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VOICE in Body Paragraphs

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Whose Paper Is It Your voice needs to always be the driving force for your body paragraphs.  It is best if you write out your rough draft and then locate sources that can defend what you have already written.  By doing this, you are able to keep the essay in your voice with your ideas as the dominating factor. When you think about the percentage distribution of the writer’s voice compared to source usage in an academic essay, at the college level, you need to keep in mind that the content must be at least  80% YOU  and only  20% or less of outside sources .  This means that you really need to be careful and purposeful in what source content you use and WHERE you put it in the paper.   Present Ideas - Do not Ask Questions You are writing your paper to present your ideas.  They are important, and you want to make sure that your audience is taking the time to really hear you.  Therefore, you will not put questions in your body paragraphs.  Questions pull the audience away from your voice

Standards for Writing

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Learning from the Experts I remember my years in college when I mistakenly believed that my professors  had  to allow me open creativity while completing my assignments.  After all, I was an adult, now.  I was led to believe that after high school, I would get to begin making my own choices in life: whether positive or negative.  However, this did not happen in my college classes, nor did it occur in the ‘jobs’ that I worked to help pay for my studies.  Each professor—no matter the discipline of the course—had a specific  requirement  that I had to follow.  Whether it was the  precise  set-up of my Chemistry lab reports, the required step-by-step showing of my equation solutions in Calculus, or the seemingly  restrictive  structure of my essays in Studies in Medieval Literature, I was certain that I knew how to organize, sort, and present my information better than they did; I was wrong. Looking back, I now know that they were correct.  Each professor—whether I liked or personally rela

GRADING

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A General Assessment Rubric This rubric will help students understand some of the basics that their instructors will be looking for in their academic writing. 

Sentence Starters for Argument Essay Introductions and Conclusions

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Ideas for Starting Sentences Argument Writing ENGL101, All Essays Sentence Starters for Argumentative Essay Other Ideas: Introduction of Evidence 1.        “Some people may argue…” 2.       “A possible concern is…” 3.       “A common counterpoint is…” Evidence 1.        “For example, they contend that…” 2.       “Those who believe… say that …” Discussion of Evidence (Rebuttal) 1.        “That is an understandable concern, however…” 2.       “This argument is wrong because…” 3.       “Although some people think… others understand…” 4.      “The evidence, however, overwhelmingly supports the argument that…” Content from this handout was modified using  Sentence Starters for Argument   Essay  handout.  The original document was provided to The  Study Library  to assist students with writing.  You can find the original document at this address  https://studylib.net/doc/7495660/counter-argument-sentence-starters# .  Content approved for download and usage 10.26.2018. © 2018-23 by Jeanette L

Bookends

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The Introduction paragraph and the Conclusion paragraph work together.  They work as bookends for the body paragraphs. As a reminder, the introduction is the only weapon you have to make the audience want  to read your paper.  While your professor or classmates may have  to read it, you should write in a way that captivates them and makes them interested enough to want  to read more. 1.  When you start the introduction, ask yourself "What could I relate my overall point to that would hook a reader?".  If you can think of a way to relate your overall topic so that the audience is intrigued, you can easily set the stage for greatness! See the 7 Types of Hooks article for help in this area. 2.  The next sentence or two will provide transitional ideas to get the audience from your 'hook' to your point.  Choose these sentences carefully.  While you may have hooked the audience with your first line, you could still lose them here.  You don't want them to slip away.  Ma

Conclusions to AVOID!

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Repeating the introduction —it is never a good idea to repeat what you said in your introduction: ESPECIALLY NOT YOUR THESIS—never repeat your thesis verbatim. An introduction and a conclusion serve two different purposes. One introduces the reader to the topic, and the other wraps up the ideas expressed and points proven in the essay. The conclusion should always strive to capture the points of the body paragraphs in addition to the introduction.

"Perfect" Conclusions

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Conclusion Paragraph (Sample) To have a logically wrapped-up conclusion, you will follow the steps below.  While your creativity and style can shine through in the  CONTENT  of the essay, the  STRUCTURE  for writing an argument is very organized and has been crafted to perfection since Aristotle's debates with his students and Socrate's public forums for enlightenment and logical reasoning.  Be sure to memorize these steps so that  you too  can become as persuasive as the 'greats' of history long past!

Concluding Your Paper

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Concluding Your Paper (Academic Essay) You do not want to stop writing abruptly after making your last body paragraph argument. The paper’s conclusion should wrap up your points smoothly and make a good final impression on the readers.  It must be at least 3 sentences in length—no less. See the links below for specific structure criteria within conclusion paragraphs. Structured CONCLUSIONS Concluding Your Paper Three Parts to a Conclusion Conclusions to Avoid Conclusion No-Nos Questions in a Conclusion Concluding Statements: Supporting Your Argument Conclusions--Drafting Your Essay

The Source Sandwich

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Source Sandwich Method: Introduce, Quote, Explain To understand how to integrate sources into your  body-paragraphs , you will need to learn about the ‘source sandwich’.

Everything You Need to Know About Introductions

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Introduction Tutorial: 3-minute Video Part 1  of the  Understanding an Essay   Video Series by J. Dick Drawing Readers In  The main point to consider and learn for your introduction and Thesis: remember that you are  not making an announcement .  You are simply stating the content and focus, without writing, "In this essay...".  Make sure that the writing always has a point and that the point is directly stated. As you begin to write the rough draft of your paper, think critically about how you might draw your readers into your argument in a compelling way. Consider how to create a rapport with the audience; for example, what areas of  agreement  may already exist between you and your readers? Who is your audience?   What is the purpose of your essay? What do your audience members need in order to draw them into your topic? If you are writing about a topic and surveys show the majority of Americans do not agree with your point of view on the topic, you must introduce your top

Maintaining YOUR Voice in an Essay

When you think about the percentage distribution of the writer’s voice compared to source usage in an academic essay, at the college level, you need to keep in mind that the content must be at least  80% YOU  and only  20% or less of outside sources .  This means that you really need to be careful and purposeful in what source content you use and WHERE you put it in the paper. 

Organizing an Introduction Paragraph

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Everything You Need to Know about an    More than likely, you've been directed to this page because you need help with one of the 3 sections of an  Introduction  paragraph:  Hook   sentence to intrigue readers (Interest-catcher that relates to your thesis statement—  You  CAN  use source materials here. ) Detail   sentence(s)  to provide background (Connective sentence(s) that tie(s) your interest-catcher to your thesis— You  will NOT  use source materials here. ) Thesis  statement  (Your thesis, which identifies the topic and reveals the central claim you are making about the issue, can provide an overview of your main points—such as an essay map; however, the essay map is optional— You  will NOT  use source materials here. ) The  Introduction  paragraph must be at least 3 sentences in length, but it will not be much longer than 5-7.   The  Introduction   paragraph   serves as a bookend to your writing.  It leads the reader into your paper, but it does not 'argue' anything