Final Paper Requirements
Maysand’s restoration of sheffield town hall
Final Paper Requirements
Eng. 203 – Fall 2014
For your final paper, you will be dealing with the issue of the political / philosophical aspects of vegetarianism. In this paper, you will be arguing for a position that you will support with at least three reasons (see the paragraph below regarding the Discussion section of this paper for additional requirements). Specifically, you should agree/disagree/agree in part, etc. with Peter Singer in his essay “Becoming a Vegetarian . . .”. This paper must be five to six pages in length. The good news is: It requires only limited research – you will be using “Becoming a Vegetarian . . .” by Peter Singer and “The Pleasures of Eating” by Wendell Berry (both of which articles are available for your purchase from the AUB Bookstore) and one other source, one which you find yourself using the Jafet Library databases and/or catalogue. Your outside source must be either an academic book (or chapter from an academic book) or an article from a peer-reviewed journal. You may not use an e-book. Ideally, to maximize your grade in this course, you should demonstrate the ability to make good use of your research material and instructor-provided articles in your paper. In addition, your paper must conform to certain, specific guidelines, as follows: Your paper must have these components in this order: A Title page, an Introduction, Purpose (i.e., to reinforce an existing view and create sentiment to maintain the status quo, to call readers to attention, to change people’s minds, to lesson an objection, to earn support for a view), Limitations, Review of Literature, Discussion, Conclusion and Works Cited page. The following sections should be identified by Level-One Headings (centered, upper- and lowercase): Introduction, Review of Literature, Discussion, Conclusion and Works Cited. The following are Level-Three Headings (left justified, italicized, upper- and lowercase): Purpose, Limitations.
Basically, the Review of Literature will be a brief summary of the material you read for this paper, which you are using for your paper. This section of your paper can be as short as one paragraph or as long as one page. You must use Singer’s text, plus Berry’s text, and either an academic book (or a chapter from an academic book) or a peer-reviewed journal article. So, minimally, you must use three sources for this paper. For these three sources, your Review of Literature should include a brief summary (per “Writing a Summary,” which we have covered in class). In addition, you may consult experts for any aspect of this paper. If you interview an expert, cite the expert as a personal communication within the text of your paper, but do not include this primary source on your Works Cited page.
Your Discussion section is that portion of your paper where you will be drawing connections between the facts you’ve researched in support of your claim, opposing viewpoints (which you mention and then immediately debunk in order to reinforce your position on the topic), and the context of the issue to help you make sense of those connections. Remember from my lecture in class that connections can be either parallel (i.e., comparisons and contrasts) or sequential (i.e., chronological, and/or cause and effect). Look for the context of your facts, so that you can explain and support the connections that exist among them. Remember: With context, you are looking for background information. Therefore, you will need to seek answers to questions that may not directly relate to your topic. These questions may involve historical, cultural, ideological or philosophical concerns (and this is where additional outside research may come into play). As your write your Discussion section, remember to balance general statements (that create meaning through inference) with concrete, specific statements (that support by citing facts, evidence and other claims).
Remember, per Joseph Harris (in his book, Rewriting,), that there are multiple ways of dealing with a text and taking a position besides simply agreeing or disagreeing. For example, one can forward the idea of another author, by elaborating or seeing how ideas from one text relate to ideas in another text and extending those ideas for your own purposes. However you deal with the material you research, remember that this paper requires a thesis statement that you support with good reasons.
In putting this paper together, remember the guidelines I provided regarding the appropriate use of quotations, the step-by-step instructions for paraphrasing material and the requirement that summarized material be cited with MLA in-text citations. In addition, remember that this paper has an upper page limit as well as a lower page limit. This paper must be at least 5 pages but not more than 6 pages. The pages that count toward this page limit include the Introduction through the Conclusion (I do not count the Title page or Works Cited page). If your paper goes beyond the maximum number of pages or falls short of the minimum number of pages, expect that points will be deducted.
FORMAT FOR THE FINAL PAPER
- Use 1-inch margins all around. Double space the paper. Do not space extra between paragraphs. Paragraphs should be indented ½-inch.
- Use 11- or 12-point Times New Roman font.
- Give your paper an interesting title that indicates your topic AND your message about that topic. Include a running header, MLA format. Be sure to number your pages. Remember: Your title page is page one and should include a running header, and your Works Cited page is your last page and should also have a running header.
- Be sure to cite your sources in this paper with in-text citations for all information that is not common knowledge. So, any idea from another source that you summarize, paraphrase or quote must be followed by an in-text citation. Failure to do so will result in a zero on this assignment for plagiarism. You must use MLA format for your in-text citations. Also, remember that quotations must be surrounded by quotation marks unless you are quoting four or more lines, in which case use a block-quote format, which we have gone over in class (plus, there is a sample block-quote on Moodle).
- Remember that your Conclusion should include a restatement of your thesis (your claim statement) and your main points. But to conclude with strength, you should extrapolate your analysis to the larger world. In other words, consider additional effects that you haven’t previously discussed. But do not introduce new details in your conclusion (keep your comments general).
- Include a Works Cited page, MLA format. Remember: Include only those sources on your Works Cited page that you actually cite in your paper. (You are not providing a Bibliography – this is a Works Cited page of works cited only.)
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Remember that the regular requirements for turning in an essay pertain: Your essay must be presented in a pocket folder. In addition, you must include a Personal Error Checklist (P.E.C.) based upon my comments on your exploratory essay concerning animal rights; peer review from your classmates; and a 50-word reflective paragraph to explain how you got from your rough draft(s) to your final paper.
FIRST DRAFT is due in class on NOVEMBER 6th for PEER REVIEW and a GRADE.
A HARD COPY OF YOUR FINAL PAPER is due in class on NOVEMBER 18th
AT THE START OF CLASS and an electronic copy (as a Microsoft Word document)
of YOUR FINAL PAPER must be uploaded to TurnItIn.com on Moodle by NOVEMBER 18th at 12:00 noon.
LATE PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED!
Submit your final paper in a pocket folder that includes the following items in the following order:
- Final essay (on top)
- 50-word paragraph (typed, double-spaced) explaining your revisions (i.e., how you got from your rough draft to your final essay)
- Peer reviews (3) from the students who peer reviewed your paper
- Rough draft (marked “Draft!” – plus, it MUST be the one I graded with my comments on it) in which you have used bold font to highlight your thesis statement AND the topic sentence for each of your main reasons in support of your thesis statement AND each topic sentence that presents an opposing viewpoint AND each topic sentence for your refutation
- Personal Error Checklist (P.E.C.) with examples from your marked up exploratory essay
- Copy of your marked up (by me) exploratory essay
- Copy of the page of any outside source where you paraphrased, summarized or quoted material with the paraphrased, summarized or quoted material highlighted with yellow or pink marker and labeled as “Paraphrase,” “Summary,” or “Quotation” at the margin of the text so used. In addition and also in the margin of the outside text, indicate the page number on which the paraphrased, summarized or quoted material appears in your paper. (NB: Failure to comply with this requirement will likely result in a substantial reduction of points from your final paper grade.)
