Essay #4: Argument of Fact
Refer to Everything’s an Argument Chapter 8 discussing Arguments of Fact. An Argument of Fact relies on research and facts to build and support a claim. You often are asked to write these essays in a university setting in relation to research-based claims about a topic that are often controversial. This essay will focus on a popular topic from society today – something you have already chosen and written Essay #3 – a Proposal for Argument of Fact. Now, you will write the Argument of Fact Essay.
Intended Readers: A group of individuals who are affected by the argument’s claim, but may not be fully informed about the facts that are used as support for both sides. It is important to use logic and detailed support to convince your readers of your claim. Goal: To create an argument that makes a claim about a fact or existence of something that could be challenged by society (e.g. climate change is threatening the environment), or to correct or challenge an error or societal myth (e.g. the abortion rate is not increasing nationwide in the United States). Format: MLA formatting will be used to construct an essay that includes an introduction, body, conclusion, and works cited page. It will be 5-6 pages long.
Once your rough draft is complete, follow the instructions to post and reply to the discussion board. Once your rough draft is complete, submit it to Tutor.com to get feedback on the draft. These steps MUST be completed by the middle of the week in order to get Tutor.com and peer comments in time to submit and use for revision.
Grading Criteria: Use this list, to check that your essay is following the core grading criteria.
_____ Is it 5-6 pages with MLA formatting? _____ Does the essay fully answer the assignment given? _____ Does the writer avoid grammatical errors? _____ Is the essay logically organized? _____ Is the topic and focus of the paper clear throughout? _____ Does the writer provide quality, unique examples and evidence as support? _____ Is the information from at least 3 resources analyzed and documented effectively?
Argument of Fact Essay Scoring Rubric
Exceeds Expectations Meets Expectations Needs Improvement Ineffective Not Demonstrated
Clear, Argumentative Focus (30)
In addition to meeting expectations, writer produces highly effective work by means as established by the instructor 30-27 Focus of essay is argumentative and remains consistent and easy to follow throughout the essay
26-24 Focus of essay is largely consistent and argumentative but may wander off topic briefly or struggle to clearly rebut counterclaims 23-21 Focus of essay is unclear, not argumentative, or inconsistent; ideas may be hard to follow or understand; may be contradictory 20-18 Writer fails to focus on any one clear topic and/or does not make an argumentative claim
17-0 ______/30 Evidence/ Support (30) In addition to meeting expectations, writer produces highly effective work by means as established by the instructor 40-36 Writer selects effective scholarly evidence and uses it clearly and convincingly to support claims 35-32 Writer selects evidence that may not clearly support the claim or uses it in a way that does not connect it clearly
31-28 Evidence selected does not support the claim and/or is used incorrectly or unclearly; evidence is not scholarly in nature 27-24 Writer fails to use evidence (if no textual evidence is quoted, the score for this category is automatically zero)
23-0 ______/30 Development of Ideas (25) In addition to meeting expectations, writer produces highly effective work by means as established by the instructor 30-27 Ideas are developed logically, with clear connection to the central claim
26-24 Ideas lack consistent development or struggle to logically connect to the central claim
23-21 Ideas fail to connect logically to one another or the central claim; writer may use claims that contradict central claim 20-18 Writer fails to develop clear or reasonable ideas
17-0 ______/25 Organization (15) In addition to meeting expectations, writer produces highly effective work by means as established by the instructor 20-18 Essay is organized well with logical breaks in the text and effective, logical transitions
17-16 Essay is not always logically organized; transitions may be weak or unclear; writer may fail to connect ideas to one another logically 15-14 Essay is poorly organized, difficult to follow, lacking transition, and/or confusing
13-12 Organization is such that the reader cannot follow the line of thought without great effort
11-0 ______/15 MLA Format & Documenting (15) Essay flawlessly or very nearly flawlessly uses MLA formatting and documentation 20-18 Essay has only minor flaws in MLA format-ting and documenta-tion 17-16 Essay has several flaws in MLA formatting and documentation
15-14 Essay has several glaring flaws in MLA formatting and documentation
13-12 Essay fails to use MLA formatting (Essays that fail to document—plagiarized essays—receive a zero) 11-0 ______/15 Mechanics (10) Essay flawlessly or nearly flawlessly uses grammatical mainstream English 10-9 Essay has only minor flaws in using grammatical mainstream English 8 Essay has several flaws in grammatical mainstream English
7 Essay’s mechanical flaws make it difficult to follow or understand
6 Essay is unreadable
5-0 ______/10 Comments/Total
______/125
