English 101
Graded Assignment
Practice: Outlining and Writing Essays
Your Assignment
For this activity, refer to the excerpt from The Power Elite by C. Wright Mills and to the excerpts from Who Governs? and A Preface to Democratic Theory by Robert Dahl. These pieces can be found in the Lanahan reader. Your task is to outline a short essay addressing the following question:
Of the three theories of American politics (elite theory, pluralism, and hyperpluralism), which one do you think best explains the American political process, as you perceive it?
Be sure to incorporate relevant examples from the readings and your own observations of the American political scene.
What You Turn In
Your outline must include three components: o A thesis statement, which is a full sentence that clearly states your main argument and directly responds to the essay question; o Topic sentences, that is, a full sentence for each body paragraph that clearly states the argument for that paragraph; o Supporting evidence, which means one to two phrases or facts that support the topic sentence of each body paragraph.
Your answer should be formatted as follows:
1. Thesis statement
A. Body paragraph #1, topic sentence o Supporting evidence for body paragraph #1
Your outline should be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point font, and approximately one page in length.
Please include your name, user name, and the date at the top of the file.
If you plan to incorporate quotations from the readings, be sure to identify the source and page number in your outline.
Notes on How to Write a Good Essay
An outline should be considered a "road map" for your essay. Perhaps you're already familiar with the elements of a good outline from work you've done in other courses. If so, that's great. You should have a clear idea about how to do this Assignment.
If you're not familiar with the elements of a good outline and how to construct one, read on.
The first step in outlining an essay is to make sure you
Practice: Outlining and Writing Essays
Your Assignment
For this activity, refer to the excerpt from The Power Elite by C. Wright Mills and to the excerpts from Who Governs? and A Preface to Democratic Theory by Robert Dahl. These pieces can be found in the Lanahan reader. Your task is to outline a short essay addressing the following question:
Of the three theories of American politics (elite theory, pluralism, and hyperpluralism), which one do you think best explains the American political process, as you perceive it?
Be sure to incorporate relevant examples from the readings and your own observations of the American political scene.
What You Turn In
Your outline must include three components: o A thesis statement, which is a full sentence that clearly states your main argument and directly responds to the essay question; o Topic sentences, that is, a full sentence for each body paragraph that clearly states the argument for that paragraph; o Supporting evidence, which means one to two phrases or facts that support the topic sentence of each body paragraph.
Your answer should be formatted as follows:
1. Thesis statement
A. Body paragraph #1, topic sentence o Supporting evidence for body paragraph #1
Your outline should be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point font, and approximately one page in length.
Please include your name, user name, and the date at the top of the file.
If you plan to incorporate quotations from the readings, be sure to identify the source and page number in your outline.
Notes on How to Write a Good Essay
An outline should be considered a "road map" for your essay. Perhaps you're already familiar with the elements of a good outline from work you've done in other courses. If so, that's great. You should have a clear idea about how to do this Assignment.
If you're not familiar with the elements of a good outline and how to construct one, read on.
The first step in outlining an essay is to make sure you