EXTRA CREDIT PERSUASIVE RESEARCH PAPER

ABOUT: Choose one of the controversial topics below and write a 6-8-pagepersuasive research paper. Present your thesis and using at least 5 peer-reviewed journal articles for support, articulate your position on the issue.

Topics(Choose one of the following)

•  Should euthanasia be legalized throughout the US? Why or why not?
•  Should there be restrictions for older drivers? Why or why not?
• Who should be responsible for self-neglecting elders?
•  Should late-stage Alzheimer's disease patients receive curative medical treatments? Why or why not?
•  Should the US eliminate Social Security? Why or why not?

Journal Articles

•  You must use at least 5 peer-reviewed journal articles to support your argument.
•  Peer-reviewed journal articles can usually be found by researching your topic with the library.
•  Magazine articles, newspaper articles, books, blogs, online essays, etc. are NOT acceptable sources.
•  All articles must be cited within the text of your paper with correct APA style citation.
•  You must include a "Reference" page with your sources in APA style.
•  All information that is not "common knowledge" must be cited. Failure to cite your sources is considered plagiarism.
•  For APA guidance - http://www.wpunj.edu/library/citation-guides--refworks.dot

POLICIES: Due date for this assignment is Wednesday May 11th

•  Assignment should be approximately 6-8 pages in length and must conform to the Requirements for the Submission Written Work found in this syllabus. (APA style, cover page, reference page, etc).

o The 6-8 pages should not include the cover page or Reference page.

•  Papers should follow the sample paper format template provided.
•  Students may NOT work collaboratively on this assignment.
• Papers can be submitted on Blackboard, emailed to the instructor or turned in at the final class.

GRADING: Assignment is worth up to 75 points toward the final course grade.
Papers will be graded with consideration of:

•  Adherence to correct APA format
•  Use of appropriate journal articles
•  Comprehensiveness of paper's argument that follows guidelines provided in the sample template

Sample Persuasive Research Paper Template

1. INTRODUCTION (1-2 paragraphs)
a. Present your thesis statement
b. Make your introductory paragraph interesting. How can you draw your readers in?
c. Why did you choose this topic?

2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION (2-3 paragraphs)

a. Provide a brief explanation of your of issue/theory.

b. Why is this issue important to address?

c. Lay the foundation for proving your argument

d. This section will often include:
i. Definition of key terms
ii. Explanation of key theories relevant for understanding your topic

3. SUPPORTING EVIDENCE PARAGRAPH #1 (1 paragraph)

a. This paragraph is where you begin your argument and use your journal articles to support your key points. These paragraphs should be fairly lengthy (8+ sentences per paragraph)

b. Begin with a Topic Sentence

i. What is one item, fact, detail, or example you can tell your readers that will help them better understand your claim/paper topic?
ii. Your answer should be the topic sentence for this paragraph

c. Explain Topic Sentence
i. Do you need to explain your topic sentence? If so, do so here.

d. Present Evidence to support your argument
i. Introduce your evidence either in a few words
ii. What supporting evidence (reasons, examples, facts, statistics, and/or quotations) can you include to prove/support/explain your topic sentence?

e. Explain Evidence
i. How should we read or interpret the evidence you are providing us? How does this evidence prove the point you are trying to make in this paragraph?
ii. Explanation can be opinion based and is often at least 1-3 sentences.

f. Concluding Sentence

i. End your paragraph with a concluding sentence that reasserts how the topic sentence of this paragraph helps up better understand and/or prove your paper's overall claim.

4. SUPPORTING EVIDENCE PARAGRAPH #2, 3, 4 etc.

a. Repeat #3 above for as many paragraphs as you need

5. COUNTERARGUMENT PARAGRAPH (1-2 paragraphs)

a. The purpose of this paragraph is to anticipate your reader's objections and make yourself sound more objective and reasonable.

b. What possible argument might your reader pose against your argument and/or some aspect of your reasoning? Insert one or more of those arguments here and refute them.

c. You may want to include reference to a journal article that opposes your view, to which you would respond to with reference to a separate article that supports your argument.

i. Ex. Researcher Smith argues provides XZY counterargument, however, Researcher Jones refutes this point through his ABC stance.

d. End paragraph with a concluding sentence that reasserts your paper's claim as a whole.

6. CONCLUSION PART 1: SUM UP PARAGRAPH (1 paragraph)
a. PURPOSE: Remind readers of your argument and supporting evidence

b. Restates your paper's overall claim and supporting evidence

7. CONCLUSION PART 2: YOUR "SO WHAT" PARAGRAPH (1 paragraph)
a. PURPOSE: To illustrate to your instructor that you have thought critically and analytically about this issue. Vivid, concrete language is as important in a conclusion as it is elsewhere-- perhaps more essential, since the conclusion determines the reader's final impression of your essay. Do not leave them with the impression that your argument was vague or unsure.

b. Your conclusion should not simply restate your intro paragraph.
i. If your conclusion says almost the exact same thing as your introduction, it may indicate that you have not done enough critical thinking during the course of your essay (since you ended up right where you started).
c. Your conclusion should tell us why we should care about your paper.
i. What is the significance of your claim? Why is it important to you as the writer or to me as the reader? What information should you or I take away from this?
d. Your conclusion should create a sense of movement to a more complex understanding of the subject of your paper.
i. By the end of your essay, you should have worked through your ideas enough so that your reader understands what you have argued and is ready to hear the larger point (i.e. the "so what") you want to make about your topic.
e. Your conclusion should serve as the climax of your paper.
i. So, save your strongest analytical points for the end of your essay, and use them to drive your conclusion