Eradicating Modern Slavery
Format MLA Description Your assignment is to write a four to five-page paper (plus works cited page) in MLA style in which you make a claim about the issue that you wrote your issue proposal and other papers on and use your research to support your position and to counter possible opposing arguments. Your claim will be the thesis for your paper. You will probably need between four and six sub-claims, depending on the amount of support, examples, and/or counterarguments you need for each one. You may use any information from your previous papers in your position paper. Consider those papers part of the prewriting for this assignment. You should plan to use a minimum of six sources in your paper. Seventy per cent of your sources should come from the TCC databases or books or pre-approved online sources, such as NPR and TED Talks. Other sources must be tested using the CRAP test and then you must send me an email asking for permission and explaining how it passes the CRAP test. You should use signal phrases to introduce your sources, in-text citations, and a Works Cited page. Use the strategies below to help you plan, generate ideas for, evaluate, and revise your arguments. Use Turnitin.com to check for citation errors. You will also be presenting your research to the class. See the Researched Position Paper Presentation handout for details of that assignment. You are expected to have at least two drafts. Introduction: First paragraph. It’s important to hook your readers from the very first paragraph. Sub-Claim Body Paragraphs: Conclusion:
Academic Level: –
Volume of 5 pages (1375 words)
Assignment type : Research Paper
Researched Position Paper
STRUCTURE: THE RESEARCHED POSITION PAPER
• Attention-getting lead
• Establish issue: what it is and why it’s important, why readers should care.
• Lead up to thesis (claim). Example: Americans need a public option for health insurance.
• Each sub-claim will need a topic sentence that explains what that argument will be about. Make it the first sentence in the paragraph. This sentence should directly relate to the thesis. You may need more than one paragraph to thoroughly cover the sub-claim. If so, make sure the first paragraph has a topic sentence that states the sub-claim and make sure you have clear transition between like paragraphs.
• Each sub-claim will give one reason why readers should agree with your thesis. Example: Sub-claim (and topic sentence): Currently, Americans are paying more for health insurance and getting less care than citizens of other developed countries. (This could be rephrased to say “Americans need a public option for health insurance because Americans are paying more. . .”)
• Proofs: these are the supports, or evidence, for your sub-claim. Choose your proofs based on what your readers need to know to accept your argument. You’ll need to anticipate their warrants (assumptions, values, objections, etc.) so that you can convince them that you’re right or at least that they should give your position further consideration. For example, possible supports could include statistics comparing what people are paying for health insurance in the U.S. and what citizens of other countries are paying; an example of the kinds of care given under a typical American health insurance plan vs. another country’s; statements by citizens of those other countries that suggest they’re happy with their care.
• Rebuttals: Anticipate the arguments your readers may have and address them. For example: any comparison of health care insurance with other countries with socialized medicine will bring with it certain associations. One of those associations is that people believe that they will not have the kind of choice and quality they currently enjoy, i.e. they won’t have a choice in doctors, it will be harder to get appointments with their doctors, surgeries will take a very long time to schedule, etc. So you might want to say something like, “Although it’s widely believed that government-run health care leads to loss of choice. . .” and then prove why that’s not true.
• Note: Covering just one sub-claim and rebuttal could take 2 or more paragraphs, so you’ll want to organize your discussion of each sub-claim in whatever way is most appropriate for that argument. For example, one sub-claim could be easily proven, and you can just as easily address any rebuttals within one paragraph. But if another sub-claim requires definition and more than one kind of proof, or needs extensive rebuttal then that might take three paragraphs.
Reiterate your thesis (without being repetitive), reminding the reader why the issue is important, and conclude your discussion. This is your very last chance to influence your readers, so make it a strong, effective statement that they’ll remember.
