model 5-paragraph cold war essay. my prompt: attack or defend: the united states was ineffective in...
TRANSCRIPT
model 5-paragraph Cold War essay
my prompt:
Attack or defend:
The United States was ineffective in dealing with the threat of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
I start out with a very rough outline of what I want to argue.
I respond to the prompt without writing:
“I believe,” or “I disagree with the statement. . .” or “this paper is going to prove. . .”
The United States was ineffective in dealing with the threat of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Notice that throughout the paper I do not refer to the U.S. as “us” and I never write “we.”
Keep academic papers in 3rd person objective.
what component of the essay is this?
What are the requirements for a thesis?
It must be succinct.
It must be arguable (i.e., there is a counter argument).
‘N Sync is no longer touring. (This is not a thesis, it is a statement of fact)
It must be succinct.
It must be arguable (i.e., there is a counter argument).
‘N Sync is no longer touring. (This is not a thesis, it is a statement of fact [it is also a great relief to millions the world over])
What are these?
What is their function?
They must directly support your argument (the thesis).
The main topic of each body paragraph corresponds to one of the supporting points.
To help organize my thoughts, I put headings for each of the body paragraphs. I will REMOVE HEADINGS for the final.
does this work as an intro paragraph?
what else is needed?
what is this?
I have background information but I am dissatisfied with my wording.
Be careful with overuse of adjectives.
Be careful with overuse of adjectives.
Be superhumanly vigilant about rampant overuse of descriptive phrases.
Be very careful with overuse of adjectives.
Be superhumanly vigilant about rampant overuse of descriptive phrases.
They will seriously detract from your coherent, well-crafted, and effective message.
this is not enough for a body paragraph
topic sentence (mini-thesis: what this paragraph will be about)
two pieces of evidence (related to the topic sentence)
what is missing?
I need to answer the question “so what?” regarding the evidence and its connection to the argument
does this answer “so what?” and explain how the evidence (leaving materiel and weapons behind but no army) relates to the mini-thesis?
no- this is more evidence, not analysis
is this analysis?
analysis must:
answer “so what?” - How does the evidence you have presented relate to the mini-thesis (and the argument as a whole)?
yes, this is analysis
concluding sentence AND transition
wrap up the paragraph and lead into the next main point
I’m not satisfied with this sentence-
it does too little for the amount of words
it uses a self-referential “our” which should be avoided in an academic paper
better, but I don’t want to repeat “new” and I want to mention President Truman since he is central to the next paragrph
I like this even better since I touch on Truman, mention a new strategy, and transition from Europe to the wider world
in-text citations
you must cite a source:
anytime you use information or ideas that are not your own or general knowledge (e.g., We declared independence in 1776.)
citing books Two options:
1. Introduce author in the sentence.
Mr. Boyd eloquently wrote that the school year should be extended to eleven-and-a-half months (234).
2. Refer to author’s work in the sentence
Some of the greatest minds of our time have advocated for a lengthening of the school year (Boyd 234).
citing websitesinclude in the text the first item that appears in the Works Cited entry that corresponds to that citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, etc.)
Various studies have shown that students retain more information with more frequent, but shorter, vacations (“Case”).
If my works cited entry looks like this:
“The Case Against Summer Vacation.” Time
online. 8 May 2009. Web. 15 Sep 2010.
in-text citations come at the end of a sentence or
paragraph. They are part of that sentence, so they come
before the period.Mr. Boyd eloquently wrote that the school year should be extended to eleven-and-a-half months (234).
Various studies have shown that students retain more information with more frequent, but shorter, vacations (“Case”).
•what is this?
•the topic sentence, or mini-thesis
the topic sentence, or mini-thesis
this relates to my 2nd supporting point, thus it will be my 2nd body paragraph
so what?
connect the evidence to the topic sentence
I still need a transition to commitment to allies
finally, supporting point 3
•does my mini-thesis (topic sentence) relate to my supporting point?
•no, since there is no mention of commitment to allies
The conclusion
restate my argument
remind reader of significance of supporting points and their relation to the argument
end with the “big picture”
the conclusion should restate the argument, explain the supporting points, and wrap things up, usually including the “big picture”
Now we can go back and look at the sources that were cited in the text and see the connection with the format of the Works Cited Page
If you found information that you did not use in
your paper:
you can make a separate Works Consulted list
the same format applies as in the Works Cited
have fun!now you can tackle such subjects as:
the reconciliation of quantum mechanics with relativity
Turgenev vs. Dostoyevsky on the relative complicity of the 1840s generation of Russian intelligentsia for the radical, violent nihilism of the 1860s generation.
hot dogs vs. hamburgers