ASSIGNMENT : INFORMATIVE ESSAY

Have you ever needed just the facts?

At times a formal, objectively written approach is more appropriate or even critical for establishing credibility so that your audience will listen and get informed! The key to informative writing is making the shift from personal opinion to objective facts.

This assignment will provide you with the important opportunity to practice making this shift to a style that is required in so many workplaces and throughout your academic program.

For this assignment, you will write an informative essay on the topic you have previously chosen. You will need to identify a problem, need, or process related to your topic.

Then you will inform your audience and provide supporting evidence from a minimum of two credible sources that have been provided in the webtext.

Keep in mind, you will continue to use the standard essay format: Introduction paragraph with a thesis statement, body paragraphs that specifically support the points in your thesis statement, and a conclusion paragraph.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Compose a three-four (3-4) page paper in which you do the following:

1. Use third person point of view (POV) and the appropriate voice and tone throughout your paper.

a. Did you use third person pronouns? (he, she, they, their)

b. Do you sound impartial, informative/explanatory, and professional? How do you want your reader to feel? (trust, smarter/informed)

c. Is the tone formal and factual?

2. Write an introduction paragraph, which includes your thesis statement. It is suggested that this paragraph contain 5-7 sentences.

a. Does my introduction get the reader's attention by using an intriguing statistic, quote, question, or scenario?

b. Does my introduction explain the context and state the importance of the problem/issue?

c. Does your thesis statement include three supporting reasons that can be debated from a different perspective?

d. Is your thesis statement clear and concise?

3. Write a supporting/body paragraph for each of the three (3) points/reasons from your thesis statement. It is suggested that each paragraph contain at least 5-7 sentences.

a. Do your body paragraphs support each point of your thesis with relevant examples or statistics?

b. Do you address the opinions or concerns that your audience might have?

c. Did you paraphrase, quote, or summarize properly to avoid plagiarism? Did you comment on each quotation?

4. Write with logic and with transitions throughout your paper.

a. Are your ideas consistent and well-organized, i.e., chronological order or order of importance?

b. Do your ideas flow from one sentence to the next and one paragraph to the next, in the order presented in your thesis statement?

5. Write a conclusion paragraph. It is suggested that this paragraph contain 5-7 sentences.

a. Did you paraphrase or restate the thesis in a new way?

b. Did you leave a lasting impression, so that your readers continue thinking about your topic after they have  finished reading?

6. Apply proper grammar, mechanics, punctuation and APA formatting throughout your paper.

a. Did you check your grammar?

i. The way words are put together to make units of meaning: Sentence structure, pronoun-agreement, etc.

b. Did you check your essay for mechanics?

i. All the "technical" stuff in writing: Spelling, capitalization, use of numbers and other symbols, etc.

b. Did you check the punctuation?

i. The "symbols" used to help people read/process sentences the way you want them to be heard and understood: Periods, question marks, commas, colons, etc.

d. Did you format according to APA style? (See requirements below.)

APA FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

Your assignment must follow these general APA formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides. It should also have a running headers, short title headers, numbered pages, indented paragraphs, and a References List with hanging indent(s).

• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the professor's name, the course title, and the date. Note: The cover page is not included in the required assignment page length of three-four (3-4) pages.

• In-text citations follow APA style, using attributive tags and signal verbs.

• Did you cite at least two (2) sources? Are your sources credible?

• Refer to the Soomo webtext or check with your professor for any additional instructions.