The purpose of the Organization Essay is to apply the tools learned in Unit 3 on Organization to write an organized essay that has both focus and shape.
Due Date: This assignment is due by 11:59 pm Sunday, January 30. Please upload your assignment as a Word file. If you miss the deadline for this assignment, you may submit it late. Please note that written work submitted late will incur a 10% penalty for each week the assignment is late. For example, if you submit this assignment in Week 3, there will be a 10% late penalty. In Week 4 there will be a 20% late penalty. In Week 5 there will be a 30% late penalty. Please note that all assignments must be submitted by the last day of class. No late work will be accepted after March 6.
Please see the sample paper below for more information:
Here are the details:
- Do some brainstorming, freewriting, reaction, etc. to come up with an essay topic. It could be a topic from your Reader Response in the last Unit, or it can be a whole different topic.
- When you get a specific topic, create a thesis using the Topic + Claim About Topic = Thesis formula in this unit. Also, consider the tools of audience and expectation for this essay. The audience is going to be your instructor, but you might be thinking of other readers as well. The expectation is this is a formal college essay.
- Now that you have your thesis, spend some time thinking of at least 3 points to support the thesis. You should have at least 3 points for an essay this size but no more than 5.
- Develop an outline where you have your introduction, the body made up of 3 to 5 points and a conclusion.
- Now that you have an outline, you will write your essay. This is just a matter of writing in the details for each of the points that you listed in your outline.
- After writing your essay, spend some time revising and editing. Are there points you want to add or go more in-depth with to support your thesis? Did you proofread for mechanical errors?
- Give the essay a title.
This essay will be 2 full pages using the MLA Style formatting guidelines that you used on the Personal Narrative in Unit 1.
You should not include any research for this essay. You may write on a topic you are familiar with so that you can use your own knowledge and experience to support the thesis and not outside research. Papers that contain outside research without proper MLA citations will receive a point deduction. (We cover MLA and using outside research later in the course. If you chose to use research now and do not do so correctly, your paper will be subject to a point reduction). The Research Paper in Unit 7 is where you will have to use research. At this point, you may use all your own knowledge in developing the content of this Organization Essay.
Although you may develop your own thesis, here are some ideas for a potential thesis that you may choose from if you need some help coming up with something. The ideas below give the claim, you would just put your own topic in the blank. These ideas could be modified to suit your needs as well. They are just ideas to help get you started.
1.______________is the most environmentally friendly vehicle in today’s crowded society.
(You could choose a vehicle you consider friendly to the environment and put it in the above blank as your topic. When reading with the claim, you would have your thesis)
2.__________ is the most desirable location to raise a family.
3.__________ is a career path that would provide flexibility in today’s changing economy.
4. ___________ is the most effective method for learning in college.