III. Research-Based Argument Essay
- 2,400 words / ~ 8 double-spaced pages
- 30% of course grade
This assignment connects to the following course learning goals:
- Critical thinking and reading
- Drawing conclusions based on compelling and credible evidence
- Developing a position (thesis) and tailoring prose to fit a particular rhetorical situation and audience (in this case an academic research paper written for an academic audience)
- Supporting a position with compelling and credible evidence
- Organizing writing in logical and coherent ways, and
- Revising and editing so that ideas evolve over a period of time rather than right before the deadline.
Here’s a version of Prof. Mark McBeth’s (of John Jay College) Reflective Annotated Bib (RefAnnBib) assignment. McBeth’s “RefAnnBib” is an update on an assignment that many of us have used in composition classes, differing from a standard Annotated Bibliography in that it not only holds students accountable for the content and bibliographic information of texts, but also requires that they deepen their own understanding of differences in form, genre, and discipline.
Kate Eickmeyer: Rhetorical Analysis + Researched Argument: Scams, Cults, and Frauds
Would work for hybrid classes
This assignment asks students to research their choice of a purported scam, cult, fraud, or false guru, and to develop a researched-based argument about the validity of those accusations and the relationship between the subject’s rhetoric and actions (and their realities or consequences). This assignment would also be suitable for 2150.
Tara Menon: Building a Paper from Classmates’ Insights
Would work for hybrid classes
This assignment asks students to annotate and analyze a text, then use their own insights to develop an analytical question and argumentative paper for the asynchronous component. During in-person class time, students pose their analytical question and use discussion with classmates to refine and develop their essay.
Nadim Essey: Re-Tell or Remediate
Would work for hybrid classes
This activity allows students to engage and interact with a research project more deeply by having them remediate it or re-tell it in another modality besides a text-based one.
Kim Liao: What Should a Memorial Do? Group Proposal and Argumentative Essay
This third major assignment, the first one to incorporate research, is scaffolded from “personal” history and “collective” history to consider public history. It’s a group researched proposal in a problem-solution format, which then students will translate into an argument-based thesis-driven essay. We prepare for it with a visit to the Baruch Library and a Memorials of NYC Field Trip.