It consists of two main parts:

Final Paper (25%)

The main focus of English 301 (Advanced Writing Skills) is the production of a research-based argumentative paper on a topic of your choice. This paper must take a position on a topic that is debatable, support that position with a reasonable argument, address the opposite point of view fairly, and come to a logical conclusion. It must be supported by secondary sources, which must be documented appropriately, using either the APA or MLA style of documentation.

For this, you must:

• choose an appropriate topic/issue, one you can develop with facts, examples, statistics, evidence and references from experts/authority figures;
• conduct research and consult source materials;
• organize your support into unified points;
• consider and refute a reasonable counterargument;
• summarize, paraphrase and quote accurately from from resource materials;
• use appropriate documentation/style guides, e.g. APA or MLA.

Every minor assignment in this course, with the exception of the journals, is designed to feed into the production of this paper. For this reason, you must choose the topic you will be researching as early as possible; once your first short essay, The Informal Proposal Paper which will explore the possible topics, has been completed, you should have a good idea of the topic you will be writing on in your research paper. Thereafter, the short papers you complete are designed to be revised and inserted into the long position paper as follows:

The Definition Paper.
This will examine in some detail one of the key terms of your position paper. By defining your terms appropriately, you will be able to deal with the warrant of your argument by establishing some of your own assumptions about the topic.

The Critical Analysis.
This will examine in some detail one or two of the source materials that you are examining for your paper. By critically analyzing one or two sources (preferably argumentative articles, rather than "factual" reports from newspapers), you will be able to evaluate the various ideas surrounding the topic you have chosen. In the process, you will be strengthening your own position.

The Refutation Paper.
This will examine the main counterargument to your position. In writing this paper, you will yourself pose the argument for the opposite side, highlight the points in that argument that are reasonable, and refute those that are not. In writing a 3-4 page essay on the topic, you will be forced to find a topic whose counterargument is reasonable.

The final position paper, which will be roughly 8 pages long, will comprise all these points. The following are the marking criteria:

• Claim = 3
• Warrant = 3
• Support = 4
• Refutation = 3
• Conclusion = 2
• Style, language (including grammar), presentation = 5
• Referencing (appropriate APA or MLA in-text citations and bibliography page) = 5

TOTAL = 25%

A sample paper laid out in APA style may be viewed here.

Abstract (5%)

You may present this in one of two ways: either as a summary of no more than 300 words at the beginning of your paper, or as a oral presentation of between 5 and 10 minutes. The following areas will be awarded a total of 1% each:

• Topic
• Claim
• Support
• Sources
• Conclusion

A sample abstract inserted appropriately into a paper using APA style may be viewed here.

TOTAL = 5%

DUE DATE: FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29