ENG 4U1 PERSUASIVE ESSAY ASSIGNMENT
Using the topic guide provided
below, write a 700-800 word persuasive essay. This essay is informal in nature and should
reflect your own beliefs. You may use
any of the following documents we've read/studied in class:
Why
Read?
Closing
of the (North) American Mind
Does
Great Literature Make Us Better?
Reading
Literature Makes Us Smarter and Nicer
How
Reading Makes Us More Human
plus you can include any of the
discussion /notes which took place about Plato, Aristotle, and The Good Life
and the exercise on the most important role of education in the real &
ideal world.
You can also include ideas and
evidence from your own immediate and
indirect experience.
Topic Guide:
Education
has a vital role to play in teaching us how
to live The Good Life.
A) Break the topic down and
consider all possible points supporting both sides of the topic.
Consider our in-class discussions
of The Good Life covering intrinsic
versus instrumental Happiness, Virtue and Wisdom, the purpose of education.
B) Choose which side of the topic
you might argue more effectively, and develop as many points as possible before
writing your rough draft. You can agree
or disagree with the entire statement or
just accept part of the assertion and disagree with another. There is flexibility allowed in your
response, and I do not require that you agree with what you think my opinion is
in order to get a good grade.
C) When writing your introduction,
be sure to define your terms , but avoid clumsy constructions. There are many ways to define things without
stating "the definition of X is Y.
D) When writing the body of your
essay, you must include reasonable consideration of the rational opposing side
of the argument and demonstrate its weaknesses . You will not have space for a detailed
exploration of all disagreement, but you do need to establish your credibility
by showing awareness of the complexity of the issue.
(For an effective example of this
technique, you might read “The Enchanted Forest” in your Echoes
anthology.)
E) After writing your rough draft,
have someone look it over and offer feedback regarding your essay. Your reader should consider the following
questions:
Is the essay convincing? Do you
need to include more evidence to support your thesis?
Is it effectively organized? Avoid the "Five-Paragraph High School
Essay" format.
Is your essay logically
consistent? Does the essay contradict
itself anywhere?
Have you given enough
consideration to the big ideas of the topic?
Have you used language
persuasively? Create a crisis? Tell a story?
Loaded language? Effective diction? Effective syntax?
Does your tone suite your style
and content? Does the essay feel like a
unified, cohesive piece?
Are there errors in spelling, punctuation,
and/or sentence structure?
Rough draft for Peer-Editing is due: February 19, 2015
Polished final hard copy of essay is due: February 25th, 2015
****** Essay must
also be submitted to Turnitin.com by final due date *******
Class ID 9547769
Enrollment Password C120
