OVERVIEW: Your final essay will demonstrate what you’ve learned this semester. In it, you’ll use some combination of the rhetorical and development strategies we’ve covered in class and in your previous assignments (e.g., illustration, analysis, source integration, etc.) while adhering to the grammatical and stylistic precepts in Steven Pinker’s The Sense of Style (e.g., concrete language and arcs of coherence).
ASSIGNMENT: For your final essay, you’ll think back over our discussions this semester and present a thoughtful, thorough answer to this question:
Why is it important to write well, and what qualities best define good writing?
In addition to The Sense of Style, we’ve read and discussed several articles and essays that touch specifically on the subjects of language, composition, and rhetoric. You may use any of these sources, which can be found in the “Additional Readings” module in Canvas, or any others that you find yourself, to help develop your response. In all, your essay should cite at least four outside sources.
CRITERIA: Your essay should –
- Provide a thoughtful, thorough, and well-supported answer to the question above
- Present relevant information from outside sources accurately and comprehensibly
- Integrate and attribute outside source information clearly and grammatically
- Include an effective title, introduction, and conclusion
- Provide in-text citations of all outside information, including a works cited page
- Express your ideas in well-formed sentences and with well-chosen language
LENGTH: 1500 – 1800 words
FORMAT: 12-point font, double-spaced, standard margins
VALUE: 125 points
- Content: 100 points
- Mechanics: 25 points
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