- Choose one of the sources you plan to use to support your Argumentative Research Paper. You are free to use one of the sources from your AWC assignment if you choose to.
- Note, the source should meet our academic sources guidelines and come from the EFSC library catalog or databases. Additional information about the guidelines for sources can be found in the Argumentative Research Essay guidelines or AWC guidelines.
<h2>Step 2: Read thoroughly and make notes</h2>
- Read and make notes about the source’s main points. Note quotations that are interesting and/or deliver important information. Also make note of any points that make you think or form an opinion.
<h2>Step 3: Determine your opinion</h2>
- After reading and understanding the source, do you agree or disagree with the main points of the source? Why do you think or feel the way you do?
- This is the basis of the analysis. In order to analyze, you not only separate the pieces of the essay, but evaluate it as well.
<h2>Step 4: Write the thesis</h2>
- Create a one-sentence thesis that includes the name of the source being analyzed and explains your opinion of it.
- Your thesis may look something like the one below and should include the title of the source, the author, and your stance:
- The article “How Children Bend the Rules” by Smith and Lawrence offers clear and reasonable grounds for why children often act out after trauma.
<h2>Step 5: Draft your essay</h2>
- The draft should be a complete first version of the essay, including the Works Cited page.
- While there is no word or page minimum/maximum