ENG 101: Essay 3, Contrast Argument

Argument is one of the fundamental activities of the academic world in every field of study, and so it is imperative that students have some understanding of how to craft one. Argument relies on stating a specific thesis and supporting that thesis with evidence and expressed sound reasoning rather than simply asserting a point loudly and hoping that the audience believes it. Students in freshman composition often have difficulty developing a thesis independently--but the expository mode of contrast offers an easy and effective means to produce a central claim which can be argued convincingly. As such, students will be asked to develop a contrastive argument, one which begins to engage with the materials produced by others.

Developing a contrast argument of the sort required by the class will require, in addition to a main argument (centered on how one item in a pair is a better example of a job, work, or a career, as defined by the student in the previous paper), a counter-argument and a rebuttal. At least one appropriate secondary source must be deployed, as well. In all, the assignment should occupy some six to eight properly formatted pages, plus an appropriate Works Cited page. Standards for formatting are discussed under "Helpful Information for TCI Students"; please follow the link for more information.

A copy of the rubric by which students' arguments will be assessed appears below as a PDF file. Examples of the type of argument desired appear at the links below; please note that the formatting is for a blog and for instructional purposes, and is not to be emulated in student work:

• A paper on progressive rock

• A paper on science fiction characters

• A paper on antagonists

• Others may appear later

Students desiring to get ahead on the assignment, as well as to identify useful outside information to be used in completing it (generally good ideas), will be well served by looking at the TCI Library webpage and accessing JSTOR or EBSCO Host. Both databases connect to some of the best examples of contrastive arguments that can be found. They are also useful for a great many other areas of inquiry.

Students are reminded that appropriate citation must be provided for any externally referenced information, and all included information must be justified. That is, any time external information is included, there must be a reason, expressed along with that information, for its inclusion. Such materials must also be appropriately integrated into the student's writing. Acceptable standards for doing so appear on the Purdue University Online Writing Lab for more information regarding those standards, here; be sure to follow MLA rules. FAILURE TO ACCOUNT FOR SOURCES IS PLAGIARISM AND WILL BE DEALT WITH HARSHLY.

Submissions are expected as Word documents (.doc, .docx, or .rtf file formats) attached to emails sent to the instructor at geoffrey.b.elliott@gmail.com. Hard copies will only be accepted at the instructor's discretion, and only via prior approval. Comments will be returned to students through the same medium; email allows for clearer and generally quicker returns.