Apex Learning Claim Expressing Personal Opinion Essay

Prepare for an essay about whether punishing various forms of free speech is ultimately negative or positive. You must develop a claim and conduct research to find sources that support the claim. You must also create an outline that will guide the drafting of your essay.

Your assignment should include the following elements:

• A claim that expresses your opinion about the topic
• A research question that guides your search for sources
• Evidence from sources that you find through research
• An outline that organizes your claim, supporting reasons, and evidence

You should have completed a draft of this assignment in the activity before this one. If you haven’t done so, go back and complete that activity now.

Ask yourself these questions as you revise:

• Does my claim take a clear stand on the issue of free speech? Does it express an opinion that some people are likely to disagree with?
• Is my research question broad enough to require several sources to answer? Is it narrow enough that I can eventually find a satisfying answer?
• Is my evidence both credible and relevant? Are the author and publication of each source trustworthy? Is the information in each source supported by other sources? Is each source transparent about where it got its information?
• Does my outline organize my reasons and evidence thoroughly and clearly?

Use this rubric to determine how well you’re meeting the criteria for the assignment.