English 1
Persuasive Essay Assignment
Due: November 13
For this assignment you will need to write an essay that will convince the reader to buy into a belief, idea, object, etc. You can write your essay on anything, you just have to give facts as to why you believe this is true. For example, in the past, students in my classes have written on the following: Why individuals on welfare should have mandatory drug testing; the importance of eating organic food; why everyone should go to college after high school; video games should be banned; video games are educational and useful; why you should buy food with GMO labels; why we should have open borders in the U.S.; and even why we should destroy the rainforest! Your idea that you want to write on can be out there and perhaps unrealistic, but as long as you show proof and information to backup your idea you can write on it.
For this assignment you should use the MLA writing format. We will go over this in class on November 6. You can find a guide to this writing format online at:https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Also see Chapter 19 in your textbook.
Paper Format Guidelines:
• Papers should be typed and double spaced using a 12 point font.
• Indent the first line of paragraphs (press tab).
• Each page should have a header in the right corner of the page. It should contain your last name and page number. (Cantore 1)
• In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor’s name, the course and the date. Be sure that you also double-space this text.
• You should have a title on your paper. It should be centered before you start writing your essay. Do not underline your title.
• After you write your paper you should have a page with your Works Cited. I will give our a separate worksheet for formatting. You can also see examples at:https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
What You Need For Your Paper
• You should have a clear introduction/thesis. What are you trying to persuade the reader on? Why?
• You should have 3-4 reasons why the reader should believe what you are saying.
• Your essay should contain 4-6 sources. You can use any types of sources, just do not use blogs or Wikipedia. If you are going to use web sites, use ones that have .gov .edu or .org at the end of the web address.
• You should also have a clear conclusion, where you restate your main idea/thesis. What did you write about? Why?
• If you paraphrase or have direct quotes in your papers from your sources, you need to cite that in your paper with a parenthetical citation. You do this by including in parentheses after the quoted or paraphrased material the author’s last name and page number. Example:
In order to get a good grade in English 1 you need to do all your assignments (Cantore 3). You can view examples of how to do this for different sources at:https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/
Your grade is worth 100 points and will be based on the following:
1. Clear introduction/thesis. What are you trying to persuade the reader? – 15 points
2. 3-4 reasons in your body paragraphs as to why the reader should believe what you are writing on – 20 points
3. Clear conclusion/restate of thesis. What did you write about and why? – 15 points
4. Used MLA format for your paper - 15 points
5. Included a Works Cited Page with 4-6 sources – 20 points
6. Spelling, grammar, punctuation. (Make sure to read your essay over before you print it out. Check for word choice, extra words, spelling and punctuation. If you want me to look over a draft before you hand it in I can, however you will need to send your draft to me before (Nov.11) – 15 points
Total = 100 points
For past essays individuals have handed in their essays after class. For this essay you must have it completed at the start of class. If you send it to me after class I will take 5 points off and an additional 5 points will be taken off for each day late after that. If you do not have a printer, make sure to e-mail me the essay before the start of class on November 13.
As always, any questions ask during class or e-mail me at taracantore@yahoo.com
