Your final paper should be 3 to 4 pages, contain an arguable thesis*, use your sources to back up your argument, and include a Works Cited page. Your annotated bibliography should have given you a good handle on your sources and how you can best use them to prove your thesis. Make sure all sources are quoted correctly and receive both an in-text citation and a Works Cited page citation. 

1)   Does the introductory paragraph start talking about the topic right away? Don’t use a gimmicky "hook." Just dive in.

2)   Does the thesis come at the end of the introductory paragraph?

3)   Is the thesis the one claim the whole paper intends to prove?

4)   Is the thesis specific?

5)   Is the thesis concise?

6)   Is the thesis arguable?

7)   Is the thesis verifiable?   

8)   Do each of the body paragraphs begin with a topic sentence?

9)   Does each topic sentence directly prove the thesis?

10)   Does each topic sentence work as a mini-thesis for its paragraph?

11)   Does the paper use at least three secondary sources, including two peer-reviewed sources?

12)   Are sources cited correctly in the text of the essay?

13)   Are sources cited correctly on the Works Cited page?

Does the paper avoid all the following mechanical errors?

14)   apostrophe misuse

15)   subject-verb disagreement

16)   comma splices

17)   fused sentences

18)   run-on sentences

19)   misspellings

20)   vague pronoun reference

21)   inaccurate shifts in tense

22)   sentence fragments

23)   misplaced or dangling modifiers

24)   capitalization problems

25)   comma errors

26)   non-parallel verb structures

 

*You need a clear, solid understanding of a few key definitions and ideas.

1) Rhetoric: the art of persuading your audience.

2) Argument: a particular rhetorical mode, the mode of the essays you’ll write in this class. An argument is a means of persuasion, not a shouting match.

3) Remember than an argument is not: a matter of taste, a matter of faith, emotional manipulation.

The famous Lyndon Baines Johnson "Daisy Girl" campaign ad is, therefore, NOT an argument. It is, instead, manipulation.

Here’s the ad: 

4) Rather, an argument is a claim supported by logic and evidence.

5) Key to a successful argument is the statement of its claim. That statement is a thesis statement. The definition of a thesis statement: the one claim your entire paper will prove.

Not the three claims. You’re not writing high school five paragraph essays in this course. You’re doing something less formulaic, more sophisticated.

A thesis statement is the one claim your entire paper will prove.

It usually comes at the end of your first paragraph and is usually one sentence, though once in a while, it may necessitate two.

6) Please memorize the following four characteristics of a successful thesis statement. Use them as a checklist for your writing.

A thesis statement must be:

a) specific, not vague;

b) concise, not full of fluff and extraneous wording;

c) verifiable, something that can be argued with logic and with evidence;

d) arguable, not obvious. "Arguable" means that everyone doesn’t automatically come to the same conclusion. It means you are arguing your own interpretation of the facts.

Topic sentences should be found at the beginning of each body paragraph. Each topic sentence has two functions:

1) to form a step in directly proving the thesis statement.

2) to function as a mini-thesis for its particular paragraph.