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ENGL 1113: English Composition I
Writing to Convince Essay
Prof. Wise

For this assignment, you are to select a topic that is somewhat global in nature and inspired from your reading Dr. Seuss using one of the Dr. Seuss stories, analyze the plot of the story to identify and explain the subtext of the story—the author’s theme or underlying lesson about something more than the literal story research some helpful background information that the author Dr. Seuss may have known or used to develop the story—many articles have been written develop a reasonable thesis statement that will make a claim about the stance that is taken by Dr. Seuss—is he right or wrong? think about what will you use to support both sides. Parts of the story along with researched information are to be included. complete your research and document all of your sources cited (used in the essay) make use of the rhetorical triangle: ethos, logos, and pathos avoid logical fallacies

Objectives: use invention techniques such as brainstorming, listing, cubing, reporters’ questions, free-writing, and clustering. organize ideas and supporting details in a clear and effective manner. express the main idea of an essay in a thesis statement. develop effective paragraphs that exhibit unity, organization, and coherence. write correct and effective sentences. revise and edit essays to improve the original draft. gather information from a variety of sources, incorporate the information into a writing project, and properly document the sources in MLA style when outside sources are used.

Requirements:
MLA format
12 point font (New Times Roman)
5-8 pages of text, not including the Works Cited page.
A minimum of 3-5 credible sources as specified by your instructor.
Works Cited page.
Turn in copies of all articles and materials of outside sources used.
Submit all required materials: prewriting, preliminary drafts, copies of research materials, related journals, an outline, workshopping, edited/final draft
When completed, all materials will be placed in a pocket folder, with a table of contents as the top page.

Organization:
Your paper should follow the classic argument pattern, or a variation of it, as specified by your textbook. A classic argument contains the following components:

I. Introduction: In the introduction, you slowly lead your audience into the topic by introducing it and connecting it to them.

II. Narration: The narration is where you give all necessary background and context so your audience can understand the topic. Provide a brief summary of the plot for the specific Dr. Seuss story you’re using as your basis. You might do any or all of the following: give historical background; define specialized terms; explain the extent of any problems presented within the topic; explain how the topic is controversial.

III. Partition: The partition, in short, is your thesis, or claim. It should meet two criteria: it should be arguable, and it should be defendable.

IV. Argument: If the partition is the claim, this is where you support that claim with topic sentences, or sub-claims, that bolster and prove the thesis. Remember to use outside sources to illustrate or support your ideas, and avoid fallacies at all costs. Solid argument, remember, is built upon solid reasoning, so after the quotations, you must provide follow-up explanation and/or analysis.

V. Refutation: Here, you first acknowledge opposing viewpoints, and then show why your viewpoint is preferable to all others. The opposing viewpoints should also be illustrated from some research, so you will quote at least one or two sources from the opposite side.

VI. Conclusion: As in previous essays, your conclusion should tie up all loose ends, reiterate the main idea, and then end on a thought-provoking note. Usually, an argument ends with a call to action.

See pages 238-277 (Chapter 9) in your textbook for explanation of writing to convince and an example. After you have written the rough draft, workshopped it with classmates, and revised it, you will write the self-assessment on pages 278-279—we’ll consider this a journal entry, so you will have two journals to turn in with the essay documents. The first journal is written at the beginning.

For information related to logical fallacies, those flaws in reasoning, use pages 467-470 for descriptions.