This week, we continue our work on the position paper. You will write a first draft of your position paper and participate in the peer evaluation process.
After successfully completing the position papers lessons, you should be able to:
Determine the purpose and structure of a position paper.
Understand how to write a position paper.
Now is the time to write a draft of your position paper. When drafting your essay:
Use the feedback from the outline that you submitted to help you write your draft.
Review the grading rubric for the essay.
Briefly explain your topic and state your position on the issue.
Address possible objections to your arguments.
Give at least three arguments in support of your position.
Include information from between four and seven sources to help support your arguments and to refute your counterargument.
Use in-text citations to show where you are quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing information that support your arguments. Refer to the "Writing Using Sources Module" for more details on how to do this.
Include a Works Cited at the end of the essay. Refer to the "Writing Using Sources Module" for more details on how to do this.
The final essay should be 1250-1500 words, so the draft should be close to 1250 words.
After completing the draft, please post it for peer evaluation. Details are in the "Activities" section below and in Forums > Position Paper > Draft.
The time has come for peer evaluations of the drafts. Peer evaluation is your opportunity to get feedback on your essay draft as well as see what other students are writing about.
After posting your draft, please complete peer evaluations of two peers' essay drafts. Details are in the "Activities" section below and in Forums > Position Paper > Draft.
These are the activities that you need to complete this week. All activities are due by 11:55 p.m. on their due dates.
First Draft of Position Paper. Write a draft of your position paper. Post the completed draft as an attachment. Drafts should be about 1250-words, double-spaced, and be either .doc, .docx, or .rtf files.
Due by xx/xx.
Points: Part of Final Position Paper grade. See rubric.
Peer evaluations of Position Paper. After you have posted your draft, choose two other students’ essays to evaluate. Please choose essays that have fewer than two peer reviews already completed. Each essay should only be evaluated by two classmates. The peer review form is available in Forums >Position Paper >Draft
Due by xx/xx.
Points: Part of Final Position Paper grade. See rubric.