:: Essay Description
WR 121: Inquiry Essay
INQUIRY: WHAT IS IT?
Inquiry helps us to form opinions, to question opinions we already have, and to reason our way through conflicts and contradictions. Unlike persuasion, inquiry sets out to examine a range of opinions and to find the most truthful or most suitable answer to a question posed by the writer. In order to examine opinions, the writer must of course examine research and arguments published by others as well as question his/her own thinking. Inquiry is essential because it allows us to attempt finding the truth about something based on SOLID INFORMATION rather than just opinion. For this assignment, you need to inquire about an important social issue that you care about. Your essay should examine at least two informed opinions and decide which one makes the better claim.
RECOMMENDED STEPS TO BUILDING THIS ESSAY
1. FIND YOUR TOPIC. We are all different and care about different social issues. If you are not sure what social issues you care about, go to the database Opposing Viewpoints in your MHCC library. Go to mhcc.edu, click on “Library” on top. In the new window, find “Databases” and click on that. That database will be under “O.” From within the database, use “Browse Issues” to view all types of topics you could write on.
2. SEE ARTICLES WITHIN THE TOPIC. So let’s say you are interested in how advertising affects society. You browsed the issues in Opposing Viewpoints and selected “Advertising” from the long list. See this what you will see. To see different points of view within Advertising, click on “View all….,” like below.
3. .FIND TWO POINTS OF VIEW THAT CAN BE CONTRASTED. This is the first tricky part. How do you decide what two articles discuss the same issue within the big category of Advertising. After all, this is a huge topic. Under Advertising you will find subtopics like advertising and sports, advertising and negative ads, ads and teenagers. In order to select two articles that go together, read the titles carefully. Read the titles of at least 30 articles until you settle for two.
Here’s two screenshots of two articles on the topic of advertising and sex workers, specifically if such ads should be banned. I selected these two after viewing at least 20-30 different titles. I decided that these two logically contrast. The first article, as you can easily tell from the title, is against sites that sell sex. The second is not.
I’m not saying you should select the same two articles. These are just examples of how to logically pair up two points of view out of a whole list of possibilities. You will need to use your judgment and check with me if you are not sure about your decision. Just don’t compare apples and oranges. It’s very probable you will have to do more than just read the titles before you find the two that match. That is normal, since it is part of the research process.
4. WRITE YOUR ESSAY IN FOUR PARTS. Now you have the two articles. The next step is to develop your essay. You will have to flesh out three blocks of ideas:
a. For Block One (Introduction), summarize the two articles. This means NOT TAKING SIDES. Summaries just report what each author thinks. Focus on the general points.
b. For Block Two (body), discuss which author makes the stronger claim. In these paragraphs you will have to make frequent references back to those articles, as well as your own experiences with the issue. Begin this part with something like, “I agree with author Bob Boresome because he effectively connects to my values of clean living and purity of thought, which I practice all the time.” Or, “I agree both with Bob Boresome and Max Powers on the issue of…Both positions are well supported with evidence, logic. Although Bob appeals to my values more than Powers, I can see his point about….” Consider this the topic sentence of this block of thought. This is where you would also use the comparison-contrast pattern.
c. For Block Three (conclusion), remind the reader what he or she just read in five sentences.
d. For Block Four (Bibliography), list your sources following the MLA format. Usually, each source has to mention the author, the title of the article, the name of the database that published the article, the owner of the database, the publication dates. This part is key for other researchers to check your work and especially your sources. I will discuss this in more detail.
:: Basic Requirements
● Length: 1200 words, 12 Times New Roman font
● 4 pages + Bibliography page (approximately)
● One separate page for source references
● The two articles must logically be comparable. Your essay will be returned with late grade if they don’t.
● Grading for final version of Essay III
● Your paper will be graded based on the following:
Critical thinking (20%)
Organization: Use of Transitions, Logical Order of paragraphs (20%)
Summaries (20%)
Editing (20%)
Bibliography (20%)
You make a convincing argument about which claim is stronger for you. You discuss if the evidence is credible and why, the appeal of the author to you as a reader and thinker= A
Organization is logical and easy to follow with effective use of transitions. Basically I can easily read your essay transitioning from one paragraph to another = A
Summaries report the main points of the article. They also express the point of view of the author, not your point of view = A
You didn’t make any or some spelling errors. You correctly use punctuation. You don’t have sentence fragments, run-ons, or comma splices = A
Each source is referenced as it should be, according to the MLA format. Each entry lists the author (last, first name), article title, database/journal/website title, owner of the database or website, date of publishing, when you accessed the website. A
Your argument about who has the better argument is mostly convincing but not quite. You make references to evidence and your values, but you overlook certain points = B
Organization is logical and largely easy to follow with basic use of transitions. The conclusion is somewhat weak. The transitions sometimes don’t make sense = B
The summaries include too many details. There is a lack of organization. You also express your opinion a few times = B
You have at least three errors of punctuation or spelling per page = B
References have some missing elements or use incorrect format. This could mean incorrect punctuation or format = B
Your argument does not address the points presented by the articles. You mostly bring your own arguments, which don’t connect to the arguments in those articles = C or less
I frequently have a hard time following the general organization scheme. The transitions are not effective = C or less
You obviously think a summary is half your opinion, half the point of view of the author = C or less
Have you read this essay after you typed it 20 minutes before it was due? It doesn’t seem you have = C or less
The reference entry for each source is just an URL address. Or other major errors = C or less
