FORMAL WRITING ASSIGNMENT #4: ARGUING ACADEMICALLY IN A WELL-

RESEARCHED ESSAY (5-page essay with a works cited page beginning on page six which includes at least 5 sources. At least two of your sources should be books, and two should be scholarly journal articles.)

This assignment also requires you to research and write about the same important social issue that you originally chose for FWA#2 and FWA#3. You should not change your topic. Changing your topic near the end of the semester would require you to locate and read a new set of sources and write a new exploratory essay. Your goal is to continue to build knowledge on the same topic throughout the course of the semester. You may focus on any aspect of this topic that you wish, but your paper must have one specific area of focus and an arguable thesis. The essay should do more than simply repeat another scholar’s arguments, and it should not be written as an “all about” essay. “All about” essays go on and on without telling the reader why it is important for them to know the information that is being presented to them. To avoid writing an “all about” essay you should  begin with your specific research question. Also, make sure that you have read enough about your topic to have an original argument to make. Likewise, you should use scholarship as evidence to support your argument. Don’t write about your topic and leave your sources out of the discussion; that is what “all about” essays generally do. To avoid this problem, speak with your sources and through your sources. We will be doing ample reflective and exploratory writing in preparation for this assignment.