Research should support your argument, but also go beyond mere reporting of facts as you make your comparisons and synthesize how two different generations or time periods viewed or used a single concept/idea or object.

In a typed, double-spaced MLA-formatted essay of three to five (or more) pages of writing  , citing at least five sources in the body of the essay as well as on your Works Cited; at least four of these cited sources you must find through your own research. Your research should support your argument, but also go beyond mere reporting of facts as you make your comparisons and synthesize how two different generations or time periods viewed or used a single concept/idea or object.

Another way to phrase this general prompt is to examine what we can learn about the particular concept or object when we synthesize how two different generations viewed or used it, or were shaped by it (. Your THESIS and BODY PARAGRAPH POINTS should ultimately argue how a comparison of your chosen idea/concept/object over two different time periods helps us  better understand something in particular. [That ‘better understanding’ is the “So What?” statement you need in your Thesis!]

Put this ‘synthesized lesson’  in your Essay’s THESIS STATEMENT at the end of the Introduction.
For Essay #2, a Works Cited page will be required, as in the Essay #2 itself, you must parenthetically cite the sources that you refer to. You may use the Essay Grading Grid to see other criteria, for but ignore any references to fewer sources than FIVE. You need at least FIVE sources in ESSAY 2. Essay #2 meets the higher standards now expected of college transfers and college graduates, so you must have:

One (or more) QDQ or Paraphrase of a Required Reading assigned for this course,
Plus at least FOUR or more ‘outside’ sources,
At least one of your cited sources should be a Number Fact or Statistic that you find.
So for Essay #2, that’s AT LEAST FIVE SOURCES that will be LISTED PROPERLY on your MLA-formatted Works CitedLinks to an external site., which you can see exemplified on this red link (and in other examples I provide throughout the course).
Your NUMBER FACT or STATISTIC may also be shared as a CHART, Graph, MAP or other IMAGE that relies on NUMBERS or PROPORTION. Such a visual tool is REQUIRED for ESSAY #3 (as practice) and for the ESSAY #5 (for sure!), so I encourage you to practice smoothly inserting images (Graph/ Chart/ Map, etc.) NOW. After all, Essay #5 is merely a LENGTHENING of any essay written earlier in this class, chosen between Essay 2 or Essay 3 (Don’t choose to lengthen Essay 1 since that essay required no outside sources and was only “personal” — not an argumentative essay, as you need for Essay #5. Also most students don’t choose Essay #4 because that is written so late in the term, leaving you little time to add the necessary research. It’s also an essay written in response to one of my questions, making it less likely that the topic is a real passion of your own. Also, Essay #4 requires that you refer to only two assigned readings, but Essay #5 will need at least 8 outside sources. See the Essay #5 Assignment Page for minimum requirements on that longer Essay. Essay 5 requires you to show some VISUAL LITERACY as well .

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