Assignment
Length
Due Date
Two Argument Thesis Marking Scheme
Three Argument Thesis Marking Scheme
Key to Writing and Grammar Comments
Citation
Essay Writing Advice
Paper Rater (*Note: Use this free site to review your paper for grammar, writing style, and originality before submitting your paper to me for grading. Attach the printed report to your essay.)
80 Minute Challenge
After developing their thesis outlines, students will prepare a final version of their thesis within a written essay.
Format: Formal essay style, including an introduction (thesis statement), a body, and a conclusion. Your essay may include pictures, tables, or graphs, but these should be presented within an appendix. The essay should include:
1. A title page which states the topic of investigation along with some type of snappy, eye-catching title.
2. An introductory paragraph which should refer to:
3. A body which includes a detailed description of the issues involved, as well as an explanation of why this topic should be considered an area of concern in contemporary Canadian law. This section should include an explanation of the long-term effects this issue could have on Canadian society if it were to be ignored.
4. A conclusion. This section should present a final opinion regarding the significance of this issue, as well as make recommendations on what steps should be taken by the Canadian legal system in order to best deal with the concerns involved.
5. A bibliography of all sources, either cited, referred to, used to gain insight into, or form opinions, on this topic.
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1. Introduction:
2. Body:
3. Conclusion:
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500 - 1200 words. Typed and double-spaced! Penalties will be given to papers which fail to abide by these length parameters.
Citation
When writing an assignment, indicate exactly where you found the material you
borrow - whether facts, opinions or quotations. The Bibliography section of your
assignment should list all works you have cited in the text. It simplifies
documentation because it permits you to make only brief references to the works
in the text. HTS social science courses (except for history and geography) are
supposed to use the
APA Citation Guide.
Advice The best general advice I can give about writing a good essay is this: make your overall argument a simple one, but prove every point upon which your argument is based! (A personal opinion is not considered a reasonable thesis.) Assume that you are writing for a very critical reader who is motivated to find a weakness in your argument. A good thesis should be like an iceberg (only 1/8th of an iceberg sticks out of the water), with a very small argument positioned at the top of a great deal of supporting evidence.
In the end, you cannot simply ask the reader to accept your argument. You must prove your argument!
As a motivational tactic, try writing your essay so that you will be able to place the following
icons at the bottom of your title page. These will indicate to me that you have made every
effort to present a serious, well-supported argument.
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Remember to research and cite every fact upon which your argument is based. "Absolutely no fluff!" means that your argument is not based upon personal opinion, conjecture, guesses, assumptions, exaggerations, hyperbole, truisms, unfalsifiable claims, or dramatic / poetic sounding generalizations. In case you hadn't noticed... I really hate fluff.
Differentiating Fact from Assertion
Scholarly papers should be comprised of a mix of both fact and assertion. Facts give the paper credibility, authority, and the power to pursuade. Assertion gives the paper originality and allows the reader to propose a particular interpretation of the facts. The trick is to be able to differentiate fact from assertion.
Fact: information used as evidence or as part of a report or news article; something that actually exists; reality; truth; something known to exist or to have happened; a truth known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true.
Assertion: a positive statement or declaration, often without support or reason; an unwarranted assertion; claim; contention; allegation; a confident and forceful statement of fact or belief; the action of stating something or exercising authority confidently and forcefully.
Even with these definitions, it can still be difficult to differentiate between fact and assertion, especially since we can find definitions of assertion that include "the forceful statement of a fact." Indeed, sometimes we can find statements that are a mix of fact and assertion. However, in formal scholarly writing, it is a good idea to try to keep your statements of fact and your statements of assertion separate.
Here are some acid tests to help you identify facts and assertions:
Facts are often associated with a time and a place. (Ex. "A 2012 study by the University of Toronto found that...");
Facts are often witnessed or observed. (Ex. "Mr. David Speeter, a Grade 10 physical education teacher, said that 'The male students in my classes are always more rambunctious than the females.'")
Facts originally required effort to have been discovered or brought to light. (Ex. "A recent survey by Environics found that the majority of British Columbians are supportive of decriminlaizing marijuana.")
Facts exist in the real world, as opposed to someone's mind. Thus, they are often measurable, quantifiable, and observable with the senses. In other words, facts are often "empirical." (Ex. "A study by the Insurance Institue for Highway Safety found that snow tires can stop on ice in less than half the distance than all season tires.")
Unlike facts, assertions exist in someone's mind as opposed to the real world. Assertions may exist in someone's mind for very good reason, and they may very well be true. However, when writing a scholarly piece, our purpose is not to simply tell someone our position on an issue; our purpose is to prove that our position on an issue is correct. To prove something, we need evidence, and evidence comes in the form of objective, verifiable fact.
The greatest confusion regarding statements of fact and assertion come about when we write mixed statements wherein we assert a particular fact (i.e. it is measurable, quantifiable, exists in the real world) but we give no indication about how that fact came to be known. I personally refer to these as "mystery facts." These usually come about in cited statements that make an assertion about a fact, but do not indicate how the fact came to be known. The student takes comfort in the fact that they cited the statement, and thus they feel confident that they have written a pure statement of fact. However, such statements essentially tell the reader, "I don't know how this fact came to be known, but these guys do... why don't you talk to them?" Obviously, such a statement is not nearly as compelling or persuasive as a pure statement of fact that includes no opinion or assertion, but rather provides objective information about a fact and how that fact came to be known. What's worse is that such statements are often responsible for the perpetuation of myth, misinformation, and misunderstanding. If we cannot explain how a fact was discovered, then it is probably best not to pass on that fact in our writing.
Finally, another issue we can encounter is the question of whether someone else's assertion is a fact. While it is true that, technically, a statement about someone else's assertion can be a statement of fact, the fact established in such a statement is merely that a person holds an opinion. Such statements do nothing to actually prove the truth of the opinion.
The Three-Punch Combination: Jab, Cross, Upper-Cut!
Now that we can differentiate between statements of fact and statements of assertion, it's time to apply this ability to the writing process. The body of scholarly papers tend to flow in a pattern that is like a three-punch combination. First, the writer makes an assertion (jab). Then the writer proves the assertion with empirical evidence (cross). Then, the writer cites the source of the empirical evidence (upper-cut).
Any given argument should have at least three to six of these three-punch combinations for the writer to "win the round." (More combos are needed per argument if there are fewer arguments made in the essay.) If the writer can provide three to six of these combos for each argument, then the writer will likely win the fight.
When marking your papers, I will often highlight the three parts of this three-punch combo in a different colour of highlighter. This will clearly illustrate how much of the paper is mere assertion, versus how much of the paper is cited evidence. For example:
Assertion (Jab)
Evidence (Cross)
Citation (Upper-cut)
Here's an example:
Pit bull terriers can demonstrate a sudden and dramatic change of disposition, becoming aggressive against individuals with whom they have previously enjoyed a long and peaceful relationship. In fact, a 1987 study found that pit bull terriers are far more disposed to attacking their owners than other breeds. “Out of the 143 pit bull attacks, 19 (13.3%) involved attacks on the owner; out of the 135 attacks by other breeds, only 3 (2.2%) involved the owner” (Lockwood & Rindy, 1987). In addition, pit bull terriers tend to be particularly stubborn and persistent in their attacks: especially in attacks against vulnerable victims. For example, in cases of attacks against older individuals, Lockwood and Rindy found that pit bull terriers were more likely than other breeds to inflict multiple injuries against their victims. In fact, 35% of older pit bull victims received multiple injuries compared to only 18.5% of older victims of other dog breeds (1987).
Do you see the pattern? Just like in a real boxing match, fighters can mix up their combinations. One can present a couple of assertions in a row, and then provide the evidence for both assertions. One might provide the evidence first, and then make an assertion about what the evidence is actually showing. In general, however, writers must be sure to associate some piece of cited evidence for every assertion they make. Otherwise, their essay is basically just a bunch of fluff.
Due Date
Please refer to the date indicated on the terms Evaluation Summary.
If you feel that circumstances beyond your ability to control, or to prepare for, will prevent you from completing this assignment by the specified due date, then you are invited to complete and submit an extension application for approval by the course instructor. Completing and submitting this application is the only accepted means of obtaining an extension in this course.