argumentative essay
Your task: Read three sample student essays related to one particular assignment. (Hence focus on three compositions from Essay One, three compositions from Essay Two, or three compositions from Essay Three but do not mix.) After you have read the essays, use the course checklist (the list of common errors), the course rubric, and your knowledge of argument to evaluate them and to consider which is the best.
writing: Compose a thesis which answers this question: “Which of the three student essay is the best?” Your thesis might be worded something like this: “After examining three student essays based on evaluating Hitler’s thinking in his essay ‘On Nation and Race,’ it is clear that student x wrote the best piece.” (Note: You don’t have to give your claims here. Just save those–.i.e. the reasons the essay is best—for your body paragraphs.)
Content: You have the potential for five sources for this composition—three student essays, the rubric, and the list of errors. To cite these in your Works Cited page, you can assume that I am the author of the latter two and you can simply use the appropriate student name for the others. In order to have a convincing argument, you’ll need to create ethos by quoting and analyzing these sources. Doing so will also help you create a logical connection to the thesis.
Guidelines: Your final exam is cumulative in the sense that it build on skills you have developed throughout the semester. The first essay, for instance, focused on structure and form; the second essay added rhetorical devices; the third essay brought aboard the concept of identifying and avoiding logical fallacies; and, of course, all essays require proper MLA style. Given these facts, your final exam will call on your knowledge of all of the elements relevant to argument.
