Description

Purpose

Choose two of the assigned readings on technology (Goldsmith, Turkle, Carr, and/or Wortham), and create an argument where you respond to this question: How did one text more effectively try to persuade its audience than the other text?

Audience

The intended audience for your essay should be people who have already read the assigned texts but are not experts in the material. Consider the students in our class as members of your audience.

Thesis

Create a thesis that responds to the assignment question (the purpose) and identifies your areas of support (the reasons you have for your argument), and use that thesis to structure your essay. Include your thesis at the end of your introduction.

See Thesis Template here: Paper 2 Thesis Statement Template. You must use the template for developing your thesis.

In order to present an effective argument, your essay should address the following questions

• What conversation are these two writers engaging in, whether or not they explicitly refer to each other?
• How would you describe the intended audience of both texts, and how do you know?
• How would you describe the purposes of both texts, and how do you know?
• How do the texts attempt to persuade their respective audiences?
• What specific quotes from both texts serve as evidence of your argument, and how so?

Optional question to consider

• Would you consider yourself part of the intended audience of one or both texts? How does that affect your own responses to the texts?

Additional requirements (for the final draft)

• At least 5 full pages, Times New Roman 12, 1 inch margins, double-spaced, typed, with a title and page numbers
• An introduction that gets your reader’s attention, introduces the texts, and presents a clear thesis that responds to the assignment and that include areas of support
• Logical organization with clear topic sentences and transitions that follow through on the thesis
• Well-developed support paragraphs that accurately represent the texts and analyze the texts in order to support your thesis and respond to a hypothetical “nay-sayer” (see Chapter 6 in TSIS)
• Effective quote sandwiches (see page 47 of TSIS) from both texts
• Clear conclusion that wraps up your essay and gives your reader something to think about
• Few grammar and spelling errors
• MLA in-text citation and MLA Works Cited page (which does not count toward page requirement)
• Feel free to use “I.” Do Not use any form of “you”
• No Outside Sources