essay four revision

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Essay Four Overview

      • Essay Four will rely on sound research to clearly and logically defend a debatable position that relates happiness to a significant issue.
      • This 6-8 page, MLA-formatted argumentative essay will include –
        • an arguable, focused, non-obvious main claim,
        • subclaims that logically and fully defend the main claim,
        • sound evidence from five sources, including scholarly sources,
        • properly embedded source information with grammatical signal phrases, accurately formatted in-text citations, and explanation that relates the quote to its relevance to the subclaim,
        • one or more counterargument(s)/rebuttal(s), and
        • a properly-formatted Works Cited list on its own page on the last page of the paper.
      • Stronger essays will demonstrate the Essential Skills by referring to the ideas of others in the present tense and eliminating instances of the pronoun “you,” for example.
      • Remember not to begin or end paragraphs with the words of others. Subclaims are your argumentative statements; other authors’ words are evidence. If you’re tempted to begin a paragraph with the words of another author, think about the point they’re making that’s significant to you. That would be your subclaims.
      • Body paragraphs should defend subclaims with evidence and reasoning that together drive your argument forward. Body paragraphs should not be summaries of others’ work. Again, the work of other authors provides evidence for your claims and counterargument(s).

Revision Assignment

      1. Read your essay aloud to catch any awkward or incomplete sentences.
      2. Review your essay using the “Essential Skills Essay Checklist.”
      3. Meaningfully revise your draft. relying on your instructor, peer, and tutor comments and your own fresh eyes and good judgment.
      4. Highlight the primary things you’ve revised.
      5. Next, refer to They Say/I Say’s Index of Templates and revise two sentences or groups of sentences using two different templates.
        • Underline these passages in your essay.
        • At the end of the essay, paste the original sentences and, below each, the revised sentences that you had underlined in the essay.