Kelli McBride 2003-2011
designed by Kelli McBride and are for her exclusive use.
for college classes maybe used as per fair use practice. All other
For this essay, we will use resources at
. You will find here a discussion on
standardized testing in education in America. The argument to make is
whether standardized testing is improving education. You will find many
sources to investigate both a yes and no answer to this question on this site.
You should read what both sides have to say and then come to your own conclusion
based on your readings. Using the sources from ProCon.org's site, make your
claim on this question.
Due date: July 15th, 11:55 pm
Submission: As an attachment (doc, docx, rtf, or
odt) under Essay 3 in the Assignments area of Cruiser
Length: Minimum of 900 words (@ 3 pages
following standard MLA style essay formatting, including font type and size)
MLA Documentation and Research: You must follow
all MLA guidelines for citing and crediting sources, as discussed in your
handbook. For this essay, you must provide at least FOUR sources to
support your claim and refer to at least ONE source to show an
opposing view. You MUST ONLY use sources listed on
. Not completely citing and
crediting all sources used in a paper is plagiarism and will earn a
ZERO for the assignment.
Academic Guidelines: This essay must conform to
the appropriate conventions of MLA academic essay writing, as discussed in
the class. That means 3rd person point of view ONLY, no exceptions. Rather
than rely on personal experience or observation, writers must research and
use evidence from outside sources. Writers must also incorporate the
Rhetorical Triangle, relying primarily on LOGOS but also
understanding how ETHOS and PATHOS work in academic writing as well. See
previous emails, handouts, and discussions in class concerning these three
concepts and how to incorporate them in a 3rd person, POV essay. Writers
must also follow the MEAT method of developing body paragraphs, using
a clearly stated thesis statement, topic sentences (at the beginning of each
body paragraph), explanations/examples, analysis, and transitions.
Argument: On p. 105 of the LB Brief handbook, you
will see a list of claim types. This paper will make an argument using a
CLAIM OF VALUE - is standardized testing valuable in educating students
You will also incorporate an acknowledgment of opposing views, p. 111 in the
LB Brief handbook. Since ProCon's site offers many resources on both
sides of this issue, you will have a good understanding of the opposition's
view whatever the position is that you choose to argue. On pp. 116-17, you
will see several suggested organizational patterns for writing the argument
with a refutation of opposing views. I suggest you follow either the
"common scheme" or "a variation" listed on p. 117. You will also
see two others below these, called "the Rogerian scheme" and "the
problem-solution scheme." We will be using the "problem-solution scheme" for
Essay 4. Choose only one from the top two.
Editing and Proofreading: The final draft of this
essay should be the result of editing, which concerns revising content to
improve ideas, organization, support, and other argument-related issues.
It should also be a result of proofreading, which tackles grammar and
mechanic issue such as sentence structure, parts of speech use, spelling,
writing in active voice, consistency in point of view, and other related
items. This is also where writers should double check that their essays are
formatted correctly using MLA style and that their MLA documentation is
complete and accurate. For work cited entries, I recommend using
should double check each entry by comparing it to the appropriate example in
the handbook and making sure the list and parenthetical notations follow
correct formatting guidelines.
Sigma Kappa Delta