Purpose:

 

The purpose of Draft 3 is to build upon Draft 2 and to move your drafting process forward so that you can add (1) a body, and (2) a conclusion, and (3) an abstract to your paper (due Unit/Week 8), making it a cohesive, whole academic paper.

 

Description:

 

In this assignment, you will take Draft 2 (introduction and review of literature), written in Unit VI, and add the body of your paper.

 

Your body paragraphs should contain the six elements indicated below and be developed in an appropriate manner. If the body does not contain these elements, it is likely you have not fully developed the body, and this lack of development can severely impact your grade for this assignment.

 

You will need to write at least four body paragraphs and incorporate five academic sources for this assignment. The paragraphs should be thorough and cover all the listed elements. Your Draft 3 (introduction, review of literature, and body) should include the elements listed below.

 

Elements:

 

Your grade for Draft 3 is based on your inclusion of various elements and the overall quality of your writing. Your Draft 3 must contain the following elements.

 

 1. Cover page and APA formatting:

 

The running head should include up to fifty (50) characters from the title of the paper, along with a sequential page number in the upper right-hand corner.

 

2. Introduction:

 

Using the comments that you received on your Draft 2, revise your introduction. To avoid pitfalls to writing an introductory paragraph, review the Checklist “Avoid Certain Mistakes in the Introduction” on p. 495 of Strategies for Writing Successful Research Papers.

 

3. Review of literature:

 

Using the comments that you received on your Draft 1, revise your review of literature, and include it with this newest draft.

 

4. Body paragraphs:

 

Each paragraph of the body of your Research Paper should be a cohesive unit. It should be tight, but developed. It should serve a function, and its purpose should always be to bolster the thesis. Therefore, you should use the following order for each paragraph in the body.

 

a. Topic sentence: This sentence summarizes the entire paragraph in one strong, well-written sentence, and it directly supports the thesis statement.

 

b. Explanation of topic sentence (1-2 sentences): Often times there is more to be said about the topic sentence, more explanation that is necessary in order for it to be a clear idea, so there are usually a few sentences that follow the topic sentence that explicate the idea more for the reader. These sentences not only “unpack” the topic sentence, but they also anticipate the evidence that will be used to support the topic sentence, usually indirectly.

 

c. Introduction to evidence (1-2 sentences): No piece of evidence (quotation, example, paraphrase, etc.) should be dropped into a paragraph without first introducing it. An introduction might include the title of the source, the author, and/or a short description of the source/author‘s credentials. In this way, no evidence is presented without a context because it is this context that makes the evidence meaningful.

 

d. Evidence: The evidence that you present backs up your topic sentence and, by extension, supports your thesis statement. The evidence that you supply can be a number of things: a quotation from a source; a reasonable, illustrative example; a statistic; commentary from an interview; etc.

 

e. Explanation of evidence: No piece of evidence stands on its own or is convincing on its own. Although it may seem to draw a direct line to your topic sentence to support it, often the reader needs you to make the connection between the two. Further, the general rule is that for each sentence of quoted material, your explanation should be just as long, so if you include a block quotation, the block quotation should be met with an equally long explanation.

 

f. Transition (1-2 sentences): Transitions are essential for research papers because body paragraphs, especially, are written as units, and it is the transitions that allow for these units to be linked together. Take a look at the list of transitional expressions on pp. 44-45 in The Little, Brown Compact Handbook with Exercises.

 

5. References:

Include a references list. See the examples on pages 7-12 and 21 of your

 

 

 

 

Generating an Argumentative Thesis:

 

Your entire course is designed as a series of building blocks towards your final research essay; each unit/week helps you take the next step towards building a strong argumentative essay supported by authoritative research.

 

IMPORTANT: Your opinion is valid BUT you must support your opinion with (A) solid logic and (B) solid research AND you must persuade your reader, a/k/a your opposition (those who hold a different position from you) to see how your position on a debatable matter is logically stronger, with a CLEAR “CALL TO ACTION,” i.e., persuade your opposition to DO something about the issue you are tackling.

 

So . . . again, you are writing an argument paper that also is known as a persuasive “informed opinion” paper (i.e., your opinion is informed/supported by your research) AND you are writing a persuasive essay because you are trying to persuade an opposing audience to see the logic of your opinion and/or you want your audience to take some course of action.

 

IMPORTANT: You must recognize a specific opposing audience (who is educated and informed).  Your job is NOT to “inform” (Wikipedia can do that, and, by the way NO WIKIPEDIA OR ANY WIKIS) because, again, you are addressing an informed, educated audience.

 

Remember, without opposition on a debatable matter, there is no real argument, and if you are arguing to people who already agree with you, that is “preaching to the choir” so, again, there is no real argument. 

 

It is important you understand (A) that an argument is not a fight and (B) that you can only persuade your audience if you avoid insulting them (which is easy to do), so, again, you must be aware of your rhetoric (your words) and ensure you have a logically sound argument (not too emotional) from the start.

 

To help you, take 10-20 minutes to view the following two (2) videos on YouTube:

 

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47qyHGXvTSc

 

Now that you have an idea about how to develop a debatable topic, you want to be able to develop a solid logical argumentative thesis statement about your topic.  Watch the below short video on You Tube to help you:

 

1. How to Write a Thesis Statement for an Argumentative Essay (Lesson2):

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep3OHQh7WdA 

 

I look forward to your Unit/Week 7 Draft 3 with your introduction (including your argument) from Unit/Week 6, AND your revised “Review of Literature,” AND your NEW “body paragraphs” further developing the argument in your “introduction” and supported by your “literature review.”