Arguing a Position Essay
Overview:
Arguing a Position Essay The research question you will answer in your essay: Should the U.S. government have access to people’s digital information? Why or why not? MUST use at least TWO of the following sources. You may elect to use all three:
U.S. News – Daniel J. Gallington – “The Case for Internet Surveillance”, The Library of Congress – “The USA Patriot Act: A Sketch” one paraphrase.
Analysis:
one direct quote You will have an argumentative thesis. It will answer your research question and clearly state your POSITION on the issue. It will also MAP out your discussion points for your reader. Remember that your thesis (especially since this is a longer paper) can be more than one sentence.
You can include your position statement in the first sentence, and then your discussion points in the second if it’s clearer for the reader. Regardless, ensure your reader understands the purpose and can pull out your main idea. Your audience for this essay is your local state legislator. Therefore, you should clearly frame and contextualize the discussion for this particular audience (using your resources). Your overall tone should be fo
FORMATTING and GUIDELINES
Follow standard MLA guidelines for citations, formatting, etc. These guidelines can be found: Rules for Writers (8th ed.) Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers, the St. Martin’s Guide (1010 textbook), or OWL Purdue MLA Formatting Guide. As such, all drafts should be formatted as such: 12-point Times New Roman, One-inch margin on all sides, Double spaced with extra space removed between paragraphs. If essays are not double spaced, student may not receive line-by-line comments, MLA header (with page numbers) Creative title (if applicable) Include a Work(s) Cited page (if applicable) Black ink
You need to follow MLA formatting, i.e. in-text citations, a Works Cited page, etc. Since this is an academic essay, you should avoid the following: 2nd person pronouns (YOU), Contractions,Rhetorical questions , 1st person pronouns (I, me, our, us. . etc.), Slang, colloquialism, etc
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