Assignment: Choose a debatable issue : here is Internet Censorship. In an essay of approximately four pages, take a stand on the issue and defend your position to an audience of intelligent but skeptical readers. In addition to your reasons and secondary sources supporting your position, include one counterargument and your rebuttal of that reason to strengthen your argument. Use online library databases or a Web search engine, but evaluate a source carefully before deciding to use it. In a paper of this length use secondary sources sparingly and cite any sources using MLA style. You must have a Worked Cited page.
Suggestions and Guidelines:
Read Chapter 3 “Argument” in its entirety from HTWA.
• In your introduction, give readers some background information about the issue you have chosen to debate; as you do this, establish your own credibility by showing that you are knowledgeable and fair-minded.
• At the end of your first paragraph, state your thesis—your own stand on the debatable issue.
• As much as possible, build common ground with readers who may disagree with your position on the issue; at the very least, don’t needlessly alienate them by striking the wrong tone.
• Organize your paper around a few key lines of argument: claims that, when taken together, might reasonably persuade readers that your thesis has merit.
• Develop each line of argument with as much specific and relevant evidence as possible.
• Attempt to refute opposing arguments—or at least to explain why they are less weighty than your own arguments.
• Avoid common mistakes in reasoning.
• Persuade your reader through pertinent evidence, which comes from your knowledge of the system to which the object you are interpreting belongs. This will require that you look at the values of that system too.
The best essays will:
• Clearly identify and describe in detail the subject of your essay so that a reader unfamiliar with your topic is able to understand the issue.
• Contain a logical organization of clear, distinct and unified paragraphs, each with a single clear topic.
• Be supported with specific pieces of objective evidence.
• Have few typographical, spelling, grammatical or sentence errors, and few awkward word choices.
• Have sentences with clear syntax and are easy to understand.
• Have a tone properly elevated and professional.
Meet all MLA formatting requirements