1. (Page 132) G. Prewriting: Using the Toulmin Model to Get
Ideas for a Position Paper
You have used the Toulmin model in Exercises B through F to
read and analyze other people’s argument. Now use it to
identify the main parts of an argument you will write. You may
use the model to help you plan any argument paper. Use the
Toulmin model as a prewriting exercise to help you develop
ideas for a position paper.
1. Write the claim. All of the rest of your paper will support
this claim.
2. Write the support. Write two or three subclaims you will
develop in the paper. To help you do this, write the word
“because” after the claim, and list reasons that support it. Also
jot down ideas for specific support for these subclaims, such as
examples, facts, opinions, or visual images that come from your
reading of the essays or from your own experience.
Student Paper #1
Sofia Diallou
Professor Miller
English 101
12 Feb. 2016
Toulmin Analysis of the “Road Trip” Cartoon
Identifies claim and support.
The reader has to infer the claim of this cartoon since it is not
directly stated. The claim is that screens have replaced face-to-
face conversation as the primary way people now interact with
each other. The support is provided by the driver of the car,
who notes how much lonelier car trips have become, and the
other passengers, all of whom are focused on their smartphones
and tablets.
Analyzes warrant.
The implied warrant is that screen-based technology makes us
more isolated and disconnected from each other.
Identifies backing.

2. The backing is also implied and reinforced by the picture. It
suggests that road trips are valuable opportunities for
connection and conversation that many families are giving up. It
also reinforces the common belief that interacting with screens
is more appealing than interacting directly with people face-to-
face.
Infers rebuttal.
No direct rebuttal or qualifier appears in this cartoon. I think,
however, that this cartoon could be considered as a rebuttal to
those who think that screen-based communication is always
superior to face-to-face communication. As a rebuttal, this
cartoon highlights the negative consequences of embracing
screen-based communication.
3. Write the warrants. Decide whether to spell out the warrants
in your paper or to leave them implicit so that the reading
audience will have to infer them.
4. Decide on the backing. Assume that your classmates are your
audience. They may be reading drafts of your paper. In your
judgment, will some of them require backing for any of your
warrants because they will not agree with them otherwise? If so,
how can you back these warrants? Write out your ideas.
5. Plan rebuttal. Think about the positions others may hold on
this issue. You identified some of these positions in your
exploratory paper. Write out your strategies for weakening these
arguments.
6. Decide whether to qualify the claim to make it more
convincing to more people. Write one or more qualifiers that
might work.
Read what you have written, and make a note about additional
information you will need to find for your paper. Save what you
have written in a folder or in your open computer file. You will
use it later when you complete your planning and write your
position paper.
(pg.304-305) Developing Your Claim
1. 11.2 Write a clear research claim.

3. Whether or not you write an issue proposal and an exploratory
paper, you will want to write your claim for your position paper
as early in the process as possible. Your claim is important
because it provides purpose, control, and direction for
everything else that you include in your paper. Here are some
questions to get you started.
Is the Claim Narrow and Focused?
You may have started with a broad issue area, such as
technology or education, that suggests many specific related
issues. In order to narrow your topic, you may need to focus on
one of these more specific issues. Here is an example:
· Issue area: The environment
· Specific related issue:
What are the key strategies for addressing the problem of global
warming?
· Aspects of that issue:
How do we reduce global carbon emissions?
What should be done to assist those regions most affected by
rising sea levels?
How do we overcome political gridlock to create effective
policies for combating global warming?
In selecting a narrowed issue to write about, you may want to
focus on only one of the three aspects of the global warming
problem. You might, for instance, decide to make this claim:
Creating stricter limits for automobile emission is one of the
most effective ways to combat global warming. Later, as you
write, you may need to narrow this topic even further and revise
your claim: Creating stricter limits for automobile emission will
aid the fight against global warming in several specific ways.
Any topic can turn out to be too broad or complicated when you
begin to write about it.
You could also change your focus or perspective to narrow your
claim. You may, for example, begin to research the claim you
have made in response to your issue but discover along the way
that the real issue is something else. As a result, you decide to
change your claim. For example, suppose you decide to write a

4. policy paper about freedom of speech. Your claim is: Freedom
of speech should be protected in all situations. As you read and
research, however, you discover that an issue for many people
is a narrower one related to freedom of speech, specifically as it
relates to violent video games and children’s behavior. In fact,
you encounter an article that claims that video game violence
should be censored even if doing so violates free speech rights.
You decide to refocus your paper and write a value paper that
claims: Video game violence is harmful and not subject to the
protection of free-speech rights.
Can You Learn Enough to Cover the Claim Fully?
If the information for an effective paper is unavailable or too
complicated, write another claim, one that you know more about
and can research more successfully. You could also decide to
narrow the claim further to an aspect that you understand and
can develop.
What are the Various Perspectives on Your Issue?
Make certain that the issue you have selected invites two or
more perspectives. If you have written an exploratory paper on
this issue, you already know what several views are. If you have
not written such a paper, explore your issue by writing several
claims that represent a number of points of view, and then
select the one you want to prove. For example:
· Creating stricter limits for automobile emission is one of the
most effective ways to combat global warming.
· Creating stricter limits for automobile emission is an
ineffective way to combat global warming.
· Creating stricter limits for automobile emission has some
advantages and some disadvantages as a strategy for combating
global warming.
· Creating stricter limits for automobile emission aids the fight
against global warming in particular ways.
Review Question
a. What are the claim questions, and how can they be used to
establish the purposes in your position paper?

5. (pg.207) F. Prewriting: Using the Proofs to Generate Ideas for a
Position Paper
You have analyzed other authors’ use of proofs in the preceding
exercises. Now think about how you can use the proofs in your
own writing. Write out answers for those that are most
promising.
1. Signs: What symptoms or signs will demonstrate that this is
so?
2. Induction: What examples can I use and what conclusions can
I draw from them? Are they convincing enough to help the
reader make the “inductive leap”?
3. Cause: What has caused this? Why is this happening? Think
of explanations and examples of both cause and effect.
4. Deduction: What concluding statements do I want to make?
What general principles and examples (or cases) are they based
on?
5. Analogies: How can I show that what happened in one case
will probably happen again in another case? Can I use a literal
analogy to compare items in the same general category? Can I
use a figurative analogy to compare items from different
categories? Can I demonstrate that history repeats itself by
citing a historical analogy?
6. Definition: What words or concepts will I need to define?
7. Statistics: What statistics can I use? Would they be more
convincing in graph form?
8. Values: To what values can I appeal? Should I spell them out
or leave them implicit? Will narratives and emotional language
make my appeals to values stronger?
9. Authority: Whom should I quote? What can I use from my
own background and experience to establish my own expertise?
How can I use language to create common ground and
establish ethos?
10. Motives: What does my audience need and want in regard to
this topic? How can I appeal to those needs? Will emotional
language help?

6. 11. Visual proof: Could I strengthen my paper with visual
proof, if that is part of the assignment? What could I use?
page 227 Question 6: Use the following evaluation questions to
improve your support and eliminate fallacies. You can ask these
questions both before you write and after you draft your paper
as part of the revision process. They will help you focus on the
quantity and quality of your support. Correct or eliminate any
items that might weaken your argument.
a. Do I have enough support to be convincing? What can I add?
b. Is my support reliable and convincing? How can I make it
more so?
c. Is anything exaggerated or oversimplified? How can I be
more accurate?
d. Do I rely too much on my own authority (“This is true
because I say so”) instead of giving support? Can I add support
and the opinions of additional authorities to be more
convincing?
e. Am I weakening this argument with too much emotional
appeal? Should any of it be eliminated?
f. Have I used any fallacies as proof? (Check especially for
hasty generalizations and post hoc or faulty cause, probably the
two most common fallacies. Look for other fallacies. If you find
any, either clarify and rewrite to make them acceptable or
eliminate them.)

7. (pg.326-327)Matching Patterns and Support to Claims
1. 12.2 Identify the appropriate patterns for developing and
supporting different claims.
One of the first things you need to decide when beginning the
drafting process is how to organize your essay. Depending on
the issue you are examining, the sources you have chosen, and
the audience you are addressing, the decision you make about
which organizational strategies to use will vary. Specific
organizational patterns will prove most useful when matched
with the most appropriate types of claims. Table12.1 that
follows suggests patterns you might want to consider as
promising for particular argumentation purposes. You could, of
course, combine more than one pattern to develop a paper. For
example, you might begin with a narrative of what happened,
then describe its causes and effects, and finally propose a
solution for dealing with the problems created by the effects.

8. When you use organizational patterns to help you think, these
same patterns can function to organize your ideas into a
complete argument. However, the patterns may be too
constraining if you start with one and try to fill it in with your
material. If you prefer to work with ideas first without the
conscious constraints of a pattern to guide you, at some point
patterns of argumentation must be considered. When you are
finished or nearly finished organizing your research and ideas,
move out of the creative mode and into the critical mode to
analyze what you have done. You may find that you have
arranged your ideas according to one or more of the patterns
without being consciously aware of it. This is a common
discovery. Now use what you know about the patterns to
improve and sharpen the divisions among your ideas and to
clarify these ideas with transitions. You will ultimately improve
the readability of your paper by making it conform more closely
to one or more specific patterns of organization.
Some proofs and support work better than others to establish
different types of claims.1Table12.2 offers suggestions, not
rules, for you to consider. Remember that a variety of types of
proof and a generous amount of specific support create the best,
most convincing argument papers.
1We are indebted to Wayne E. Brockriede and Douglas
Ehninger for some of the suggestions in Table12.2. They
identify some types of proof as appropriate for different sorts of
claims in their article “Toulmin on Argument: An Interpretation
and Application.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 46 (1960): 44–
53.

9. 1
Sample title page and formatting guidelines for an MLA-style
paper:
Student's first and last name--John Smith
Course title--English 103
Instructor last name--McAlister
Date of submission--1 October 2017
Center your essay title on the first page--
Social Media: Fostering Community or Cultivating Narcissism?
This is a sample of MLA (Modern Language Association)
format. Present a header on the first page in the top left corner--
including name, course title, instructor last name, and date of
submission. Present page number in top right corner. Center the
title of your essay on the first page following the header and
preceding the first paragraph. Your title should clearly identify
the issue you are exploring, and it should also reflect the
argument/focus of your essay. Capitalize the first letter of
significant title words. Do underline or place quotes around
your title. Whenever you refer to titles of books or longer
written works like Perspectives on Argument the title words
should be italicized; titles of journals or periodicals should also
be italicized, for example, TheJournal of Environmental
Studies. Titles of articles or shorter works should be placed
inside quotation marks; for example, any of the articles in “The
Reader” section of your textbook (pages 529-) should be placed
inside quotation marks: “The Green Monster,” “The Changing
Face of Immigration in America,” “The Moral Equivalent of
War,” etc.
Indent at the beginning of each paragraph. Avoid using

10. fancy fonts. Stick with Times New Roman--10-12 point. Double
space throughout your essay. Do not include extra spaces or
gaps between paragraphs in your essay. Format for one-inch
margins on all sides--top, bottom, left, and right. Do not justify
margins.Notes on research and MLA documentation style:
· Please review the MLA Guide for a more detailed overview
MLA (Modern Language Association) documentation style. For
the exploratory paper (essay 2), position paper (essay 3) and
final research paper (essay 4), outside criticism MUST be
incorporated into the discussion, and your sources must be
documented accurately--according to MLA guidelines. Your
sources must be appropriate for the subject: essays or articles
published in academic journals and written by scholars.
Wikepedia is NOT an academic source. You should avoid using
any source for which the author cannot be identified. If you
cannot establish the credibility of an author for a source, then
you should not cite that source.
· You may conduct your research at the Cypress College
Library. A step-by-step guide to searching the Cypress College
Library databases is available on our course site. A link to the
library website is provided in the "External Links" area of the
course site.
You can search for "books and media" and "articles" from
the home page. Note that the EBSCOHost databases,
"Academic Search Premier" and "Masterfile Premier" are
general subject databases. Some of the materials you find in
these databases will be appropriate, and some will not. If
something is published in a peer-reviewed "Journal" or a
"Study" associated with a University, then it is probably
appropriate. Magazine and newspapers articles would NOT be
appropriate for this assignment.
· If you find a book at a nearby university, you can request an
"Interlibrary Loan," and a Cypress College librarian will

11. acquire the book for you.
Documenting sources in the body of your essay:
· Always use a signal phrase the first time you quote a source;
include the author's name, his/her credentials, and the title of
the essay. Provide a page number reference for quotes AND
paraphrases in your in-text citations. Below you will see a
basic example of a quote and an in-text citation; the sample is
taken from an essay in an anthology--a collection of essays in a
book with an editor. The Reader portion of Perspectives on
Argument is an example of an anthology.
· Sample quote with and attribution and an in-text citation: In
his essay "Is Google Making Us Stupid," noted author and
culture critic, Nicholas Carr, presents research suggesting that
the Internet has effectively re-wired the human brain, altering
the way that we read and process information. The “style of
reading” that is promoted by the Internet is superficial, and may
“weaken” our capacity for “deep reading.” When we read
information on the Net, “Our ability to interpret text, to make
the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and
without distraction, remains largely disengaged" (468).
· In the example above, the title of the essay is provided in the
signal phrase inside quotes "Is Google Making Us Stupid?"; if it
were a book, the title would be italicized. The author's name
and credentials are also provided in the signal phrase: noted
author and culture critic, Nicholas Carr. His quoted words are
placed inside quotation marks: “Our ability to interpret text, to
make the rich mental connections that form when we read
deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged"
(468). The in-text citation references the page number (436) for
that quote. If this were an online source, the writer would
provide a paragraph number, preceded by "par." instead of a
page number.
Instructions for the Works Cited page:

12. · At the end of your essay, on a separate "Works Cited" page,
provide the complete bibliographic information for ALL sources
cited in your essay.
· The words “Works Cited” should be centered at the top of the
page.
· Entries for all research sources should follow in alphabetical
order (not numbered) and using a reverse indent format.
· There are MLA Guides (both 7th and 8th edition) available on
the course site; the guides provide format information and
examples for a variety of different types of sources you may use
in an academic essay. It is important to follow the guidelines
carefully; if bibliographic information is missing from a works
cited entry, that source is plagiarized. MLA recently updated
their guidelines. You may use either the 7th or 8th edition of
MLA, but be consistent. I have provided examples for both
below. If you have any questions or concerns about formatting
works cited entries, you may want to use the Noodlebib tool to
create your list of works cited; the Noodlebib tool can be
accessed on the Cypress College Library home page.
Here are the (7th edition) MLA-style formatting guidelines for
an essay in an anthology:
Author's Last name, First name. "Title of Article Inside
Quotes." Title of Book
Article is Published in--Italicized. Editor(s) name(s).
Place of Publication:
Publisher, Date. Pages on which article appears. Medium.
Here is a sample (MLA7) works cited entry for the source
quoted above:

13. Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid." Perspectives on
Argument. Eds. Nancy
V. Wood and James S. Miller. Upper Saddle River:
Pearson Education, 2015. 466-468. Print.
Here are the (8th edition) MLA-style formatting guidelines for
an essay in an anthology:
Author's Last name, First name. "Title of Article Inside
Quotes." Title of Book
Article is Published in—Italicized, edited by editor(s)
name(s), publisher,
year of publication, pages on which the article appears.
Here is a sample (MLA8) works cited entry for the source
quoted above:
Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid." Perspectives on
Argument,edited by
Nancy V. Wood and James S. Miller, Pearson Education,
2015, pp. 466-468. Modern Language Association Style Guides:
· In the research paper module, you will find Modern Language
Association Style Guides which include examples for a variety
of different types of sources—books, articles, films, wikis, web
sources, etc. Recently MLA published updated guidelines for an
8th edition. Many of you may have MLA-style handbooks with
the guidelines for the 7th edition. For this assignment, I have
uploaded both guides, and I will accept essays that conform to
either model.
1

14. This guide is a brief introduction to some of the most common
types of citations
using MLA style. The rules of citing materials using MLA style
are developed by the
Modern Language Association (MLA). For specific examples
not included in this guide,
please consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
Papers, 8th edition, available
at LB2369 .G53 2016, or consult the MLA Style Center’s Works
Cited: A Quick Guide at:
style.mla.org/works-cited-a-quick-guide/
The MLA 8th edition introduces a flexible system built upon
core
elements in a certain order. To create citations for your Works
Cited list,
use only important information that is available and necessary
to find
your source again.
Core Elements for Works Cited List
The Works Cited Page - MLA Style 8th Edition
Core Element Description Descriptive Example
Author. The author’s name, if available Author’s Last Name,
First Name.
Corporation Name,
Title of Source. Title is usually displayed
prominently. Can be an article or
book title

15. “Title of Article or Chapter.”
Title of Self-Contained Piece Like
a Book.
Title of Container, This can be a book title, journal
title, newspaper, website, or
database
Book Title If Source Is an Article or
Chapter,
Title of Website or Database
Name,
Other Contributors, Others that are not authors but
contributed: editors, illustrators,
etc.
edited by First Name Last Name,
adapted by First Name Last
Name,
illustrated by First Name Last
Name,
Version, Usually the edition 8th ed.,
Number, Volume and number of a set vol. 25, no. 4,
Publisher, The primary producer of the piece Oxford U,
Publication date, Full date 2016,
18 Jan. 2017
Location. Page number , website URL, or
digital object identifier (DOI)
pp. 210-215.

16. www.cnn.com.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
https://style.mla.org/works-cited-a-quick-guide/
2
Book with 1 Author
Duckworth, Angela. Grit : The Power of Passion and
Perseverance. Scribner, 2016.
Book with 2 Authors
Jackle, John, and Keith A. Schulle. The Garage: Automobility
and Building Innovation in America’s Early

17. Auto Age. U of Tennessee P, 2013.
Book with 3 or More Authors
Nicola Acocella, et al. Macroeconomic Paradigms and
Economic Policy: From the Great Depression to the
Great Recession. Cambridge UP, 2016.
Chapter, Essay, or Other Work that Appears in an Anthology
Báez, Jillian. “Television for All Women?: Watching Lifetime’s
Devious Maids.” Cupcakes, Pinterest and
Ladyporn: Feminized Popular Culture in the Early Twenty-First
Century, edited by Elana Levine, U of
Illinois P, 2015, pp. 51-70.
Article in a Specialized Encyclopedia or Dictionary
“Multitouch Displays.” Principles of Computer Science, edited
by Donald R. Franceschetti, Salem, 2016, pp.
201-203.
Note: If an author’s name is not given, begin your citation with
the name of the article.
Film on DVD or in Theater
The Matrix. Directed by the Wachowski Brothers, Warner
Brothers, 1999.
Note: If a writer, director or other contributor is particular to
your research, you can include them, or use them as the author.

18. The proliferation of VCRs in people’s homes meant that “by the
mid-1980s features shot directly on video were the
standard” (Thomas 52).
In-Text Citation
You must indicate to your readers not only what sources you
used in writing your paper, but also where in the
work you found the material. You give this information by
inserting a parenthetical citation in your paper
wherever you incorporate someone else’s words, facts, or ideas.
Usually, all you need is the author’s last
name and a page number.
Common Sources Found in the Cypress College Library
EXAMPLES
3
Cypress College Library Database Sources
EBSCOHost—Scholarly Journal Article Accessed via Academic
Search Premier
Gnanadason, Aruna. “Resisting Injustice.” Cross Currents, vol.
66, no. 2, Jun. 2016, pp. 215-226. Academic
Search Premier, doi:10.1111/cros.12179.
Note: Use a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) if available, or the
permanent links provided in the citation tool.
ProQuest—Newspaper Article Accessed via Proquest: National
Newspapers Expanded

19. Swaim, Barton. "Trump, the Press and the Dictatorship of the
Trolletariat." Wall Street Journal, Eastern ed., 24
Jan. 2017, p. A15. ProQuest,
ezproxy.cyclib.nocccd.edu/docview/1860947911?accountid=416
82.
Note: Where an article continues on to non-consecutive pages,
just list the first page number with a “+” after it, e.g., “A10+”
Gale Virtual Reference Library—Article in a Specialized
Encyclopedia
Jones-Brown, Delores, and Michael Thompson. "Racial
Profiling." African Americans and Criminal Justice: An
Encyclopedia, edited by Delores D. Jones-Brown, et al.,
Greenwood, 2014, pp. 438-444. Gale Virtual
Reference Library,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=cypressc&v=2.1
&it=r&id=GALE%
7CCX6104100102&asid=98afeb2729431f016ceb53071569ec86.
Note: Use the permanent links so your instructors can just click
on the links. Exclude http:// from beginning of URL.
Opposing Viewpoints
Bergeron, David A., and Carmel Martin. "Strengthening Our
Economy through College for All." How Valuable Is
a College Degree?, edited by Noël Merino, Greenhaven Press,
2016. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

20. link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010971206/OVIC?u=cypressc
&xid=f3bd2b95. Accessed 24 Jan.
2017. Originally published in AmericanProgress.org, vol. 1, 19
Feb. 2015.
CQ Researcher
Price, Tom. “Student Debt.” CQ Researcher, vol. 26, no. 41, 18
Nov. 2016, library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/
document.php?id=cqresrre2016111800.
CountryWatch
“Syria: Political Conditions.” Country Watch, Sept. 2016,
www.countrywatch.com/Intelligence/CWTopic?
Type=text&CountryID=167&Topic=POPCO.
Film Accessed via Films on Demand
Circulation: What an Autopsy Reveals. Produced by Firefly
Film amp Television Productions, Films Media
Group, 2006. Films On Demand,
fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=15985&xtid=36418.
Accessed 30 Nov. 2016.
4

21. Webpage
Occupational Outlook Handbook. United States, Department of
Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
www.bls.gov/ooh. Accessed 30 Nov. 2016.
Note: Include date accessed when no other dates are available.
Video Accessed via Youtube
Stedman, Kyle. ”Understanding MLA Style (8th edition, 2016
updates).” Youtube, 2016, https://youtu.be/
bjbMfL92b7g.
Television Show on Netflix
“Framing Defense.” Making a Murderer, episode 7, Netflix,
2015, www.netflix.com/watch/80000777?
trackId=14277283&tctx=0%2C6%2Cdefe4d5c-07c6-4ef2-874a-
7f8cdc6cd573-32470941.
Tweet
@POTUS. “One thing I've learned from my time abroad as
President: Young people will shape our future long
after their leaders leave the world stage.” Twitter, 20 Nov.
2016, 7:17 a.m., twitter.com/POTUS/
status/800357392588406785.
Podcast

22. Dunn, Gaby. “The New American Dream.” Bad with Money
with Gaby Dunn, episode 12, 9 Nov. 2016.
Accessed 30 Nov. 2016.
Note: Include URL if accessed on a Podcast website.
Center the title, Works Cited, an inch from the top
of the page
Use double spacing throughout.
Begin each entry at the left margin. If an entry
runs more than one line, indent the
subsequent lines one-half inch from the
margin as hanging.
For titles of works, capitalize the first word and all
principal words.
Alphabetize entries by the author’s last name or,
if no author, by the first main word in the title.
Overall Look Checklist
Other Common Sources
Additional Help
Current Cypress College students have access to NoodleTools, a
comprehensive tool for creating bibliographies in a
variety of formats, including MLA. Select Cite a Source? from
our homepage to access additional citation help.
Updated: 1/31/17
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/

23. https://www.netflix.com/watch/80000777?trackId=14277283&tc
tx=0%2C6%2Cdefe4d5c-07c6-4ef2-874a-7f8cdc6cd573-
32470941
https://www.netflix.com/watch/80000777?trackId=14277283&tc
tx=0%2C6%2Cdefe4d5c-07c6-4ef2-874a-7f8cdc6cd573-
32470941
English 103: Instructions for Searching Library Databases
Research Requirements:
· For essay 2 (the exploratory paper) and essay 3 (the position
paper) outside criticism must be incorporated into your essays,
and your sources must be documented accurately--according to
MLA guidelines. Your sources must be appropriate for the
subject: essays or articles published in academic journals and
written by scholars. Wikipedia is NOT an academic source. You
should avoid using any source for which the author cannot be
identified.
· You may conduct your research at the Cypress College
Library. A link to the library website is provided on the canvas
course site. You can search for "books and media" and "articles"
from the home page. Note that the EBSCOHost databases,
"Academic Search Premier" and "Masterfile Premier" are
general subject databases. Some of the materials you find in
these databases will be appropriate, and some will not. If
something is published in a peer-reviewed, scholarly "Journal"
associated with a university, then it is probably appropriate.
Magazine and newspapers articles would not be appropriate for
this assignment.
· The GALE database is a good source for literary criticism; it
is also accessible from the library home page.
· If you find a book at a nearby university, you can request an
"Interlibrary Loan," and a Cypress College librarian will
acquire the book for you.

24. Instructions for Searching Library Databases:
1) Click the "Cypress College Library" button on the Canvas
course site OR paste the following link in your web browser to
go directly to the library home page:
http://library.cypresscollege.edu
2) Under the "FIND" menu select the link to "Articles."
3) Under the "JOURNALS AND MAGAZINES" menu select the
link to "EBSCOhost." You may also search for "BOOKS" here,
but you will have to access these at the library.
4) Login to EBSCOhost. To login, enter your student id #
including the @ sign and all numbers and enter your last name;
click "login."
5) Select databases appropriate for your search. A menu will
open with Academic Search Premier and MasterFILE Premier
already selected. Depending upon your topic choice, you may
wish to select other databases to search as well. For example,
"GALE" or “ERIC” are databases that may also provide access
to literary criticism.
6) Limit your search to scholarly journals. Click on the
"Advanced Search" option that appears under the search boxes.
In "Limit your results" field select the "full text" box and
"Scholarly Peer Reviewed Journals." This will ensure that your
search results are limited to sources appropriate for a
"scholarly" or academic essay.
7) Search for articles on your topic. Type some general search
terms relevant to your topic into the EBSCO search box at the
top and click "Search." A numbered list of articles will appear.
If your search produces too many articles, try adding additional
search terms to narrow/limit your results. Conversely, if there

25. are not a sufficient number of results, use fewer terms or change
your terms.
8) Read through the titles and select a few that seem like they
might be relevant or useful.Click on the links to articles with
promising titles; an "abstract" with a brief overview will
appear. Read the abstract to make sure the source is acceptable.
Your source should meet the following criteria: 1) it must be
published in a scholarly/academic journal 2) it must have an
identifiable author/an "expert" in the field or area of study 3) it
must be substantial in length 4+ pages.
9) Once you locate a source that is acceptable, print out the
article or e-mail the source to yourself. A "Tools" button will
appear to the right of your source abstract in EBSCOHost.
Select either the "print" or "email" button. Article information
including page numbers is provided in the "Source" area of the
abstract. Click the "E-mail" option and type in your address in
the "E-mail to" screen. Select to send the article as a PDF if you
have that option. Click on the "Citation Format" box and select
"MLA." When you receive the email, an MLA citation will be
included in the MLA so you don't have to worrying about
punctuating or formatting your Works Cited entry. Click
"Send."
English 103: Essay 3—Position Paper
The purpose of the position paper is to give you the opportunity
to develop your own argument. In the exploratory paper, the
focus was on the main perspectives; in this essay, the focus is
on your perspective, which may be one of the perspectives you
preliminarily researched in the Exploratory Paper.
In the Position Paper, you will further develop and fully support
your perspective, perhaps using some of the same sources from

26. your Exploratory Paper; however, you are also expected to go
further in your research. Remember that you must not rely
completely on Websites. You are expected and required to use
the online databases subscribed to by the Cypress College
Library.
Quality of research is an important factor in the evaluation of
your final project. Use articles that have been published in
academic/scholarly (peer reviewed) journals. You will be asked
to introduce all of your sources--providing the author's full
name and credentials. If you cannot identify an author for a
source or if you cannot clearly establish that the author is an
"expert" or authority on your topic/subject, then you should not
rely upon that particular source. You may access the library
databases from the course site; click on the Cypress College
Library navigation link. You will have to enter a username and
password to access EBSCOHost; the username is your student
ID number, and the password is your last name.
The Position Paper will serve as the body of the final research
project.
Directions:
Prepare a researched essay of approximately 1,000 words (4-5
pages) in which you present a single-perspective argument on
your issue. Include at least four new sources on the perspective
presented in a Works Cited page. These four sources should
demonstrate library research. Papers that provide only web
sources will not receive a passing grade. These four sources
should be in addition to those sources used in the Exploratory
Paper. The final research project will include a minimum of
eight sources.
The Position Paper should include all of the following
components:
1) Present a single-perspective argument on your issue. This

27. means you will choose a position/perspective on your issue.
Your position may change as you continue with your research.
This is OK. However, you must take a position for this paper.
2) Present your ideas objectively. This means you will present
the information in as fair and unbiased way as possible, without
use of first person point of view.
1) Use the Toulmin model to identify the parts of your
argument: State a clear claim. The rest of your paper will
support this claim. Develop the claim with two or three sub-
claims. Decide whether to spell out the warrants in the paper or
to leave them implicit. Decide whether or not backing is
required. Plan a rebuttal; in other words, think about the
positions held by others on this issue and develop a rebuttal
statement. Decide whether to qualify your claim. Refer to
pages 229-230 in Perspectives on Argument for a sample
position paper. The type of claim, the elements of the Toulmin
model, and the proofs are identified in the margin.
2) Follow these formatting/composition guidelines: Your
position paper should be typed in a 10-12 point font, double-
spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides. Your essay should
be written in third person perspective. Your essay should follow
MLA documentation format. Your essay should have a titled
that reflects the argument/content of the paper--centered at top
of first page. Save your document as a “Word” (.docx) file and
upload your essay to the assignment area in Blackboard by the
due date/time.
Grading Criteria:
Your essays will be evaluated for the following: strength of
argument, development of claim, thoroughness of research,
writing ability, completeness of the writing process, meeting the
requirements of the assignment.