ENGL147 Advanced English Composition
Week 1 Assignment
Argument Research Essay Topic and Proposal
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
Textbook: pp. 63-91, and review pp. 266-270
Lesson
Link (PDF):?Proposal Template with ExamplePreview the document
Minimum of 2 scholarly sources (one supporting, one opposing)
Apply the following writing resources to your assignment:
Link (multimedia presentation):?Citing References in Text?(Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)
Link (website):?APA Citation and Writing (Links to an external site.)
Instructions
The goal of an argument research proposal is to create a working argument thesis statement and a basic research plan that considers context, audience, and purpose and that presents potential sources that support and run counter to your stance.
Keep in mind that rather than being an outline or structural plan for your essay, this proposal should ground you in the scholarly conversation, should offer direction for research needs, and should give your professor ample focused material viable for providing effective feedback before the drafting process.
Access the Proposal Template and complete the six required sections:
Narrowed Topic
Research Question
Claim
Rationale and Research Plan
Review of Differing Viewpoint Sources via Synthesis Matrix
Reference Page
For an example proposal and development techniques, refer to your textbook reading for the week.
ENGL147 Advanced English Composition
Week 2 Assignment
Pre-writing, Argumentative Essay Introduction and Thesis, an Argumentative Plan, and First Sources
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
Textbook: Chapter 3 and pp. 94-107, 295-297, 306, 337-356
Lesson
Link (Word doc): Assignment TemplatePreview the document
Minimum of 6 scholarly sources
Apply the following writing resources to your assignment:
Link (multimedia presentation): Citing References in Text (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)
Link (website): APA Citation and Writing (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)
Instructions
For this assignment, you will continue to pre-write and plan for your argument research essay by applying pre-writing to your thesis from Week1 (revised as necessary according to instructor feedback and your own further thought). You will also construct a first draft of your full introduction paragraph, utilizing what you have learned from your textbook readings, the Week 2 Lesson, and your Discussion participation. Finally, you will discuss your overall argument structure plan and provide a list of at least six scholarly sources in APA Style that represent an equal number of sources that support your stance and sources that oppose your stance.
Access the Week 2 Assignment Template and complete the five required sections:
Your Current Thesis
Pre-writing
A Draft of Your Full Introduction Paragraph
Argument Appeals Plan
List of Sources in APA Style
For tips on examples of what to do and what to avoid when writing an introduction, refer to the lesson and assigned readings for the week.
ENGL147 Advanced English Composition
Week 3 Assignment
Guided Annotated Bibliography: Reading Critically and Practicing Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
Textbook: pp. 2-26, 32-36, and review pages 270-293 & 337-356
Lesson
Link (Word doc): Guided Annotated Bibliography TemplatePreview the document
Minimum of 6 scholarly articles
Apply the following writing resources to your posts:
Link (multimedia presentation): Citing References in Text (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)
Link (website): APA Citation and Writing (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)
Instructions
For this assignment, complete the following:
Review from the lesson and textbook readings argumentative appeals, models for argument, effective and correct use of sources, and the purposes for/examples of annotated bibliographies. Assess any feedback provided by the professor and/or your peers from discussion.
Use the provided template.
Compose a full and complete annotated bibliography that includes the 6 scholarly sources with which you are most likely to work as you begin drafting your essay. These may change later, as you will continually research during drafting to find more powerful sources and/or new ideas for support and opposition. You may use sources from previous assignments if you have read and re-read them and feel they are highly valuable at this point still. On the template provided, you will:
Compose a full, rich, detailed paragraph discussing the process you used in gathering and annotating your sources. The template will guide you with required questions that you must answer for this paragraph.
Compose full APA References for six scholarly sources, ideally three that support your points and three that oppose them, but no fewer than two opposing sources.
Write a rich annotation for each source, according to best practices studied in your readings and according to the instructions on the template.
Keep in mind that your purpose is analytical. You will very briefly summarize the source in a single sentence, then move into the source’s credibility, relevance, timeliness, and usefulness, followed by detailing specific connections to your argument and points and to other sources, if applicable. By the time you have finished this assignment, you should have a very clear idea of how your argument and the conversation between your voice and your sources will play out. This assignment will also provide your instructor with a solid preview of the quality of your argument as a whole.
Before submission, proofread and edit carefully for APA, spelling, punctuation, and grammar. While you are strongly encouraged to utilize electronic proofreading and APA tools, that is just your first line of offense. You should then always perform your own careful proofreading, silently and aloud, asking others to proofread if possible.
ENGL147 Advanced English Composition
Week 4 Assignment
Logical Fallacies Presentation: Poking (and Plugging) Holes in Arguments
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
Textbook: pp. 157-173
Lesson
Sample PresentationPreview the document
Instructions
For this assignment, complete the following:
Review from the lesson and textbook readings the types of logical fallacies and examples.
Locate three advertisements online that were posted no later than one year ago. The advertisements may be any of the following types, and they do not need to all be the same type:
Advertisements for products, such as for a beauty product or an automobile
Political campaign ads
Advertisements that pop up on your social media threads, like on Facebook or Instagram
Keep in mind that this assignment requires you to identify logical fallacies, so choose your three advertisements carefully, looking for those in which you do see clear and identifiable logical fallacies at work. Search until you have three advertisements that will work well for this assignment on logical fallacies.
Create a PowerPoint presentation consisting of 11 slides:
An introduction slide with your name, the class, and the title of your presentation- don't be afraid to get creative with your title!
On one slide, show and cite the advertisement.
On another slide, name the fallacy that occurs and define the fallacy. For example, if you see an Ad Hominem fallacy, you will note that there is an Ad Hominem Fallacy and offer a definition of "Ad Hominem" using your own wording. Do not simply copy the definition from the lesson or textbook.
On the next slide, explain how and why a specific portion of the ad represents this specific fallacy. Be thorough and clear.
Repeat the above process with your other two advertisements. You should have three slides for each advertisement, for a total of nine body slides
A References slide in which you provide full APA-correct references for your three advertisements. You should not have additional references because everything else in your presentation should simply represent your learning in this module.
Note: Include everything on your slides visually. If you'd like to use voice-over, that's fine; just note that you will be graded on what is visually on the slides only. You may be as visually creative as you would like!
ENGL147 Advanced English Composition
Week 5 Assignment
Full Draft of the Argument Research Essay
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
Textbook: pp. 293-318 and 337-356
Lesson
Minimum of 5 sources
Instructions
This assignment is a full draft of your Argument Research PaperPreview the document. This draft will demonstrate the argument and writing techniques studied in the course and will build upon the steps you have taken in all the previous weeks toward developing your Argument Research Paper. This draft is expected to meet all of the Argument Research Essay requirements for writing, content, length, and sources.
Writing Requirements for the Argument Research Essay First Draft, Due in Week 5, and for the Argument Essay Final Draft, Due in Week 7
Correct use of APA guidelines for the following:
Headers with pagination
Title Page
Margins, spacing, and paragraph indentation
APA in-text citation and referencing for all sources
Do not divide your essay into sections.
Do not use headings within your paper to indicate changes in topic. While longer APA essays and particular types of APA writing, such as scholarly articles, employ APA-style bolded headings to divide portions of the writing, you are writing a shorter academic essay. Your shift from one paragraph to the next should be signaled through your use of the effective transition and topic sentence rules we have practiced.
6-8 full pages for the essay itself, not including title page or references
Effective structure, including your introduction paragraph, your body paragraphs, and your conclusion paragraph
Use of third-person throughout. Focus on the topic, not on you nor on the essay. In other words: no first-person “I,” and no referring to the essay, such as “In this essay.”
At least 5 scholarly sources visibly used, cited, and referenced
Refer to the full Argument Research Essay Rubric
Your instructor will grade and offer feedback on this draft to help set you up toward additional success with your final draft in Week 7. In Week 6, you will post your draft to your peer review group area in discussion to also receive their feedback.
ENGL147 Advanced English Composition
Week 6 Assignment
What Does the Opossum Say? Invent a Scenario Involving a Genre of Argument
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
Lesson
One presentation medium such as Prezi, narrated PowerPoint, video, screen capture, or another with which you are familiar and comfortable. Check out the sample presentation for this assignment!
Play media comment.
Your Week 6 assignment is a brief and fun one. It allows you to think "outside the box" about your issue and stance.
The title of the assignment is a bit silly and intriguing, but the idea is that you will consider the impact of your issue, of your supporting arguments and the opposing viewpoints in your paper, on an animal that lives nearby, like an opossum who hangs out by the trash bins behind a hospital. For example, if your argument's goal (say, a change in the definition of "regular" and "hazardous" refuse), leads to a change in the content of trash bins and therefore to a change in what the opossum is exposed to/ingests, that's something you may not have considered to this point. So, via this activity, that opossum can be given a "voice" to express the impact on its life.
This is not just a fun little children's game, though; the intent is to push your brain and expand your understanding of impact, while also demonstrating your understanding of argument genres as discussed in this week's textbook readings and lesson.
You will create a presentation, using a mode of your choice. You may choose narrated PowerPoint, or another medium like Prezi, or even make your own video with visuals, a screen capture if you are skilled in that- it is entirely up to you and what you'd like to try out. The sky is the limit here. In this presentation you will:
State your thesis
Identify a nearby animal that may be impacted by your topic and note the ways in which the animal might be impacted.
Then, give your animal a voice. What does it say about the issue? Let your animal share its thoughts on your stance and on an opposing stance.
Next, respond to the animal by using one of the argument genres discussed in the textbook and the lesson. For example, would some definition help with clarity for the animal? Can you find common values-based ground? Perhaps the animal raises a problem; how can you address solutions? For example, maybe the "stay at home" order handed down in 2020 in response to the COVID pandemic managed to cut pollution so much that certain animals returned to their habitats.
Finally, you will discuss how and if a resolution could be reached and how the exercise helped you to see your topic and essay in new ways.
Presentation Requirements
Depending on the medium you use, you will create the equivalent of a "slide" for each of the following (Some presentation tools, or video, might not be actual "slides"):
Identify your thesis, the animal, and why you chose it.
Using your animal's hypothetical "words," state how your thesis or one of your main supporting points will impact this animal and why.
Respond to your animal by thoroughly addressing these concerns via an argument genre. Name the genre you are using.
Wrap up your conversation with the animal by noting whether a solution is possible and why or why not.
Discuss how this exercise expanded your understanding of your topic.
Length and Content Parameters
The equivalent of four rich "slides" addressing the verbal content written above.
Text and voice for all four "slides." You may narrate in your own voice or have fun with "animal character" voices!
At least two visuals representing your animal. You may use only your own original, owned images in the form of drawings and/or photos taken by you. If you have to draw, don't worry; part of the fun is being silly. If you end up with stick figure of a squirrel holding a nut, for example, that's more "you" than a stock photo of a squirrel from online (which is not allowed). Be as creative as you'd like!
No sources. This little presentation is just a conversation between your animal and you and represents your ability to reason and to consider a "special" point of view.
ENGL147 Advanced English Composition
Week 7 Assignment
Final Draft of the Argument Research Paper
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
Textbook: pp. 293-318 and 337-356
Lesson
APA Guidelines (Links to an external site.)
This week's assignment is the final, revised draft of your Argument Research Paper. This final copy will demonstrate the argument, writing, and revision techniques studied in the course and will build upon the steps you have taken in previous weeks toward thoroughly and carefully revising your Argument Research Paper Preview the documentoriginally composed and submitted in Week 5.
Writing Requirements for the Argument Research Essay Final Draft:
Correct use of APA guidelines for the following:
Headers with pagination
Title Page
Margins, spacing, and paragraph indentation
APA in-text citation and referencing for all sources
Do not divide your essay into sections.
Do not use headings within your paper to indicate changes in topic. While longer APA essays and particular types of APA writing, such as scholarly articles, employ APA-style bolded headings to divide portions of the writing, you are writing a shorter academic essay. Your shift from one paragraph to the next should be signaled through your use of the effective transition and topic sentence rules we have practiced.
6-8 full pages for the essay itself, not including title page or references
Effective structure, including your introduction paragraph, your body paragraphs, and your conclusion paragraph
At least 5 scholarly sources visibly used, cited, and referenced
ENGL147 Advanced English Composition
Week 8 Assignment
Go Forth and Change Lives: Thinking about the Role of Argument and Research in Your Twelve-Month Plan
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
Lesson
Week 8 Assignment 1 TemplatePreview the document
This assignment is an exciting chance for you to address the course outcomes in a new and personalized manner. You will consider the next year in four "chunks" of months. Based on your passions and uses for argument in different areas of your life, you will evaluate possible argument scenarios, considering audience and argument techniques. This assignment will also afford you the exciting prospect of using the source evaluation skills you have learned via searching for books to place on your personal reading list, referencing them in correct APA Style, and explaining what excites you about those books. The assignment template will guide you in expressing your goals, in thinking about argument in different and fun contexts, and in identifying books for your 12-month reading list. The objective of this assignment is to provide you with further application of argument techniques and of information literacy tools.
Please use the template, composing your responses directly on the template. Approach this assignment with an eye toward change and the power you have for impacting the world around you.
