Why PUblic School Outperform Private Schools

English 111 Parameters, Formal Project 3 (FP-3), Formal Documented Argument

References and Resources:
Brief Cengage Handbook chapter 7 (“Thinking Critically”), chapter 8 (“Writing an Argumentative Essay”), part 4, chapters 11-16 (“Conducting Research”), and chapter 17
(“MLA Documentation Style”), especially sample student document at pages 228-42.
Sample student documents, supplemental resources, and grading rubric at the FP-3 folder in Blackboard.
1. Topic
This formal writing project will be a formal persuasive documented argumentation-persuasion essay which focuses on some aspect of your ongoing research topic (civic
literacy).
Your goal is to present a viable thesis (argument) supported thoroughly, logically, and coherently with credible, documented research source material.
This essay must include not only adequate, accurate, and representative support for your argument but must also anticipate, acknowledge, refute, and document relevant
counterargument(s). (See Brief Cengage Handbook chapter 8a5.)
2. Purpose
• To explore and apply effective rhetorical strategies of formal argumentation-persuasion.
• To engage the academic research process: to read, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and synthesize ideas and to engage those ideas critically in writing with a
focused, formal academic argument reflecting ethical, responsible, academic documentation conventions reflecting MLA-style prescriptions.
• To apply academic standards of reader-responsible writing in third person.
• To use computer technology to plan, draft, save, open, revise, edit, and present a formal academic text.
3. Audience
Engage your audience as any American college reader, a college student or professor of any academic discipline, male or female, who may or may not be your age, may or
may not be a native English speaker, and may or may not be an American citizen.
4. Diction
This document must reflect a discernible stance and formal, academic diction (no contractions; no informal, colloquial, slang, or street language; no pretentious
language or inappropriate jargon; and no cliché or redundant expression, except as required for accurate direct quotation). See Brief Cengage Handbook chapter 39.

5. Organization
One well developed essay of at least 1,000 words (excluding Works Cited) with the following components:
One Introductory Paragraph
• Lead-in content: The first several sentences of the first paragraph must draw the reader into the essay and provide adequate, appropriate, relevant background
information that leads logically to the thesis statement.
• Thesis statement: The last sentence of the first paragraph must preview (a) the specific, limited topic of the essay and (b) a discernible, debatable argument
(stance, position, or assertion). To earn full credit, this thesis statement must signal both the argument and counterargument(s) addressed in the essay.
Five to Seven Well Developed Body Paragraphs
Each body paragraph should reflect “MEAL Plan” development. (See Supplemental Resources at Formal Project 3 folder):
• A functional topic sentence that (a) clearly connects to support the thesis statement and (b) previews the paragraph’s topic and assertion (claim, argument, or
counterargument).
• Adequate, relevant, representative, appropriately documented research source material (summarized, paraphrased, or quoted) that supports, explains,
illustrates, and substantiates the topic sentence.
• A functional concluding statement that reviews the paragraph’s topic and assertion (without simply repeating topic-sentence wording) and which may also serve
as transition to the next paragraph.
Collectively, the body paragraphs of this essay should include a variety of quoted, paraphrased, and summarized source material from at least five academically
credible sources, three of which must be from different genres (for example, one book source, one academic journal source, and one reputable news or government
source). In addition, body-paragraph content must include the following:
• At least four short direct quotations with corresponding in-text (parenthetical) citations.
• At least one long (blocked) direct quotation with corresponding in-text citation. (See Brief Cengage Handbook page 198 and example on page 234.)
• At least three paraphrased or summarized sources with corresponding in-text citations.
One Concluding Paragraph
The final paragraph must include the following:
• A discernible review of the essay’s topic and argument (without simply repeating the wording of the thesis statement).
• A discernible review of each main assertion (claim) presented in the body of the essay (without simply repeating topic-sentence wording).
• Further concluding ideas which connect the essay’s topic and thesis to some discernible relevance or significance for the audience (which ultimately function
to answer to the question, “So what?”).
Works Cited
The last page(s) of this document must be an 8th-edition MLA-style Works Cited (WC) with corresponding citations for all sources referenced in the essay.
This WC must include at least five academically credible sources from at least three different genres.
6. Special Requirements
• Drafts of this project may include no images.
• Drafts submitted for this project may include no computer-generated in-text or end-of-text citations (such as the “Insert Citation” and “Bibliography”
applications at MS Word “References,” EasyBib, BibMe, Knight Cite, Zotero, Citation Machine, or Son of Citation Machine, for example).
• This project may reflect no first person and no second person (except as needed for accurate direct quotation or title citation).
• This project must reflect discipline-appropriate verb tenses and verb forms.
• This project must include discernible acknowledgement and refutation of possible counterargument(s).
• The final draft must reflect Courier New size 12 font and 8th-edition MLA-style manuscript format and documentation prescriptions.
• Any plagiarism (intentional or not) in any draft of this project may result in an automatic grade of zero.
• This project must include (a) at least 1,000 words (not counting Works Cited) and (b) the minimum source references detailed at item 5 above (“Organization”).
Forty of 100 possible points will be deducted from a final draft that fails to reflect minimum length and source requirements.
7. Due Dates
Prewriting (IP-FD3-A): To earn credit, by 11:45 p.m. on Monday, 27 March, submit at the IP-FD3-A submission folder your preliminary working thesis statement with a
topic-sentence outline of body paragraphs designed to support that thesis.
Peer Review (IP-PR-FD3-A): To earn credit, by 11:45 p.m. on Thursday, 30 March, participate in peer review as directed at the designated peer-group discussion forum.
Full First Draft (IP-FD3-B): To earn credit, by 11:45 p.m. on Monday, 10 April, submit at the IP-FD3-B submission folder a full first draft with Works Cited of your
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