Create a Position in Response to a Reading: Cyberschools
When you are responding to a reading in an essay, it’s important to have a well-defined position on the subject you are discussing as well as a clear sense of where your arguments are headed. You can guide your writing by develping a strong thesis statement at the beginning of your essay. The thesis statement will set the tone and context of the essay. Once you have a thesis in place, it will be easier to visualize the rest of the essay.
As you respond to the reading, you will also need to be aware of how you are supporting your overall position. For your essay to be convincing, each of your arguments will require solid supporting evidence, such as examples, anecdotes, facts and statistics, quotations, or summaries of other works. You will ultimately use this evidence to prove to your audience that your position on the essay topic is a valid one.
In this assignment, you will be asked respond to a reading to help you practice developing a thesis statement and supporting your arguments with evidence.
Questions about this assignment? Post them in the Ask the Instructor area under Course Home. That way, everyone in the class will see and benefit from the Instructor’s response.
To prepare for this Application:
Review the following in The Longman Writer:
Chapter 3, “Identifying a Thesis” (pp. 34–39): What are the characteristics of a weak thesis statement? How can these issues be corrected?
Chapter 14 selection, “Cyberschool†by Clifford Stoll (pp. 282–284)
Chapter 18, “Argumentation-Persuasion” (pp. 398–420 only): How can a strong thesis contribute to the overall effectiveness of an argumentation-persuasion essay?
Chapter 19, “Locating, Evaluating, and Integrating Research Sources” (pp. 465–470 and 478–492 only) What strategies can you use to research outside resources that will support your position?
Read the following statement:
Cyberschools will create a better learning environment and provide a better education to prepare students to be successful later in life.
Select a position to argue. Either agree or disagree with the above statement.
The Assignment:
Write a 1-page response to the statement, demonstrating how supportive evidence reinforces a position in response to a reading. Be sure to include the following:
A thesis statement regarding your position in favor of or against the statement. Underline the thesis statement in your response.
Evidence that supports your position.
Cite at least two examples from the reading or outside sources (e.g., books, journal articles, Web articles) in support of your position. Note: Wikipedia will not be accepted as an outside resource.
Writing and Formatting Expectations
Indent the first sentence of each paragraph. Block paragraphs are not acceptable for this assignment.
Your final document should
be in a 10- or 12-point font, such as Times New Roman or Verdana
be double-spaced throughout
have 1-inch margins for top, bottom, left, and right
Include your full name and the assignment title on the document.
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