Essay 5 Requirements

1.    Write a research essay in which you answer a narrowly defined question based upon the information and ideas you've fairly and accurately represented from research. 

2.    Incorporate into your essay at least four sources (at least three of which are outside Presence and of these three one of which is a traditional print source).  Cite particular passages as evidence for your points, integrating them smoothly into your own text and creating a Works Cited page that follows MLA style.

3.    Pull your readers into your research question in the introduction and give them a general but clear sense of what will follow.

4.    Lead the reader through the parts of the essay in a way that the reader sees where you're headed, and give the reader a sense of having arrived somewhere by the conclusion.

5.    Use evidence that will be particularly persuasive to your readers--because of the authority of the source, the appeal of the anecdote, the power of the statistic or fact.

6.    Create the "ethos" in your essay of a writer who is fair, openminded, and meticulous in doing research.  Convey a sense of your writer's voice--without being too informal and "talky."  That is, the style of the essay should have a certain enlivening energy to it within an academic context.  In this essay you must avoid using "I" and "you" statements entirely.

7.    Follow MLA format, 3-4 pages long, with metatext, submitted to Learning Space and final draft submitted as a printed copy.

*You may notice that #3-7 are essentially the same as for Essay 4.  The key new requirements have to do with relying entirely on sources outside your own experience in order to answer a question.