Arguing Research Papers

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Argument Research Paper

Criteria Sheet

This paper will be a demonstration of skills learned thus far this semester such as writing summaries, paraphrasing, and researching. You will focus on using a wide variety of evidence to support your thesis and reasons. You will want to keep your audience in mind and work to present yourself as a credible speaker.

Your argument research paper should:

· Have an arguable and clearly stated thesis

· Be well supported using solid reasons and evidence from at least four credible sources

· Have effective and clear organization

· Acknowledge, accommodate, and/or refute opposing viewpoints

· Have a tone which establishes credibility with your readers

· Define your issue clearly and smoothly with integrated quoted material and signal phrases

In addition to the above, your final paper should be:

· Typed, double-spaced with one-inch margins

· six to ten pages

· documented and formatted according to MLA style

· have a minimum of four credible sources

· edited for spelling, mechanical, grammatical, and typing errors

The overall goal with this unit is to produce a quality paper that demonstrates the best of your present writing ability. While this paper does not require you to learn any new skills, you should be able to use all of the skills that you have learned such as summarizing, researching, and citing to produce a polished project.