Establish your claim. Most policy claims contain the words “should” or “should not”. Ex: “Expanded guest worker programs should not be implemented in this country.”

2. You should spend the first two or three paragraphs of the paper on establishing that a problem exists, and that there is a need for change (solution). Thus, you must convince your audience that a problem exists by offering hard evidence to prove that the current situation is not x: “Currently, jail terms for drunk driving violations are not mandatory unless someone is seriously injured or killed.”) You should also cite some statistics early on in your paper which you think prove that there is a problem.

3. Address opposing arguments. Spend some time addressing opposing points of view, but not too much time. Generally, no more than three paragraphs is sufficient.

4. After you establish that a problem exists, and you’ve addressed opposing arguments, the remainder of your paper should focus on the solution to the problem. In your paper, also explain why your solution is more viable than other solutions. Have you considered other solutions?

Length: 1300 words minimum, in Times New Roman font, double-spaced, using standard margins, plus a Works Cited page. Works Cited page does not count toward the word count requirement.

Basic Requirements:

a claim of policy

a factual statement or claim that connects to the claim of policy

1300 words minimum

six to eight expert sources in the form outlined below

correct MLA documentation, including correct parenthetical citations

Works Cited page

Format: MLA

Documentation: To earn a passing grade, the paper must demonstrate correct use of MLA documentation. Also, parenthetical references in the body of the paper must correspond with entries on the Works Cited page and vice versa.

Research Requirements

You are required to use between six (6) and eight (8) professional, academic sources for the essay.

In order to receive a passing grade, six of your sources must be:

academic or scholarly journal articles from the library’s research database

additional sources may come from sources such as government documents or legislation

If you choose to use two additional sources, they can include:

electronic sources such as websites or online articles

one personal interview

other books and journal articles

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. Thus, papers that plagiarize will earn a failing grade. Plagiarism is using the words or ideas of another person without giving credit to that person. So, cite all sources to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:

Using the direct speech of a source without quotes, even if the source/page number is cited

Using direct speech with quotes but not citing source/page number

Paraphrasing sentences or paragraphs without citing source/page number

Other Considerations

Rhetorical strategy: You will include your own ideas in this paper, while using outside sources to support those ideas. A research paper should synthesize by offering a fresh approach and not simply summarizing.

Audience: General Public

Point of View: This paper should include little if any mention of personal experience and should be written from third person point of view. However, you may conduct a personal interview if it is relevant to the topic.

Research Proposal

This assignment requires that you write a 225 word proposal of your topic.

A research proposal is a one-page explanation of your intended focus for the argumentative essay.

Write the proposal in paragraph form, using standard English appropriate to an academic audience.

Length: 225-250 words

Format: MLA format and computer-printed

Points to address in your proposal are: 1) explanation of topic; 2) why you chose the topic; 3) availability of sources; 4) personal interest in or knowledge of the topic; 5) how you intend to develop the topic; and 6) the intended focus of the paper.

Research Proposal Due Date: Thursday, June 9, at the beginning of class. No late proposals will be accepted.

Writing the Research Proposal

In the proposal, include in this order:

Your issue: This is your topic. Here, explain your topic and position in a few sentences.

Your position, stated as a claim: Example: Funeral protests of deceased military veterans should be illegal.

Relevance: Explain the topic’s relevance to contemporary society. Why is this topic important? Why should your audience be concerned with this topic?

Interest: Here, explain your own personal interest in the topic and why you choose to write about this issue. You may use first person point of view in the proposal.

Research Sources: At the end of your proposal, provide the title and author of at least two sources on your topic. Include full bibliographic information, as you would on a Works Cited page, but implement it into your paragraph.