Comp I: Argue From Home Base

Bristol Community College

Instructor - Tom Grady Due: 12/11

Find some issue, topic, for which you have strong feelings…

Example: Sex education

…But isn’t so general that someone else could devote a book to it:

Condoms should be available to high school students.

Tweak your thesis until you have something meaningful, manageable, LOCAL and controversial:

New Bedford High should make condoms available to students in the Nurse’s Office.

Test your thesis to make sure it is an opinion, that someone could oppose it, (many use the words “should” or “should not” in them). Beware: your thesis must be focused enough that you can develop it in the allotted page length. The entire paper will rest on the quality and scope of your thesis. There is a lot of room for creativity here. Your paper can be sarcastic, satirical or whimsical. Feel free to use alternative (but still legitimate) sources for your research.

The goal will be to incorporate three different sources using MLA notation which back up your general opinion. In addition, at some point in the paper, you must bring up the opposition to your essay’s argument and effectively refute it.

Page length: 5-7 pages

Title page 1 page

Body 4-5 pages

Works cited 1 page

total 6-7 pages

Some topic suggestions: “Don’t Snitch” T-shirts, Girlcott A&F, LNG, campus speech codes, right to privacy in high school showers/lockers, crime wave in NB, reality show, cutting, adult returning students, the 70’s resurgence, mosh pits, idiot humor, gambling casinos, party ethics, gangsta rap, rave culture, body piercing, gay marriage, smokers’ rights, general education requirements, AIDS awareness, BCC’s image, plagiarism.

Avoid Abortion, gun control, welfare reform, mercy killings, and legalization of pot. These topics are too broad in and of themselves: They could work if you can narrow down their foci.

Remember: your argument must be somehow rooted in your experience and/or personality. Don’t write about gambling casinos unless you can relate its effect upon you directly. As always, I’m looking for balance of lively language and coherent thought.

LEARNING OUTCOMES - evaluation criteria[1]

Writing: Students will move through the processes of writing: inventing, composing, revising, and editing according to the conventions of Standard Written English.
Critical reading: Students will critically read and respond to a variety of texts.
Audience, purpose, voice: Students will compose in a voice appropriate to the audience and purpose of the writing.
Thesis: Students will formulate a thesis and support it with evidence.
Organization: Students will compose coherent and cohesive essays and other texts.
Research, documentation: Students will locate, evaluate, integrate, and document primary and/or secondary source materials to support a position.

[1] Developed by the Writing Committee of Project Connect, a partnership of public higher education institutions in southeastern Massachusetts—Bridgewater State College, Bristol Community College, Cape Cod Community College, Massasoit Community College, and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.