Assignment 3: Example Paper

As your first formal composition for this class, you will write an example paper on one of the topics you proposed in the M1: Assignment 1 Discussion earlier this module. Before beginning this essay, review the feedback and comments you received from your peers and from your instructor regarding the viability of the topics you proposed. Select the one topic that seems most appropriate for an argumentative research essay, and use that topic to write this example paper. Example papers depend heavily on details and specific information, so make use of some brainstorming and prewriting techniques that were discussed in the lecture notes for this module.

You will begin this paper with an introduction paragraph that explains the topic you’ve chosen and your interest in that topic. By the end of this first paragraph, your readers should have a clear idea of exactly what you plan to write your paper about. Remember, your final argumentative research essay that you work on throughout this course will be argumentative in nature, and you’ll support your argument using information from credible, scholarly sources. Therefore, your topic will need to be complex and nuanced—a straightforward factual report or informative paper will not meet the requirements on your assignments going forward.

For example, the following would not be a good topic for an argument paper: Many babies are born by Cesarean section in maternity wards all across America every year.

In contrast, this would be a good persuasive or argumentative topic: Maternity nurses should be educated about the benefits of natural birth to help lower the Cesarean rate in this country.

After you establish your topic in the first paragraph, the remainder of your paper will be devoted to elaborating on this topic, particularly with respect to potential avenues for further research. This is where it will be especially helpful to call upon the ideas you came up with in your brainstorming.

Your writing should include illustrative details and examples to help convey your ideas in a manner that will be informative and engaging. The body of your paper should demonstrate that your topic is weighty enough to warrant an entire research paper devoted to it. Remember, your final argumentative research essay in this class will be roughly eight to ten pages long, so you will need a topic with a lot of potential for research and discussion!

When complete, your essay should include an introduction, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You should not include any research or information from outside sources at this point—consider this essay a further chance to clarify and organize your thoughts about the topic before you begin your research. Your paper should be two typed, double-spaced pages in size 12 font.