INSTRUCTIONS
- Write a paper that explores a debated issue (related to your major) from FOUR different perspectives.
- After beginning the essay with a summary of the issue, discuss and compare and contrast four different stances on the issue.
- Finally, end the essay with a description of your own personal perspective.
REQUIREMENTS
- Five or more double-spaced pages (over 1,250 words) for the final version; four or more pages (at least 1,000 words) for the draft.
- Note: There is no such thing as “too much writing” in this collegiate writing course!
- Include at least seven research studies published in peer-reviewed academic journals.
- Use the online databases to find at least seven peer-reviewed research studies in academic journals, cited in your IEE.
- Other unimpeachable sources may be used to provide context (e.g., government statistics, “newspapers of record*”)
- Follow MLA formatting guidelines:
- MLA-styled citations throughout, with quotations from your research, alongside explanatory context
- A properly MLA-formatted “Works Cited” page
- In the heading, at top right, set up automated page numbers, with your last name, a space, and the page number
- At top left, put your name, then your instructor’s name, the course name, and the CURRENT date
- Center your title, in the same font, which should be descriptive and engaging (not “Assignment Name”)
- Indent the first line of each paragraph
- Works Cited page in MLA format
- Underlined thesis statement
- An appropriate title
- If you aren’t sure how to set those up, there are thousands of “MLA How to…” tutorials online
- Save the file name in this format: Your Last Name – Assignment Name – Draft (or Final)(1, 2, or 3…)
- Submit the Issue Exploration Essay in .pdf format (or .doc/.docx)
*Newspapers of Record are those which are regarded as most reliable and in-depth with the highest editorial standards; they include the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal.
Purposes:
- Learn how to conduct research
- Learn how to better evaluate sources
- Learn how to include sources in your writing with proper MLA citation
- Explore an understanding of multiple perspectives on an issue or question
- Practice summarizing a debate, including multiple, conflicting viewpoints
- Analyze multiple viewpoints in an attempt to understand them
How the Essay is Graded
Consider whether your IEE answers these questions well:
- Does the summary of the issue provide an objective overview of the issue?
- Does it provide enough context for those unfamiliar with the debate to have a solid understanding of the issue?
- Does the first sentence invite the reader in effectively?
- What does the summary do especially well?
- What revisions would most improve the summary?
Four Viewpoints:
- Does each viewpoint include a summary/overview?
- Does each viewpoint include the integration of sources?
- Are the sources set up and discussed effectively?
- Is the essay considering the larger issue by considering each issue one at a time, or is it source-by-source*?
- Does each viewpoint also include an analysis, a discussion of implications, and/or a connection to the issue as a whole and other viewpoints?
- Is the discussion of the four viewpoints presented in an unbiased manner?
- What does this section of the paper do especially well?
- What revisions would most improve this section of the paper?
Personal Position:
- Is the personal position saved for the conclusion ONLY?
- Does your peer express his/her view of the issue effectively and clearly?
- What does this section of the paper do especially well?
- What revisions would most improve this section of the paper?
*Either approach is fine. While considering the viewpoints issue-by-issue may be more difficult, it is often more effective (refer to the studies by the author’s last name: “Smith reports that… Yet, in contrast, Jones states… Meanwhile, Brown’s studies found…”)