1. ENG 101 Essay #5
Due: Friday, December10
For thisfinal essayof the semester,Iwouldlikeyoutoargue a specificopinionon“something.” We will
be lookingata handoutinclasson “Persuasive Writing” butyou can decide what topic you want to
argue. There are onlytwo“rules”forthisassignment – (1) you mustargue about somethingthatyou
have passionfor,and(2) youmust use a directquotationsomewhere inyourargument(note:youare
not requiredtoinclude a“WorksCited”page but itmust be clearin yourpaperwhere yougot the
directquotationfrom).
If you are completelystuckforideas,youare more than welcome toanswerone of these options:
A. Look throughthe essayswe haven’tlookedatin ThisI Believe. Forexample,on pages159-161
isan essayby RickMoody (a well-knownAmericanwriter) onwhyhe lovesreadingandhowhe
approachesinterpretation. Perhapsyoucouldwrite aresponse towhathe says – for example,
youmightdisagree withhisideathat“the readercompletesthe text”(160). Instead,youcould
offeryourowntake on what happenswhenyouread.
B. Withthe rise of the internet,tonsof informationisnow readilyaccessible tostudents,parents,
administrators,andteachers. Youmayhave heardof one website,
www.ratemyprofessors.com,whichsolicitsreviewsfromstudentsaboutthe professorsthey
encounterintheireducational pursuits(acompanionhighschool ratingsite is
www.ratemyteachers.com). Withsucha website,studentscanpostratingsondifferent
professors,evennotingtheir“hotness”factor. Doyou thinksucha website isuseful? Howdo
you“see”theirratings? Are they“correct” basedonyour own experienceswiththese
instructors? Wouldyouargue that such a website isuseful (ornot)?
Here are listsof possible topicsforanargumentative paper:
http://www.goodessaytopics.com/argumentative-essay-topics.html
http://www.writefix.com/argument/topics.htm
Don’tforget– youcan come upwithyour ownideastoo! But I am lookingforapproximately3double-
spaced, typedpages. Make sure you have a clearpurpose/argumentandsupport/development!