English 108 Project Three: Language Issue Research Essay

Projects Three will contain a one-sentence thesis that is well-focused and doubtable. The thesis states the point of the paper, and is the one idea that all the other ideas in the paper are there to prove. The thesis statement usually falls at or near the end of the first paragraph. The wording of your thesis is critical and will likely change somewhat as your paper evolves. The thesis must be focused on one well-defined issue, and must supply the author’s position on that issue. Do not waste time arguing for a thesis that everyone already accepts. In other words, your thesis should assert something with which informed and intelligent people of goodwill can disagree. Test your thesis by asking yourself whether any reasonable person would be likely to argue its exact opposite. If the answer to this question is yes, then your thesis is doubtable. Thesis statements are commonly sorted in to three categories: claims of fact (something is or was the case), claims of value (something is better than something else), and claims of policy (something should be done).

Since your thesis is doubtable, you are obliged to support it with logical arguments and credible evidence. You must have sufficient arguments and evidence to support the thesis persuasively, and these arguments must clearly lead the reader from commonly accepted propositions toward the thesis while avoiding logical fallacies. Each argument must be fully developed and explicitly related back to the overall thesis. Evidence should be authoritative and well explained in light of your arguments. Like pieces of evidence/arguments will be grouped together, and arguments will be presented in ascending order of strength and persuasiveness. Along the way, important counterarguments must be adequately accommodated and/or refuted.

Because this is a research paper, sources will be used in the process of arguing for your thesis. How many sources you use will depend upon your particular needs. These sources, whether quoted, summarized, or paraphrased, must be well chosen, well integrated into the paper, and properly documented according to MLA guidelines. Failure to document sources, or the use of others’ words and/or ideas without giving the author proper credit, constitutes plagiarism and will result in failure of the paper. Plagiarism, either intentional or accidental, may also result in failure of the course. It is the student’s responsibility to prove that all work is his or her own.

In addition to the thesis sentence, the first paragraph will contain a forecast of the paper’s main arguments. This means that the main arguments used in the paper will be briefly referred to in the order in which they are addressed in the body of the paper, so that readers will know what to expect and are better able to assimilate the information you give them. The body paragraphs will be unified and have clear topic sentences. They will also be fully developed and contain effective transitions. Moreover, every paragraph in the paper will clearly provide support for the thesis; there will be no unnecessary summaries of information or “padding.” The conclusion will restate the thesis and summarize again your main arguments. It may also suggest broader issues and directions for further inquiry.

Know that any final paper shorter than the minimum of five full pages, not counting extraneous passages or the works cited page, will simply not have supported its thesis sufficiently.
Minimum of five sources.