The argumentative essay will be on an environmental topic from the list of options below. Consider your audience for this paper to be your peers. The essay should be between 3 1⁄2 and 4 pages (850 to 1,000 words) in length, not including the cover page, abstract, or reference page. It should be double spaced in Times New Roman 12 point font and must include:

• An introduction, a minimum of 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion

• a clearly articulated thesis that states the claim, position, or stance that your essay will prove in

the introduction to your paper

• 4 cited sources, at least 2 of these sources should come from the MDC databases

• At least 4 quotes from your sources

• Topic sentences that focus the discussion in the body paragraphs

• Examples, details, and explanations, and other researched evidence in the body paragraphs that

clearly support the claim of your thesis

• Counterarguments and refutations that show you understand the complexity of your argument

and can accurately acknowledge the views of the opposition and refute them

• Clear connections between ideas from paragraph to paragraph and within paragraphs

(coherence)

• Proper APA style format in the cover page, in the abstract, in the in-text citations, and in the

Reference page (see the template and instructional video for creating the APA format)

• Reference page listing a minimum of four sources

• Standard usage, grammar, and mechanics

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

➢ You will submit your final draft through the Turn-it-in drop box designated for this purpose in the course. Please be aware, that although Turn-it-in does allow for similarities for quotations up to 24% of your paper, any similarity above 24% is considered too high for an original paper and will be flagged as plagiarism.

➢ You can get help with your paper at any of the campus writing centers, and you can also receive online help via SmartThinking, the online tutoring service provided by the College. This service is available by clicking on SmartThinking in the left-hand menu bar of the course under Tools & Resources.

not copy and paste