Argumentative Paper

This paper will be due Friday 24 October, 2003.

Here are some guidelines for the paper.

• The paper can be about any of the topics or issues we've been discussing in class. Choose something that you care about.
• In your essay you should put forth some opinion or position and support it with evidence and careful argumentation.
• You should take a stand; stake out some territory.
• You will rewrite this paper at least once, and probably twice. So don't worry; what matters is the final product and how you develop your ideas as you get there. Take chances. Say what's on your mind.
• Your paper should be three pages in length.
• When you write, you should have a clear audience in mind. It could be other people in this class, other students at COA, people from your hometown, the readership of a newspaper, etc.
• This shouldn't be a research paper. There's no need to draw upon outside resources.
• If you refer to readings, be sure to cite them thoroughly.
• Your paper should be typed or word-processed.
• Explore one or at most two ideas.
• Your writing should be clear; use "correct" usage. Grammar and overall clarity factor into your evaluation. The writing can be quite informal, but should still read ok.
• Please hand in your papers on time. If you don't hand in your paper on time, it'll take me longer to get you feedback so you can revise your paper. If you need extra time or something comes up, let me know.
• Working with a writing tutor is strongly recommended, and is often fun.

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