Option 1

Persuasive Essay Assignment

In 500 words and five paragraphs, compose an argument, using research, to PROMOTE one cause explored your causal analysis essay. Argue and persuade what makes this cause more important than the others. Include research information from 2-4 academically appropriate sources. When citing sources keep in mind the 20% rule.

Recommended Structure for Persuasive Essay

Introduction

Overview of topic
Reiteration of viable causes (Context)
Emphasize most important cause
Thesis statement
Body (4 paragraphs)

Thesis-Supporting Body Paragraphs (3)

Topic Sentence
Supporting Evidence
Relate Evidence to Thesis
Opposition Paragraph (1)

Acknowledge at least one opposing viewpoint
Make concessions for opposing viewpoint
Make counterargument to opposing argument
Conclusion

Recapture main points of essay
Recall big important evidence
Offer final insight
Final push for persuasion

Example Thesis for Persuasive Essay

Galileo used evidence of tide flow as viewed from his telescope to confirm Copernicus’ theory that the sun is the center of the solar system, revolutionizing astronomy and the common thought that the Earth was the center of the universe.

Option 2

Topic
Select a socially significant, controversial, and not-so-common issue and write a persuasive essay according to your perspective on the issue. Your position on the issue must be clearly stated and the aim of your persuasion (to convince your readers of the validity and soundness of your position, to persuade your readers to take action, or to persuade them to agree with your proposed solutions) must be implicitly obvious as well, meaning that you do not have to state your authorial intention, but the message must be implied in the coherence and logic of your essay.

Avoid common much-debated topics such as abortion, gun control, gay marriage.

Format
The format of this paper follows the format of your cause and effect essay in font type (Times New Roman), size (12 in.), spacing (double-spaced throughout), margining (one-inch all-around margins), and length (minimum of three pages).

Research
Research is required for this essay assignment. Your essay must cite a minimum of two (2) academically appropriate sources. These sources can be either scholarly or popular. Scholarly sources tend to be written by researchers in the field and published by scholarly publications or university presses and aimed at more aware, educated audience who are very familiar with the subject. Popular sources are intended for general audience and may be published in popular magazines or newspapers. At least one of your sources must be scholarly while the rest may be popular sources. Your sources must be in the forms of articles or books. GALILEO will be a great research tool for this assignment as it contains all kinds of sources. Avoid using the World Wide Web (websites such as Wikipedia, How.com, and so forth).

In-text Citations
Citing a source means integrating a specific idea in that source with a point you are making in your essay in order to boost the credibility or support of your writing. Citing outside sources is one of the key objectives of this assignment. Nonetheless, the majority of the writing must be your own; do not rely too much on quotations to do the job for you. Cite sparingly but effectively. For each of your three sources, you may have 1-3 citations from it. Remember that a citation can be summarizing or paraphrasing of a relevant idea from the source or quoting a passage from a source to enhance understanding. Quotations of outside sources can vary in length. For the purpose of distinguishing between the two, we will call any quotations four lines or under as short and any quotations exceeding four lines as long. The quoted content of your paper must not exceed 20% of your entire essay.

Category: Essays