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Essay 4: Final Essay: Proposal
The basics
- A research-based essay that identifies and defines a problem or situation, describes the debate surrounding proposed solutions, then makes a sustained argument in favor of a particular solution.
- Length: 1,500 to 2,100 words (not including Works Cited page)
- Value: 25% of your final grade (includes successful completion of all of the steps)
- Research: At least 5 credible, recent sources found through the USC Upstate Library
- Format: MLA Style
- For in-person classes, use this worksheet: Draft Worksheet available for download (PDF)
- For online classes, use these promts: Download draft workshop prompts (MS Word)
Sample Proposals (PDF)
Description
In this essay, you will identify a current and controversial topic, explain a problem related to that topic that needs to be solved, propose a solution to that problem in an extended argument.. The purpose of this essay is to express your own opinion regarding the best way to address the problem; however, to maintain a thoughtful, substantiated position on the issue, you should consider other positions that have been taken on that issue.
(This essay is significantly different than the final essay students write in English 101. In that course, the final essay required you to describe a current and debatable issue or topic and three competing viewpoints regarding it, then finally to explain the position you find most reasonable.)
Multi-stage process
You will complete the following steps for this assignment. Failing to complete any of these steps will have a negative effect on your grade:
- Researching your topic thoroughly
- Writing and submitting a Topic Idea Description
- Meeting in at least one 1-on-1 conference with me.
- Writing an I-Search Essay
- Writing and peer reviewing your Proposal
Outlining your proposal
Introduction (1 paragraph, roughly 200 words)
- Capture the reader’s attention
- Introduce your topic
- Provide a general road map of your essay
- Present thesis statement
- Specific / narrow
- Debatable
Context / Background (1 to 2 paragraphs: roughly 300 to 450 words)
- Your answers to these questions should be supported by evidence you've found in your research.
- Use the advice (and the templates) found in They Say, I Say
- Chapter 1 "They Say: Starting with What Others Are Saying"
- Chapter 2 "Her Point Is: The Art of Summarizing"
- Chapter 3 "As He Himself Puts It: The Art of Quoting"
- Why is this a problem? What caused it?
- Who is affected, specifically?
- Who is involved in the debate about the problem?
- What’s the history of the problem? Has it been getting worse? Getting better?
- How does the problem in the place you're writing about compare to the problem in other places?
- Are there any key terms that need to be defined?
Overview of other proposals (2 to 3 paragraphs: roughly 450 to 600 words)
- Your answers to these questions should be supported by evidence you've found in your research.
- Use the advice (and the templates) found in They Say, I Say
- Chapter 1 "They Say: Starting with What Others Are Saying"
- Chapter 2 "Her Point Is: The Art of Summarizing"
- Chapter 3 "As He Himself Puts It: The Art of Quoting"
- What are the other proposals? Explain them in enough detail for your audience to understand them.
- Who has made them?
- Have they been tried before? If so, how well did they work?
- Why won’t they work, in your opinion?
Explanation of your proposal (this is most of your essay)
- Your answers to these questions should be supported by evidence you've found in your research.
- You should be as detailed and specific as possible for your audience to understand what you're proposing.
- Use the advice (and the templates) found in They Say, I Say
- Chapter 4 "Yes / No / Okay, but: Three Ways to Respond"
- Chapter 5 "And Yet: Distinguishing What You Say from What They Say"
- Chapter 7 "So What? Who Cares?: Saying Why It Matters"
- Chapter 8 "As a Result: Connecting the Parts"
- What is your plan for solving the problem that you've identified?
- Who will be responsible for enacting your proposal?
- What resources will your proposal require?
- How long will it take for your proposal to show results?
- How will things be different when your proposal is successful?
- Do others already support your proposal? Who are they?
- Has your proposal been used before? If so, how well did it work?
Respond to naysayers (1 to 2 paragraphs: roughly 300 to 450 words)
- Your answers to these questions should be supported by evidence you've found in your research.
- You should be as detailed and specific as possible for your audience to understand who the naysayers are and why they disagree with you.
- Use the advice (and the templates) found in They Say, I Say
- Chapter 4 "Yes / No / Okay, but: Three Ways to Respond"
- Chapter 6 "Skeptics May Object: Planting a Naysayer in Your Text"
- Who is saying (or would say) your proposal won’t work?
- What are their reasons?
- Why are they wrong?
Conclusion (1 substantial paragraph)
- Provide a sense of closure
- Summarizes your main points
- Provide a call to action or a prediction about the future
Works Cited Page
Requirements
The final paper in English 102 will allow you to demonstrate all that you have learned in this course this semester and in English 101, including the following:
- Using a multi-stage approach: brainstorming, researching, drafting, revising, and editing;
- Critical reading: understanding texts but also being attuned to how the author shapes his or her ideas;
- Successfully quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing texts as appropriate;
- Making use of the standard “moves that matter in in academic writing,” as explained and demonstrated in They Say / I Say.
- Locating and assessing relevant, credible sources;
- Generating and supporting your own ideas regarding a topic while also incorporating source material found through research.
- Using current MLA format appropriately.
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