your word processor or manually insert the page numbers at the half-inch part of your one-inch margins. Your final draft must include a thesis statement, which MUST BE UNDERLINED. Your final draft must include a Counterargument section that consists of at least 1 page. It must be labeled Counterargument. This section needs to include any objections you have anticipated and your counter to these objections. You must include a works cited page in MLA format that will cite the articles that you use for your research, which will consist of a minimum of 6 sources, including a minimum of 3 scholarly sources. You may use any relevant sources from your previous two papers. While you may not copy word-for-word from your previous papers, you may use paraphrases of any relevant information that would help support your argument in this paper.

Rough Draft

• Step 1 – Develop your primary research question according to the exercises provided from the Narrowing Your Broad Topic assignment listed under the Participation Assignments section on Blackboard, as well as the power point lecture entitled Making an Argument listed under Readings & Lectures.
• Step 2 – Use your primary research question to guide your choice of sources in your research so that you can answer your primary research question. During this process, you should develop additional secondary research questions. Answering these questions will help you to answer your primary research question. Make sure that you consult at least 6 sources, including a minimum of 3 scholarly sources. During your research, use your skills of annotation, summarizing, and analysis to help compile notes for your research.
• Step 3 – Your answer to your primary research question will become your thesis statement. Your answer to any secondary research questions will become your minor premises in your paper. In order to make a lengthy paper of this sort manageable and well organized, you are advised to develop an outline that lays out your argument and research according to the advice given in class about arrangement. Be sure to include a section labeled Counterargument; this will be where you anticipate any objections to your argument and either concede or refute these objections.
• Step 4 – Write your rough draft, and be sure to underline your thesis statement, and include the Counterargument section, which should be a minimum of 1 page.
• Step 5 – Make sure you get your rough draft copy to each group member, as well as an email to me that confirms your group members received your rough draft. Without this confirmation, you will be responsible for any peer reviews that are not completed for your paper.