ENGL 1101

Dr. L. Scott
Spring 2013
ESSAY 4
Response to a Text
Overview

In standard written English, write a two-to-three-page academic essay. Your essay should respond directly to the
following prompt.

Prompt

Find an article about a problem that interests you and print out a hard copy of it. Be sure to choose an
article from a reputable source (not, for example, About.com or any other anonymous online posting).
After reading the article, express your views about this topic in an essay. To what extent do you agree or
disagree with this author? Use the templates provided in They Say / I Say to help you express and develop your
opinion about the topic raised in your chosen article.

You may include a brief summary of the article, but the bulk of this paper should be your own argument in
response to the views expressed in that article. This means that you should include not only your position on this
topic, but also the reasons why you take that position, full explanations of those reasons, and strong evidence to
support your assertions.

You are also welcome to include additional sources in this paper.

Purpose

The purpose for this assignment is to let you demonstrate to me your ability to respond intelligently to formal,
published writing. As with your previous essay assignments, I expect your finished product to include such
basic elements as
 a thesis that responds to the prompt provided above
 logical organization using topic sentences and appropriate transitions
 adequate development of your ideas (coherent paragraphs full of concrete details—explanations and
examples drawn from the article itself)
In addition, for this assignment you should also show me what you have learned so far about
 quoting
 paraphrasing (restating someone else’s ideas entirely in your own words)
 using signal phrases (such as the templates provided in They Say / I Say).
And finally, it’s time for you to start demonstrating your ability to think critically.

Due dates for assignment tasks

Thu, 18 April - Payton and Schope will bring Draft #1 to class for revision workshop
Thu, 25 April - Kyeana, Buck, and Will will bring Draft #2 to class for editing workshop
Thu, 2 May - Final draft due NLT 3 p.m.

Formatting instructions: Refer to the handout titled “Paper Format” posted on our class Mentor site.

Evaluation guidelines

Refer to the “Writing Standards” presented in the LC Handbook of Rhetoric & Composition, available via
PantherNet.