Situation:
Analysis means breaking down an argument into its parts: the claim, the evidence used to support that claim, the logic used to structure the claim, and the language used to appeal to the reader. You must also understand the inherent warrants that the author is basing his/her claims on. By thoroughly understanding what other people are arguing, you should be able to form a more solid argument based on your own opinion of what you have read and defend your opinion in a logical and convincing manner.
Task: You will
take a position, state a thesis, and develop an argument based on the exchange
that emerges between three of your chosen authors. You should first determine
(identify) and analyze (parse and evaluate) their arguments. Although all
address the same problem, they each provide a different approach to your
inquiry. Establish each author’s claim(s) along with evidence or data
used to support each claim. Highlight the similarities and differences
between the sources and present your own conclusion – an argument that supports
what you thought was strong about each source and points out the shortcoming of
each one. In other words, you will delineate a relationship between the
texts, and add your own contribution to the overall discourse.
To do this, students might think about these types of questions:
Are the writers’ arguments convincing?
Do they make sense?
Are there any gaps in the reasoning?
How does one writer’s claim correspond to another writer’s claims?
Then, on the basis of this analysis, students should develop their own “I Say” that enters into dialogue with the texts.
Research Paper about: Do undocumented immigrants help or hurt the economy?
sources: At least three sources of sufficient length, depth and intellectual heft that relate to your final topic. The authors should not all agree with one another. 2 sources that agree to why undocumanted immigrants help the economy and 1 source to why undocumated immigrants hurt the economy.
Include Works Cited Page
Checklist for Essay
Do I use CORRECT MLA STYLE as clearly described in class and in Purdue OWL?______________
Do I have a title?_________________
Do I have a thesis (an argument about how well or poorly the authors’ evidence supports their claims)?______
Do I underline or highlight my thesis?_____________
Do I punctuate inside quotes (if not an MLA citation)?_________
Do I avoid using “talks about,” “says” and overly casual language?________
Is my essay PROOFREAD and free of typos, punctuation errors and incorrect grammar/usage?____________________
Do my arguable assertions require evidence from the texts (quotes)? If not, these are probably observations and not assertions (claims).______
Am I using quotes? _______________
Are they relevant or are they random?___________________
Do I use the “paramedic method” to revise my prose?__________________
Do I use and maintain present tense when possible?____________________
