In the informative essay, you identified several issues related to the topic you have chosen to work on this quarter. In your next assignment, you will get a chance to fix one of those problems. We are calling this assignment a "stance" essay, because you will be taking a position on an issue, but we could just as easily label it a persuasive or argumentative essay, which are common terms in writing textbooks. This type of essay requires you to have an opinion, but more important, it requires you to back up that opinion with authoritative information and statements from experts.

The Webtext explains how this essay fits into the arc of assignments on the same topic:
In this version, you will move from simply discussing the issue to developing an updated essay that takes a clear stance on one aspect of your topic. The goal of this essay is to learn how changing the purpose of the writing (from informative to more argumentative) impacts the content and potential audience. Further, it will help you understand the difference between writing to argue your perspective and writing to educate your audience.

Here are some examples of opinions related to topic choices:
State and federal governments should provide more funds for programs to prevent domestic violence.
Secondary schools should include personal budgeting classes in their curriculums.
All states should adopt laws allowing (or prohibiting) the administration of corporal punishment of children by their parents.

Chapter 7 of the Webtext guides you through creating a thesis and an outline for this assignment.

Chapter 8 provides information to help you to complete your final copy and to assess your own work.

In stating your opinion, you should still use third person point of view exclusively. It is not necessary to say "I believe" or "I think"; state the opinion and your reader will recognize it as your belief and not a fact. The overall tone of the essay should continue to be objective and reasoned. While the purpose of an argument is to persuade a reader, you should avoid using second person to address the audience directly.

Although your final copy is not due until the end of Week 10, please note that you will need to have a draft of the essay completed by Week 9 in order to post in the discussion. The Week 9 discussion will enable you to receive peer feedback on your paper, and to read and comment on other students' papers. For this reason, you should plan to finish your draft this week and post it at the beginning of Week 9. The earlier in Week 9 that you post your paper, the more likely you are to get useful feedback on it. Also note that the draft that you post will not be graded by me.

Here are three more important points to keep in mind about Assignment 3:
· The required length is 7-8 pages, including the cover page and references page; that is, there should be 5-6 pages of text.
· You must use at least 5 academically acceptable sources, and no more than two of these can be from the list provided in the Webtext.
· No content should be repeated from the informative essay.