Lesson 7 Notes

Dear Class,

Welcome to Lesson 7. This week, you do not need to submit a final essay! How will that feel? You get three whole weeks to prepare your persuasive essay, starting now. This week, you'll be working on an outline of your Persuasive essay. Here are some points to keep in mind as you work through Lesson 7:

• The Grammar Lesson is SO good this week.
• Some of the grammar quiz questions may seem debatable to you. Please email me any concerns you have regarding quiz questions. 
•  Note that you should respond to at least three of your peers in your Discussion Board this week (you are usually required to respond to two classmates).
• When you read the Persuasive Essay guidelines and examine the rubric, you may wonder why you get to either A) take a stand on a controversial issue or B) introduce a problem and justify an answer throughout your essay. In the past, students were asked to create problem-solution essays and persuasive essays. With the new course design, you get to choose whether to write a problem-solution essay or just take a stand on something. Stick with one approach, and then examine your work according to the guidelines specific for your approach. Here's the rubric I will use to assess your Persuasive essay (sorry for the imperfect formatting):  

•           Thesis: The student takes a position on a controversial issue by clearly stating the position OR The paper defines a clear problem or question that can be answered by a solution. The student adequately establishes that the position or problem is one that should be considered by the reader. The paper adequately and appropriately considers opposing arguments.
• Support: The position or solution is supported by sufficient, relevant, and balanced reasons, examples, facts, personal experience, and evidence. The information used is well-developed and well-researched. 
• Introduction, conclusion: The title is catchy and indicates the paper's subject and the writer's position. The introduction engagingly frames and focuses the position or problem, provides relevant background information, and states a specific thesis. 
• Focus, organization: The body of the paper proves more of the problem if needed, but makes it really clear why the solution is feasible. The body of the paper is coherent and unified, with each paragraph focused on only one main idea. The body contains a logical argument with strong transitions between paragraphs, sentences, and ideas. 
• Grammar, mechanics, formatting: The paper format includes Time New Roman, 12-pt font, double-spaced, one-inch margins and the name and class information. Page length requirement: 2-3 pages. The essay has few or no errors in the conventions of standard edited English (spelling, punctuation, grammar problems, or sentence structure errors).

 

 Good luck this week! I'd be happy to meet with any of you during my office hour to discuss your topic, and the Writing Center is also a great resource as you outline your first major essay for this class.

Love, 

Sister Bowen