Essay Prompt: Political change is a slow and difficult process which involves many actors. After reading the article, “Should Celebrities Weigh in on Politics” from the New York Times, and after you have gathered two more sources (one article should have opposing view), write an argument, thesis-driven essay on whether or not celebrities should weigh in on politics. Does their participation make a difference in impacting political change? Is it always a good idea for celebrities to be involved in politics? Or, is it sometimes a bad idea?

guideline

• Articulate a defensible claim or thesis that responds to the prompt and establishes a line of reasoning.
• Support your claim with at least THREE pieces of accurate and relevant information.
• At least ONE piece of evidence must be the article I have provided
• The second piece of evidence must be from a different source
• The third must be an article on the same topic, but presents an opposing view

Use reasoning to explain why your evidence supports your claim/thesis.

Respond to an opposing or alternative perspective using refutation, concession, or rebuttal wherever possible within your essay.

How to Organize Your Essay

The Introduction:

• The introduction to your essay should draw readers into your framework, making them see how the subject affects them and predisposing them to consider your argument.
• Sometimes a forthright approach works best, but an eye-opening anecdotes or quotation can also be affective. Your thesis that centers me and your introduction.
• However, if you think readers will not even entertain your thesis until they have seen some or all your evidence, withhold your thesis for later.

The Body

• The body of the essay consists of your reasons and your evidence for them. The evidence you generated or collected should suggest the reasons that will support the claim of your thesis – essentially, the minor arguments that bolster the main argument.
• Thus, the minor argument provides the entry points for your evidence, and together they should encompass all the relevant evidence.
• In general, it is most effective to arrange the reasons in order of increasing importance or strength so as to finish powerfully.
• But to engage readers in the arguments from the start, try to begin with a reason that they will find compelling or that they already know and accept; that way, the weaker reasons will be sandwiched between a strong beginning and an even stronger ending.

Opposing Views

• The views opposing yours can be raised and refuted wherever it seems most appropriate to do so. If a counterargument pertains to just one of your minor arguments, then dispose of it at that point.
• But if the counterarguments are more basic, pertaining to your whole thesis, you should dispose of them either after the introduction or shortly before the conclusion.
• Bring up counter arguments early if the opposition is particularly strong and you fear that readers will be this inclined to listen unless you address their concerns first. Whole counter arguments for the end when they are generally weak or easily dispensed with once you’ve presented your case.

The Conclusion

• In the conclusion to your essay, you may summarize the main points of your argument and restate your thesis from your introduction or state it the first time if you have saved it for the end.
• An effective quotation, and appropriate emotional appeal, or a call for support or action can often provide a strong finish to an argument.

Summarizing, Outlining, and Drafting

• Start looking for two more sources (one should provide an opposition view).
• Summarize all three articles (this is for you so that you have the main arguments readily available when drafting your essay)
• Start creating the Works Cited page.
• Once you have all three sources, create an outline for your essay (I will provide one below). Fill it out after you have found two more sources.
• Then, start drafting your introduction paragraph and thesis to submit by Monday, 9/23/2020 before 11:59 am

Argument Essay Outline

Introduction/Thesis-Claim

Attention-Getter sentence (Lead-in)

Set Up for the Thesis (some background information about the topic, and maybe a summary of the main article’s argument)

Thesis (Essay Map or GPS)

body paragraph 1: Present your 1st point and supporting evidence.

Topic sentence: A topic sentence should contain the main idea of the paragraph

Supporting Details and Concluding sentence

Body Paragraph 2: Use transition: Present your 2nd point and it’s supporting evidence.

Topic sentence, Supporting Details and Concluding sentence

Body Paragraph 3: Use transition: Present your 3rd point and it’s supporting evidence.

Topic sentence, Supporting Details and Concluding sentence

Body Paragraph 4: Refute your opposition’s view.

***Remember that you can present and refute the opposition view wherever you see fit in the body. Also, you may have more that 4 body paragraphs if needed.

Conclusion/Restate Thesis

Writers have just taken the reader through an organized and convincing essay. Now readers need satisfaction by reading a conclusion statement that wraps up all the main points nicely. Frequently, the ideas in the body of an essay lead to some significant conclusion that can be stated and explained in this final paragraph.