Your goal now is to create your own argument about success.
A few things to consider:
Make it personal but dont rely solely on personal experience
Incorporate outside materials from your own research AND/OR the materials we have discussed in class
USING OUTSIDE MATERIALS:
Use at least FIVE outside sources, though I hope you will consider more
Make sure you are being clear as to what ideas and words come from other sources
Cite everything in MLA formatting, with in-text citations and a works cited page.
Make sure you use signal phrases to introduce your sources and to treat them as real people.
In your group project presentation assignment sheet, I attached an outline that I hope you will use to guide your writing and outlining process.
Your essay should have the following parts to it:
AN INTRODUCTION that clearly grabs your readers attention, introduces your topic, and presents your thesis statement. Be creative here! Use quotations, stories, anything you can think of to grab your audiences attention. Consider how the authors and speakers we discussed grabbed your attention right from the get go.
A THESIS STATEMENT that presents your argument (your main point). Think about what you would want your reader to walk away from your paper with and sum it up in one sentence.
3-5 SUPPORT PARAGRAPHS that present your support that proves your argument; these can take the form of three to five main things/behaviors/actions that one must take in order to be successful in your area of focus. Make sure you use topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph that explains the main point of your paragraph. Keep each paragraph focused on this main point, make sure you develop your support with adequate detail, and tie everything back to your thesis. Use multiple methods of support for each paragraph to create a pattern that proves your topic sentence.
OPTIONAL COUNTERARGUMENT that addresses the opposite side or opposing views of your thesis/argument. Doing this keeps you one step ahead of your audience, so that you can address any concerns or problems they might have with your argument and counter argue against them.
CONCLUSION: You will cap the paper off with a concluding paragraph that will restate your thesis, summarize what you have written, and make a final observation. This is your chance to open up your argument to a larger issue, perhaps about success as a larger topic OR about how this area of focus, and this level of success contributes to a greater society in some way. When you get to the end of your paper, you should ask yourself: So what? Why does your argument matter? Why should we have this conversation in the first place? What larger implications does it have on society? Why should we care?
If you find that you are either repeating yourself or running short of the word length, go back and add more specifics. Find more sources, incorporate more statistics and data, use more examples, and EXPLAIN YOUR IDEAS to your audience. The most common things that I find are missing in papers are: not enough specific detail, too much summary without explaining why something is important, and not connecting the dots for readers and explaining WHY SOMETHING IS IMPORTANT AND WHAT IT PROVES. You want your audience to be in agreement with you, so tell them what to believe! It might seem obvious to you, but it might not be that obvious to someone else.
Formatting requirements:
At least 1400 words
Double-spaced
12-point standard fonts (Times New Roman, Garamond, Arial, etc.)
Standard margins on all sides
MLA formatting for all source material
In-text citations
A works cited page
For help citing, visit this link: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ (Links to an external site.)
Remember to use spell check and grammar check before turning anything in
For 5 points extra credit: visit the PIER Tutoring Center OR work with a reference librarian.
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