Write a 2-3 page critical response to one of the following essays in your textbook Practical Argument: “College is a Waste of Time” (Stephens, pg. 38), “What is a College Education Really Worth” (Riley, pg. 40), “On ‘Real Education’” (Perry, pg.670), “What’s Wrong with Vocational School” (Murray, pg. 676), “The Privileges of the Parents” (Miller, pg. 673), and “Is College for Everyone” (Pharinet, pg. 680). An example student critical response can be found on pg. 71 in Practical Argument. You will need to include a Work(s) Cited. You must cite your primary text. We will talk about how to cite the textbook during class.
The content of your response needs to be only on the article you chose. However, you may use 1-2 quoted lines (total) from a source from another article that you did not choose, but is one of the articles assigned. Meaning, if you chose to write on “College is a Waste of Time”, you could use 1-2 quoted lines, MAXIMUM, from “On ‘Real Education’” to help make a point. The additional source CANNOT be from a source not found in your textbook. You will lose points if you do so.
Formatting :
• MLA Header (if you are needing help with this, please see me).
• 12 point, Times New Roman font, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, stapled
• 2-3 pages (excluding Work Cited–you will need to cite the text you chose)
Organization:
• Introduction: Needs to include an introduction to the subject–College Education–and your thesis (your statement about the article) need to be at the bottom (last sentence) of your introduction.
• First Body Paragraph: This does not have to be long but should include a summary of the article and the writer’s position. This should be the only place you have extensive summary. The rest of the paper should be an analytical response to the article you chose. Summary may be used in the rest of the paper but only if needed to contextualize your claims.
• Second to last body paragraph: This should be your analytical response to your chosen article. You need to evaluate each claim and its validity, why it is valid or invalid, and use evidence to support your claim. You do not have to agree or disagree with everything the author says, but you need to carefully consider how the author presents his argument and whether or not his argument has weaknesses. If the author does have weaknesses, consider how they could be strengthened.
• Concluding Paragraph: This needs to be a summary of what you argued. Do not include any new evidence or claims. In other words, if you didn’t mention it before, don’t include it.
Jermaine Byrant
Nicole Johnson
OVER
RATING
YEARS
