CRTW 201 Brownson

Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Length: Minimum 4-6 COMPLETE pages (roughly 1200-1800 words), Times New Roman, 12 point, 1" margins all around. Your required Works Cited page is IN ADDITION TO the essay itself.

Assignment: Write an argumentative essay addressing one of the biotechnological topics Fukuyama develops in Chapter 2, 3, or 4 of Our Posthuman Future.

Sources: 3 CREDIBLE sources as discussed in class.

Evaluation Criteria:

1. Make sure your topic is focused. Broad topics in an essay of the assigned length result in general and underdeveloped writing. Example of narrowing procedure. – psychotropic drugs, Ritalin use, Ritalin use among children, Ritalin prescribed for 5 year old boys. Arguing for or against the last would be an appropriate approach to the assignment.

2. Follow the classical argument scheme we reviewed in class. Your essay MUST include an argumentative thesis, an introduction, a body including reasons, facts, and expert testimony, concession/refutation, and a conclusion.

3. Review again "The Correct Use of Borrowed Information." You must use any quotations, paraphrases, and/or summaries correctly including introducing them by author and work, evaluating them, providing context, and commenting on them. You must also format and punctuate your parenthetical citation correctly.

4. Make sure the entries on your Works Cited page are formatted correctly. Dacus Library’s MLA Documentation Style Manual, available online, is very useful for basic sources entries and for database sources. For others, consult your handbook.

5. The majority of the writing in your essay should be yours. Do not allow borrowed material to overwhelm your argument. Avoid an essay in which you "stitch together" borrowed information.

6. Be sure your thesis statement makes clear your argumentative stance and that it is in the form of a statement, not a question.

7. Essays must be submitted to turnitin.com in order to be eligible for evaluation.

8. Please make sure all of your essays fulfill length and source requirements. Essays which do not fulfill these basic requirements will earn failing grades.