Essay 2: Claim with Reasons
For your second essay, you will make a claim with reasons argument, taking a position on a controversial issue related to higher education, college. You must choose a debatable topic related to higher education (college) and argue a position. For example, you could argue whether or not too many people are going to college. You could argue whether or not it’s better for students to attend a community college before going to a four university or not. You could argue whether social sciences and humanities degrees (English, history, art, journalism, communications, psychology, sociology, etc.) have as much benefit as the STEM field (science, technology, engineering, math) or not. You could argue whether or not for-profit colleges need to be better regulated (this topic is related to the documentary College, Inc). Basically, you can find any topic related to higher education that is even briefly touched on in any of the assigned articles you will read in Unit 2 and take a stand on that issue. You can find a list of possible topics in the Essay 2 folder.
You will make a claim that you can argue. Choose a side on this issue to argue for or against. Argument is key. A presentation of ideas and information will not suffice, nor are you to analyze the causes and effects of a particular issue. Your thesis statement will be a “should or should not” statement, such as “Many students should attend a community college before transferring to a four year college because . . .” or “A liberal arts education should still be valued in American universities because…” You must then provide evidence-based reasons to support your claim and lead you to some conclusion. These reasons will comprise most of the body of your paper. Finally, you must also address counter-arguments to your claim by finding at least one source that disagrees with your position and refuting the arguments made in that source.
IMPORTANT: In order to fully understand the structure and purpose of this assignment you must read the provided Claim with Reasons outline and Toulmin Model Lecture Notes, which are included in Unit 2 of the course.
Length, Formatting, and Source Requirements
- Compose an essay no less than five, double-spaced pages in length. This total does not include your Works Cited page, which must begin on a new page.
- Identify and apply the conventions of MLA format and accurate MLA documentation, including attribution (signal phrasing), in-text citation, and a Works Cited page. I also require use of 12-point, Times New Roman font.
- Avoid use of 1st or 2nd person (“I,” “we,” “us,” and “you”).
- Avoid personal narrative and opinion-based development (i.e. “I believe,” “I think,” “In my opinion,” etc.). All ideas must be well-supported with logical explanation, details, connections, and evidence from the required source material.
- Required Sources: You must conduct research to find sources that support your claim and provide backing for your argument. You must use at least five recent sources (within the last 10 years) for this paper:
- One of the following articles from your textbook: Sanford J. Unger “The New Liberal Arts”; Charles Murray’s “Are Too Many People Going to College?”; Liz Addison’s “Two Years Are Better Than Four”; Gerard Graff’s “Hidden Intellectualism” or the documentary College, Inc.
- One scholarly or professional journal, using fully developed articles, not abstracts, news briefs, or citations.
- One electronic book other than a research guide or reference book (no encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc).
- One newspaper article.
- One additional source (This source can be another journal article, newspaper, or book. It cannot be a website)
IMPORTANT: You may not use any other sources for your essays other than the ones you can access through the “Finding Sources for Your Paper” folder under “Essential Course Resources. Yes, this requirement means you may not use Google to find any source; you must use a library database that I have linked to on our library course guide.
RUBRIC: Unit 2 Essay, Claim with Reasons
| Exceptional / A | Very Good / B | Good / C | Fair / Poor | |
| Intro and Conclusion ______/20 | Introduction is compelling, well-developed, exceptionally composed, and original. Conclusion is well-developed, and well-composed; it goes beyond the obvious, effectively pointing to greater significance. | Introduction is interesting and clear, but not enough so to be considered exceptional. Conclusion is clear and appropriately developed, but not enough so to be considered exceptional. | Introduction serves the purpose but is not necessarily exigent. It might benefit from further development and/or revision. Conclusion serves the purpose, but may benefit from further development and/or revision. | Introduction is confusing, overly general, and/or lacks collegiate level development. Conclusion is underdeveloped, redundant, and/or fails to demonstrate significance of topic. |
| Thesis Statement ______/5 | Thesis is a compelling, original, exceptionally clear, and well-composed. Its roadmap lists main points that are distinct, significant, and parallel. | Thesis is interesting and clearly written, but not enough so to be considered exceptional. Its roadmap lists main points that are distinct and parallel. | Thesis is present and does the job, but it may be misplaced, too broad, or too narrow to adequately cover the topic or convey a significant purpose. | Thesis is missing, misplaced, underdeveloped, unclear, and/or in some other way inappropriate for the assignment. |
| Structural Elements ______/10 | Body paragraphs begin with assertive topic sentences that reflect the thesis explicitly. They are exceptionally composed, appropriately transitional, and make clear their paragraphs’ unique rhetorical purpose. Paragraph ending syntheses are exceptionally composed. They connect clearly to the topic sentences and reveal significance. | Body paragraphs begin with assertive topic sentences that reflect the thesis explicitly. They are appropriately transitional and make clear their paragraphs’ purpose. Paragraph ending syntheses are well composed and connect clearly to the topic sentences. | Body paragraphs begin with topic sentences that are mostly clear, but one or more may be ordinary, misplaced, too broad, or too narrow in clarifying a main idea about the subject or connecting appropriately to supporting points and details. Paragraph ending syntheses attempt to conclude their paragraphs, but they may be ordinary, too general, or redundant. | Topic sentences in one or more paragraphs are missing, unclear, underdeveloped, and/or in some other way inappropriate for the assignment. Paragraph ending syntheses are missing, underdeveloped, unclear, and/or in some other way inappropriate for the assignment. |
| Supporting Details ______/30 | Body paragraphs are skillfully developed and unified. They move with logic and purpose from significant, supporting points to well-qualified examples, explanations, and details that reinforce and validate those points. Supporting sentences are coherent, varied, and vivid. They use sophisticated vocabulary, appropriate repetition of key words, and smooth transitioning throughout. No fallacies in reasoning have been applied to the essay. An opposing viewpoint and brief rebuttal are included and connected to the claim. | Body paragraphs are well developed and unified. Very few areas, if any, include supporting points and/or details that readers would find unclear, too general, or obvious. Supporting sentences are frequently coherent and varied. A few might benefitfrom stronger transitioning and/or attention to word choice, but the majority move with clarity and logic in offering specific details. A few minor fallacies may occur but not damage the overall claim and argument. The opposing viewpoint has been addressed but not rebutted carefully. | Body paragraphs are generally unified and do the job, but some supporting points may seem obvious, generalized, lacking in evidence, or in need of further explanation to improve clarity and/or establish significance. Supporting sentences are often coherent but ordinary. They may include areas of wordiness, redundancy, colloquialism, choppy structuring, ineffective organization, and/or limited transitioning. Fallacies in reasoning undermine the argument. The opposing view has not been addressed or rebutted appropriately. | Body paragraphs are often underdeveloped, unclear, disjointed, confusing, generalized, and/or incomplete. They may read more like rough drafts than final revisions. Supporting sentences tend to ramble or lack collegiate-level conventions with regard to word choice, structuring, organization, and/or transitioning. Argument is based mostly on non-logical reasoning and fallacies. The opposing viewpoint has not been addressed or rebutted. |
| Source Integration ______/15 | The required source(s) are used with sophistication and purpose to support main points and to demonstrate an insightful grasp of the material that moves beyond mere summary. Source integration is smooth, including effective lead-in phrasing, attribution, and synthesis. In-text (parenthetical) citation and Works Cited page are without fault and conform to MLA documentation rules. | The required source(s) are used appropriately to support main points and to demonstrate a clear understanding of the source material. Source integration includes appropriate lead-in phrasing, attribution, and synthesis. In-text (parenthetical) citation and Works Cited page are virtually error free in conforming to MLA documentation rules. | The required source(s) are referenced in the essay, but their connections to main point(s) might benefit from further development. Source integration may not meet all standards, but it demonstrates a strong familiarity requiring minimal edits. In-text (parenthetical) citation and Works Cited page may be inconsistent in conforming to MLA documentation rules. | Student may not have referenced, understood, or used effectively the required source(s). Connections between source(s) and point(s) made in the essay are often missing, unclear, or insufficient. Elements of source integration are often missing, inaccurate, or weak. In-text (parenthetical) citation and/or Works Cited page include several MLA documentation errors. |
| Conventions ______/20 | Writing is free from errors in grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. Document is free from errors in MLA formatting. | Writing may include minor (non-distracting) errors in grammar, punctuation, or mechanics. No sentence boundary or subject/verb agreement errors. Minor, if any, MLA formatting errors. | Errors in grammar, punctuation, and/or mechanics are present and distract the reader somewhat from content. Formatting errors may exist but student demonstrates strong familiarity with MLA rules. | Errors in grammar, punctuation, and/or mechanics significantly distract the reader from the content. Several MLA formatting errors may exist. |
