Critical Essay

Background

This assignment requires you to write a research-based critical essay. You will take a stance on a specific issue and use the research you did as part of the Research Record assignment as support for your position. Later in the term, you will edit, improve, and re-submit this essay for the Revised Critical Essay assignment.

Instructions

Write an essay between 1250-1500 words. Your essay will be based on one of the approved topics. It will make a specific, evidence-based critical argument about what should be done to address a problem. Your essay will have an introduction that ends with your thesis statement. It should have well-organized body paragraphs and a conclusion. Include a title page and reference page. Use APA citation and formatting guidelines.

Use at least three scholarly or authoritative sources in your essay to support your argument. These should be the sources from your Research Record unless you have a good reason to replace them. You can use additional sources if you absolutely need to, but do not use more than six total sources. Class readings do not count towards your minimum number of sources.

As with all assignments in this class, you may not use AI tools to generate, edit, re-phrase or “polish” your writing. Assignments showing evidence of AI use will receive automatic zeroes. You may use the writing tutors, spelling and grammar checker tools, peer review, and your instructor as supports.

Additional Information and Clarification:

Thesis Statement:

Your thesis statement will directly address the topic you have chosen to research, and should in some way answer or address the research question you posed in your Research Record. Remember that your thesis statement must make a debatable claim about a specific issue and propose a critical intervention to address or resolve the concern(s) you identify.

Topic Sentences:

The first sentence (or two) of each body paragraph must make a claim or assertion about the main idea you discuss in that paragraph. A topic sentence functions as a mini thesis statement: it articulates a clear argument that will guide the content of the paragraph. The topic should be smaller in scope, and serve to support the argument articulated in your thesis statement.

Evidence:

Every paragraph of your essay should include evidence from your research to support your points. Review your research and the evidence you gathered from the credible sources you analyzed in your Research Record. This evidence can take the form of statistics, data, direct quotations, and/or paraphrased information, and must be cited appropriately throughout the essay. Evidence is used to support the main point you are trying to make in the paragraph. It should never dominate the content of the paragraph. Overuse of supporting evidence (including too many quotations or too much detail from external sources) merely “reports” information, rather than providing original analysis, interpretation, and explanation.

Analysis & Discussion:

Analysis and discussion of your approach to the topic should be the main focus of your essay. Examine the research you have done, explain its significance to the topic, and explore your ideas in as much depth and detail as necessary to make your argument convincing. Remember that the majority of each paragraph should be devoted to discussing your own ideas in your own words, and that your analysis of the evidence should demonstrate how it supports the claims you make in your topic sentences and the argument articulated in your thesis statement.

Marking Guide: Critical Essay
Structure and Argumentation
Thesis statement • asserts a critical argument (contestable claim) • clear, direct, and specific • appropriately responds to research question	/10
Argumentation, analysis, and discussion • original, significant, relevant, and insightful • in-depth development of ideas • makes a critical intervention related to the issue(s) • demonstrates a novel position rather than summarization of sources	/20
Use of supporting evidence • validity of sources • relevant and persuasive application of research • smoothly integrated with sufficient context • avoids merely reporting information	/20
Organization of ideas • paragraph structure • topic sentences are argumentative and specific • transitions are logical and coherent	/15
Language, Style, Mechanics, and Formatting
Quality of writing • clear, concise, and engaging • avoids wordiness, assumptions, generalizations, and • colloquialisms • appropriate diction and syntax	/15
APA formatting and document organization • in-text and reference citations, page formatting, length	/10
Proof-reading • grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, style/tone, etc.	/10
Total	/100