final exam essay

Final Exam: Reflection on Your Argumentation Skills

Essay structure: Provide an introduction that ends in a thesis, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

In your introductory paragraph: (Should only be one paragraph long and no longer than half a page.)

• What is your personal process for brainstorming, outlining, drafting, and revising the final draft of an essay? You can include details such as which methods work best for you or not so well and how you feel about writing each step of the way.
• Then define “argument” in your own words. Please do not quote from an outside source or plagiarize unintentionally.

In your thesis answer the following 2 part question in one sentence:

• Which essay (you wrote for this class) did you argue the best? Provide one specific reason why.
• Which essay (you wrote for this class) did you argue the least well? Provide one specific reason why.

In your body paragraphs, make sure to

• Support your thesis by quoting sentences from your own writing in your own actual graded essays for this class.
• Please do not quote from Dr. Kwas comments on your essays.
• Use first person (In Essay one, I wrote, “XX”).
• Make sure to follow up each quotation with a 4-5 sentence explanation of how it supports your topic sentence claim.

Note: Unlike the other essays, no outline has been provided since one of the challenges is to see if you can structure your own essay independently. Dr. Kwa highly recommends that you create and follow an outline for this final.

ESSAY ORGANIZATION REQUIREMENTS

1) Introduction:

• Try to start your essay with a hook that grab’s the reader’s attention.
• Then follow the specific essay prompt instructions on what to put in your introduction.
• Avoid inserting quotations; summarize the content instead in your own words.
• Make sure to have a transition sentence before your thesis introducing any additional texts or information the reader will need to understand the thesis that has not already been covered.
• Thesis is one sentence long and is the last sentence of your introduction.

2) Thesis formation: The thesis should subdivide into the same number of points as your total number of body paragraphs. If you have two body paragraphs, your thesis would subdivide into two points. Thesis needs to be the last sentence of your introduction. The thesis should fully answer the essay question so that it is not off-topic. It should also be specific, concise, and arguable.

3) Body Paragraph Organization and Unity: Each body paragraph should discussion one idea that supports the thesis; in other words, body paragraphs should not repeat ideas from previous paragraphs and should not contain more than one main idea.

4) Topic and Concluding Sentences: Each body paragraph must begin with a topic sentence that tells the reader which thesis idea that paragraph will be about and can add supportive reasoning or details. Each body paragraph will end with a concluding sentence that sums up what the paragraph argued but in more detail than the topic sentence.

5) Quotations: You will need to support any assertions you make with a discussion of quotations from the texts assigned. All quotations should have an introductory phrase and should use the following MLA format: Bierlein writes, “XX” (24). Avoid putting quotations in the introduction; save them for your body paragraphs.

6) Quotation Analysis: All quotations should be followed by 4-5 or more sentences that provide a detailed explanation of how the quotation supports your body paragraph’s main idea and thesis.

7) Title: Divided into two parts separated by a colon. Centered. Double-spaced like your heading and the rest of your paper. Capitalize all key words. Should be a fragment. Not underlined or in boldface. No period at the end of the title. Your title should not just copy the title of this essay prompt or the title of the readings.Example:

Essay Topic: Your Two Thesis Ideas

8) Conclusion: A place for you to summarize your thesis and add last reflections on your topic.

9) Essay formatting: Use MLA format. For help, see Purdue University OWL website and click on the MLA section (Links to an external site.).

10) Number of Paragraphs for all Essays except Research Paper: In order to pass, your essay must have an introduction that ends in a thesis statement, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion.