Understanding
Cause/Effect
from
Social Media on American Culture
Argument Writing
Earlier, you learned
the characteristics of an argument writing.
The Writing Center at Chapel Hill clearly indicates the intent and focus
of argument writing:
What is an argument? In academic writing, an argument
is usually a main idea, often called a “claim” or “thesis statement,”
backed up with evidence that supports the idea. In the majority of
college papers, you will need to make some sort of claim and use evidence
to support it, and your ability to do this well will separate your papers from
those of students who see assignments as mere accumulations of fact and detail.
In other words, gone are the happy days of being given a “topic” about which
you can write anything. IT IS TIME TO STAKE OUT A POSITION AND PROVE WHY IT IS
A GOOD POSITION FOR A THINKING PERSON TO HOLD. (“Argument”)
Remembering the Proposal Argument
In the first writing
for our class, you were instructed to write a proposal argument. The ISSUE was Opioid Deaths in America and
how to Reduce Them. The ARGUMENT was your viewpoint
on how to reduce American deaths caused by opioids, and the STYLE was a PROPOSAL. This meant that you would have formed an
arguable statement about how to alleviate opioid deaths in America and proposed
changes to the current system or new ideas to fix the issue.
For the Proposal
Argument, you considered 3 things:
·
The Issue (American
deaths from opioid overdose),
·
The Argument (your
viewpoint about how to fix this), and
·
The Proposed changes
(specific steps) that would DEFEND your viewpoint on the issue.
Cause/Effect
Argument Writing
Depending on the focus of the essay, your instructor
may assign you a cause/effect argument or a causal analysis
argument.
While these are both arguments that deal with cause/effect, they do not follow the same approach.
While these are both arguments that deal with cause/effect, they do not follow the same approach.
The cause/effect
argument argues that A caused B, C, and D.
The causal analysis
argument is still arguing a cause/effect relationship; however, it is also
analyzing the cause from all angles, thus proving that the effects could ONLY have come from
one place.
For our ENGL101 class, you are assigned a
cause/effect argument essay, and you may take EITHER approach---from
above---to address the issue through cause/effect relationships.
With this third
argument writing, the focus must turn toward the EFFECTS caused by something in
the world. You will be required to ARGUE
that these effects stem from the social issue or topic. That means that you
will be defending an argument based on a clear set of EFFECTS.
Cause/Effect Essay Prompt
Write a cause and effect argument in which you address
the question, “How has social media impacted American
culture?”
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We can go through the
same stages (as before) to identify our assignment goal. Your 3rd writing instructs you to
write a cause/effect argument. The ISSUE is How social
media has impacted American culture. The ARGUMENT is your viewpoint on the changes
to AMERICAN CULTURE, and the STYLE is clarifying specific EFFECTS on the
CULTURE.
This means that you would form an arguable
statement about things that have been affected since social media has been
introduced into the lives of Americans.
How has the American culture
changed?
How has this change
directly stemmed from social media?
How does this impact
the culture today, and how will it make the American culture different in the
future?
You will need to
focus on specific social media and how it has changed the way people feel, live,
interact, and cope in America. You would
need to also consider cultural references and sources to DEFEND your claim.
In a Cause/Effect Argument,
you must consider 3 things:
·
The Issue (How social media has impacted American culture),
·
The Argument (your arguable
viewpoint about how people’s lives are changed—not in other countries or in
business—focus on how the culture has changed and the American public and
families have changed due to the penetration of social media into their lives:
these can be positive or negative changes), and
·
The Cultural Effects that
will DEFEND your viewpoint on the issue.
Please be very careful in asserting the CLAIM
and making sure that the DEFENSE for your claim comes from obvious changes to how
Americans feel, grow, and interact with each other on an interpersonal level,
not just what they do but how the focus of the culture and the psychology of
their lives has been changed.
Consider researching aspects of American
culture, psychology, family connections, and so on to help you determine how
any of these aspects may have changed since the introduction of social media.
Thesis
Statements
Structuring
Your Thesis Statement
A thesis statement is one sentence. This sentence is placed at the very end of
the INTRODUCTION paragraph as the very last sentence. This sentence will be a direct statement that
clearly states an arguable concept based on the assigned writing prompt.It will
not contain source material. It will not
be a question.
To create a THESIS
STATEMENT, you must write out one sentence that includes the overall TOPIC in
the ARGUMENT STYLE (proposal, ethical, or causal) with 3 clear reasons (which
will become your body paragraphs later).
Topic + argument + reason
1 + reason 2 + reason 3
For example, if I were to write a
proposal paper on how to fix human trafficking in America, I could have a
thesis like this:
"The
problem of human trafficking that
runs rampant throughout the United States could
potentially be solved through the implementation of
prevention presentations in middle schools, awareness programs for
parents, and greater punishments for
people involved in human trafficking."
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The three parts of the
THESIS is called the ESSAY MAP. This
essay map will make it easy for your audience to understand where the argument
will be going as you move through the body paragraphs.
Now, your thesis does not have to mirror this
exact format, but this formula is helpful for an easily structured argument!
Give it a try. You cannot go wrong!
You will need to read through your writing prompt
numerous times to make sure that you understand the key words that
are in the prompt, designed to help you write your viewpoint, that you will
argue in the cause/effect essay. Make
sure that you have covered these points in the one-sentence thesis clearly so
that these cultural changes can be easily written into body paragraph TOPIC
SENTENCES to argue the changes in the body paragraphs.
For example, from
essay 3’s assignment directions…
Write a cause and
effect argument in which you address the question,
“How has social media
impacted American culture?”
Key words for your thesis: causes, effects, social media,
impacts, American culture
Style of writing: argument
How to approach it: causal argument (which means it needs to declare specific causes of
the effects on American culture by social
media)
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Sample Thesis:
Social media is affecting American interaction through relationship building, addictive tendencies, and overall happiness within the culture.
Social media is affecting American interaction through relationship building, addictive tendencies, and overall happiness within the culture.
This sample thesis goes beyond superficial benefits of
social media and digs into the cultural changes that are occurring in America
due to this introduction, and it can show how there will be long-term effects
as well as the culture changes. See the additional samples thesis below and how
it would be developed in the body paragraph topic sentences.
Brainstorming Thesis and Argument Ideas
Sample thesis for a causal argument
The thesis for
the causal argument writing must convey the CAUSEs of the
EFFECTs on an issue.
Therefore, create a thesis that argues certain
aspects (effects) of the American culture have been caused by social media.
A simple strategy to figuring out what you want to argue would be to fill in this sentence: Social media has impacted the American culture by X, Y, and Z.
A simple strategy to figuring out what you want to argue would be to fill in this sentence: Social media has impacted the American culture by X, Y, and Z.
Example of
a straight-forward cause/effect thesis:
Social media has
impacted American culture by distorting one's reality, causing electronic
rifts in families, and creating one more way for bullying to occur.
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This style of a thesis can be structured through a
traditional outline. This general outline style can be found posted to
the Blackboard classroom with updated notes, or a similar layout can be found
online here: https://fgc-enc1101.blogspot.com/2019/02/causeeffect-argument-outline.html
Example of
a positive/negative cause/effect thesis:
Social media has
impacted career opportunities, family togetherness, and personal privacy in
American culture through positive and negative outcomes.
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This style of a thesis is one that is arguing that
there are both positive and negative effects from
social media on the American culture. This example is for a writer who is
willing to see both sides to each of the items
in the thesis.
1. If
your thesis is going to be more straight-forward, go to the traditional outline
layout found above in the posted link (or in Blackboard).
2. If
you wish to address both positive and negative effects from
social media on the American culture in your thesis and ultimately,
in each of the body paragraphs, follow the outline content and
guidelines listed below.
THESIS REMINDER
You will need to make sure that the THESIS focus is
not only on aspects of social media (cyberbullying, fake news, marriage
prospects, etc.) but on how things were before versus how
they are now that social media has changed the culture.
BODY DEVELOPMENT (the argument) IDEAS
From that THESIS you will then need to constantly stay
on target of arguing the ‘before’ versus the ‘now’ of an aspect of social media
and how it has and will continue to change the American culture.
See the sample
brainstorming layout for clear cultural change arguments below. There are two argument topics brainstormed
below. While these can serve as a
springboard for your own ideas, do not copy this material to use as your own.
EXAMPLE 1
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BODY
PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT
Cyberbullying
Argument of Cultural Change in America:
Bullying
before—parents
and adults would ‘see’ bullying in person and most of the time it would get
taken care of at school or home.
Bullying
now—lack
of adult supervision on social media sites makes it so that bullying is seldom curbed and remedied. Resulting in a new generation of abuse victims.
How
this has changed the culture: more students are quietly abused on
social media, and the public (others on the social media sites) who sees this
bullying rarely notifies an adult.
Only after tragic events do many bullying stories come to light.
·
Social media has made it so that bullies feel
empowered online.
·
Social media has made it so that student who might
not have bullied in person feel safer to bully online.
·
Social media bullying has created a mob-ruled social
media location in America where minors are being publicly embarrassed,
shamed, and controlled by peer pressure and peer abuse, thus resulting in a
culture of low-esteem on one hand and conversely, inflated egos.
·
Until children are adults, social media is not a ‘safe
place’ for them to communicate with one another. Social media is a place for mature,
self-aware adults, not children. However, since children continue to be
allowed online into social media sites, the culture will continue with these
extremes online: the abusers and the abused.
Focus
on the 'before' forms and the 'now' forms and how social media has made it so
that the culture will be forever changed.
Remember,
your focus must be AMERICAN CULTURE changes. They can be good or
bad, but you must focus on the ACTUAL CHANGES to culture. Try to focus on serious,
and life-changing aspects that have happened in the American culture
due to social media.
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EXAMPLE 2
A lesser importance cultural change…
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BODY PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT
Dating and Marriage Cultural Changes in America:
Dating/Marriage before—
Once upon a time, Mom and Dad became ‘one’ through an arranged
marriage. This belief established a cultural norm for generations.
Dating/Marriage changes over time—
Then, Mom and Dad found love and marriage partners in their local town, at
church, at college, or at work. These newly accepted beliefs of
accepted partner locators were passed onto the next generation as acceptable
practices in America.
Dating/Marriage now—
Today, the American culture has changed not only the way to find love but
where to find love. The current generation of Americans
have parents that may have met through Match.com, ChristianMingle, or even
Facebook blind-dating sites.
How this has changed the culture:
This shift in the pool of romantic prospects will ever change the look of
romance in America by ____...
·
Clearly establish how this change
will impact future generations.
·
Who is guiding marriage prospects
now?
o The
focus of a viable marriage partner was initially parent-choice, then local
recommendations from the community.
o Now,
with this cultural change to dating, those who use this acceptable form of
seeking a mate receive little guidance for marriage material beyond a profile
and picture online.
·
How will this change marriage? Stability?
Views?
BEGIN SOURCE MATERIAL
TO DEFEND YOUR ARGUMENT THAT CERTAIN PERCENTAGE of American parents met
through social media AND THIS HAS CHANGED THE CULTURE (do not simply present
stats about this...prove this has changed the culture).
ANALYZE
how this shift in marital relations has changed how the culture views dating,
marriage, and potential mates.
PREDICT
the culture in 10 or 20 years as social media keeps modifying. Wrap
it all up and reassert how the American culture’s familial connections have
been impacted by social media.
Do not simply talk about how relationships bloom all
over the world due to different social media platforms. You need
to start with a VERY clear topic sentence for what you will argue about
the cultural change and then assert your argument for multiple sentences
before bringing in statistics and source usage.
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Keep in mind, you want to focus on the most important,
socially defining changes to the American culture through social
media. Try to consider deep, life-changing topics. Is dating
deep enough?
KEY POINTS TO TAKE-AWAY:
Create a clear topic sentence that asserts a cultural
change brought about by social media. Then, later in the
body-paragraph, when you use a source, you must take the time to examine for
the reader 1) what the source was saying, 2) how it supports your viewpoint,
and 3) how this determines the changes to the culture and the direction of the
argument as established in your THESIS as the only way to understand the issue.
You want to make sure that the reader is not seeing your argument and then the
source content as two different views on the issue. Control the
argument and let the reader know that the source defended you to the point that
your view is the only logical view left to believe.
Explaining the Argument
Sometimes it is not always easy to figure out how to
develop the cause/effect argument. See
the sample thesis explained in the brainstorming outline below.
Example THESIS: Social
media has impacted career opportunities, family
togetherness, and personal privacy in American culture through
positive and negative outcomes.
Example THESIS Explained: Social media [key point focus]
has impacted career opportunities [1st sub-point to argue social media
affecting job pursuits], family togetherness [2nd sub-point to
argue family bonds and closeness has been affected by social media], and
personal privacy [3rd sub-point to argue social media has
affected personal privacy], in the American culture [key point focus] through
positive and negative outcomes [key point focus].
The essay paragraphs
would then follow the essay mapping to argue the sub-points in the causal
analysis (cause/effect) argument:
Introduction paragraph: HOOK sentence, background (no
sources allowed), Thesis—that includes the issue of social
media altering aspects of the American culture (3-7 sentences)
Body paragraph 1: Sample Topic Sentence (that establishes clearly a causal analysis sub-point): Social media [key point focus] has impacted career pursuits in the American culture [1st sub-point to argue social media affecting job pursuits]. Positive: able to locate and apply for job openings across the United States. Negative: posts to Facebook, Instagram, and other social networks cost Americans career opportunities through company searches online.
Body-paragraph 2: Sample Topic Sentence (that establishes clearly a causal analysis sub-point): Social media has affected the culture of the American family, unity, and togetherness [2nd sub-point to argue family bonds and closeness has been affected by social media]. Positive: Families spread across the United States can communicate through social media and video conferencing. Negative: Families often lack intimacy and communication due to addictions to social media as a monopolizing of time: while driving, at meals, and during traditional ‘family-time’.
Body-paragraph 3: Sample Topic Sentence (that establishes clearly a causal analysis sub-point): Social media has altered the culture of American privacy [3rd sub-point to argue social media has affected personal privacy]. Positive: Negative:
Body-paragraph Counter-arguments: oppositional viewpoints to your causal analysis argument as to how social media has affected the American culture (and then argue why these counter-arguments aren’t as logical and productive as your causal argument). Sample Topic Sentence to begin Counter-argument paragraph: Proponents of social media argue that there has been no change to the culture in America through this medium; however, these supporters of social media are either too young or too ignorant to remember the American culture prior to social media embedding itself into the nation.
Conclusion paragraph: Thesis revisited; summarize topic sentence/closing sentences from body paragraphs to refocus the audience to the logical analysis of how social media has affected the American culture; exit sentence to leave the reader accepting social media as a standard in American society, yet not accepting the negative impacts of this medium by allowing it to disrupt positive lifestyle choices, opportunities, and family unity (3-10 sentences.)
After reviewing the sample above, you will notice
that every body-paragraph focuses on a single change to the culture,
and the positive and negatives affected by that area of change:
employment, family, privacy.
Only use this layout if you are willing to address
both sides (+ and -) in EACH body paragraph. Typically, students find
this set-up hard to follow-through with for long periods of time, and so the
GENERAL OUTLINE is often the preferred choice for the cause/effect assignment.
If you do not see (or wish to argue) both positives
and negatives in the causes/effects of the American culture, then you
will stick to the basic outline posted to the Blackboard classroom.
A similar layout can be found online here: https://fgc-enc1101.blogspot.com/2019/02/causeeffect-argument-outline.html
Textbook Reading: Week
6
Chapter 11: 7a
Outlining a Cause and Effect Argument
Many students avoid writing an outline for various
reasons; however, the benefits of writing a complete and well-organized outline
are significant. Reluctant students should remember that outlines can be
revised during the actual drafting of the essay. In addition, time spent on a
quality outline will be saved exponentially when drafting the essay itself.
I. Introduction
I. Hook your audience.
(Relate it to the social issue that is causing specific cultural changes in
America.)
II. Identify the problem.
(Give background/ context to help your audience clearly understand how the
culture has changed due to the social issue. Do not use any source
materials in this section)
III. State your thesis (Make
a clear argument showing a cause-and-effect relationship. It is often best to
use an essay
map with your thesis.)
II. Several Body Paragraphs (Many prefer for
opposing viewpoints to be final body paragraph before the conclusion; however,
it can be included in any order in the body of the essay.)
I. Topic Sentence: Directly
supports the thesis argument and clearly identifies the topic of each
individual body paragraph by breaking down the argument from the essay
map.
II. Argument Development: Develop the topic
being argued in the paragraph. Focus is on clearly detailing the argument
point(s) and then following the writer’s argument with the evidence and
then analysis sentences.
III. Evidence: Example(s), fact(s),
etc. from correctly cited quotes, paraphrases, and/or summaries that support
your main point of the topic sentence relating it to the thesis and providing
additional information as needed. (Relate it to the thesis and provide additional
information as needed.)
IV. Analysis: Your explanation
of how the evidence supports the topic sentence/thesis
statement. Include examples of causes or effects. (Avoid using first and second
person pronouns in all academic writing.)
V. Summative Sentence: Restates the topic
sentence in a new way and transition your ideas from one paragraph to the next.
(Use appropriate transitional words and sentences throughout your essay to help
you essay flow well for your reader.)
III. One or More Body
Paragraphs to Discuss Opposing
Viewpoints
I. Topic Sentence: Introduces opposing
viewpoint(s).
II. Refutation: Explanation of why
you disagree. (Avoid first and second person pronouns.)
III. Development: of why you disagree and
why your cause/effect relationship position is more feasible and better than
the opposition.
IV. Facts, examples, to support your
disagreement—if applicable—of the opposition’s position.
V. Summative Sentence: Wraps up the
paragraph and refutation of the opposing viewpoint and includes a transition
into the conclusion paragraph.
IV. Conclusion Paragraph
I. Restates your thesis claim
in a new way (Be sure that the cause/effect relationship is very clear).
II. Summarizes the main points
of your body paragraphs.
III. Leaves the reader with a
final thought and/or call to action.
The outline above has been modified from the content in “Chapter
11: The Elements of Argument (Section 11-7a: Cause and Effect Argument)” of
LUC: White & Billings, The Well-Crafted Argument (2018).
Additional information for the clearest outline and essay possible
has been added to the original outline sample from that textbook.
Please follow the outline layout above for the Cause and Effect Argument
Outline assignment in this ENGL101 course.
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Content Examples Derived through
Cause and Effect Argument
As you begin to actually
write out the body-paragraphs for your outlined work, you will want to make
sure that you are taking the time to not only structure the content correctly
but also unify the argument for that body paragraph. For all academic writing,
you will be using 3rd person voice ONLY. Do not use 1st or 2nd
person voice. If you do not understand
how to use 3rd person voice, visit this handout link: https://learnessaystrategies.blogspot.com/2019/02/formal-writing-voice.html
The explanations and
example below are written in 1st person voice. Even though you are writing an argument paper
that is your viewpoint on a subject, you must stay in 3rd person
voice.
Writing Unified Body Paragraphs
From the
Classroom Video Tutorial: Writing Unified Paragraphs
What is paragraph unity?
It is the idea that a single paragraph includes only one major idea.
Requirements for a single
body paragraph:
·
You will express this
one idea in a topic sentence.
·
Support
the main idea of the paragraph with
details (for a cause/effect argument, you take the time to establish your main
idea clearly in the first handful of sentences—in your own words.
·
Eliminate sentences that do not support the main idea.
·
Provide a source that
DEFENDS your arguable point.
·
Explain how the source solidifies your argument.
·
Wrap
it all up in a final sentence in
your own words.
Unity is a term that
means oneness, a uniformity of thought. Think of a paragraph as a journey to prove
the main point indicated in your topic sentence. Each supporting point
in your paragraph is a stop along that journey.
If you were traveling to
Miami for you cousin's birthday party from Jacksonville, Florida, you would not
make a detour through Nashville, Tennessee.
Let us look at details
for a paragraph about your trip. Suppose your topic sentence is, "My trip
to Miami to visit my cousin was filled with bad luck." Notice that you
have a subject, your trip, and an opinion about your trip. It was filled with
bad luck. Here are details.
"First,
my car got a flat tire and it took me and hour to fix it. Because I had not
eaten dinner, I was really hungry and tired. When I finally did eat the local
fish was absolutely delicious. I had to stay in a local motel in Orlando, even
though I was behind schedule. The next morning I forgot my phone at the motel
and had to go back. I arrived in Miami that night, but missed the beginning of
my cousin's birthday party."
Check your details
to make sure they support the opinion in your topic sentence. Most of
the details are about bad luck, but one is not. TAKE IT OUT.
Now, all your details
relate to the bad luck you had on your trip to Miami, and your paragraph is unified.
Remember, to create
unity in one paragraph, have only one major idea.
Body paragraphs follow a specific
flow for basic information presentation.
This flow is logically organized based on traditional academic standards. In an argument paper, you present your
argument right from the first sentence of the body paragraph and into the next
2-4 sentences. You must make sure that
the overall content is 70-80% you and 20-25% sources
to DEFEND what you have already argued in the paragraph.
How do you do this?
When creating an argument, you must
first establish your view on the issue before moving on to source material that
defends your argument.
Let’s say you want to argue in one
of your body paragraphs that Millennial
Americans are showing more effects from social media interaction than those
of earlier generations.
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This argument idea for the body
paragraph would have come directly from the thesis
statement in the introduction
paragraph. For example:
Sample
Thesis:
Social media
has impacted the American culture by driving a wedge between families, causing irreparable
trauma to the Millennial generation, and tapping into addiction issues the
culture cannot seem to get away from.
Argument Body Paragraphs
This thesis could be broken into body paragraphs like this:
Body Paragraph 1:
Social media has brought an end to much family interaction
in America by creating a wedge between family members.
Body Paragraph 2:
Millennial Americans are showing more trauma from social media interaction than those of earlier generations.
Millennial Americans are showing more trauma from social media interaction than those of earlier generations.
Body Paragraph 3:
Addiction issues caused by social media are driving the
American culture down a dark road: as any drug can do once it gets a
stronghold.
To gather ideas for the actual
argument section of the body paragraphs, use the steps below. Be
sure to fully develop the argument in your own words first, before integrating
the sourced content to defend the cause/effect argument being presented in that
body paragraph.
STEP 1
TOPIC SENTENCE
You would begin a body paragraph
with a topic sentence.
A Topic Sentence is in your
words—only—and it will contain NO SOURCED CONTENT.
A Topic Sentence will assert the overall argument that will
be made in that one body paragraph.
Millennial Americans are showing more emotional trauma and mental effects from social media interaction than those of earlier generations.
This topic sentence establishes the
point that will be argued in JUST this body paragraph—in this case, effects on
Millennial Americans.
STEP 2
ARGUMENT DEVELOPMENT
You would then write 2-3 sentences
that argue this viewpoint to assert your cause/effect relationship between
social media and the Millennial generation. (You can write more argument
sentences if you like. Typically, students end up with 2-3 in this
section, though.)
You could argue effects on Millennial self-esteem or image
in this paragraph and how it is having a greater impact on that generation than
previous generations.
Young people are more susceptible to negative effects from social media due to the immaturity of ‘self’ and the perceived reality within the Internet.
Young people are more susceptible to negative effects from social media due to the immaturity of ‘self’ and the perceived reality within the Internet.
By not having a clearly established sense of self, and not understanding the unimportant nature of ‘perception on the Internet,’ Millennials undergo more mental trauma than those who have already established a clear identity and reality before using social media.
Young adults that come into the world and jump
into the artificial reality of social media before establishing a clear
identity and sense of reality are prone to intense feelings of distorted
reality—which at a young age can seem overwhelming and completely real to them.
This leads to depression, feelings of
worthlessness, and sometimes suicide in an underdeveloped personality.
…and so on.
STEP 3
SOURCES
Only after your
argument about the issue is established can you present source content to
defend what you are arguing. Remember, an academic argument is
supposed to be your ‘take’ on the issue.
While you may have learned some
ideas about the issue from outside sources, you must WRITE the argument for
yourself first and then use credible sources to defend your argued
concepts. Remember, deep development of your argument for the topic
in the body paragraph followed by sources to defend what you have argued.
STEP 4
EXPLAIN SOURCES
See below for this section of a body
paragraph.
STEP 5
CLOSING SENTENCE
See below for this section of a body
paragraph.
BODY
PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE
How
to structure one of the cause/effect argument body paragraphs
Sample TOPIC SENTENCE below
relates to a Cause/Effect Argument.
The TOPIC SENTENCE would Present
an ARGUMENT and FOLLOW with DEFENSE that ___ CAUSES ___.
Example: Social media
causes mental issues in an under-developed personality.
1.
TOPIC
SENTENCE asserting that A CAUSES
C (1 sentence)
2.
ARGUE your viewpoint: Introduce the content of A and
C (1+ sentences).
a.
Take
enough time to fully explain your argument in your own words, with
conviction.
b.
Do not
move on to scholarly sources until you have made your argument clear.
3.
DEFEND your viewpoint: Paraphrase, summarize, or quote source
material to defend your causal argument asserted in the topic sentence.
a.
1+ sentence:
limit outside source.
b.
Choose the
sourced material carefully—the writing needs to be 80% (or more) in YOUR
words with 20% (or less) from outside sources.
c.
Paraphrase
or summarize a scholarly source to defend your argument.
d.
Do
NOT directly quote source content if you can paraphrase or
summarize the meaning in your own words, in your own sentence.
e.
Do
not use source content that 'makes' the argument for you. You
should have already asserted (clearly) the argument prior to introducing
supporting evidence from outside sources.
f.
Use a
scholarly source to prove your argument is sound
4.
CITE: Provide proper in-text citations for source content
whether it was in the form of a quote, paraphrase, or summary
5.
EXPLAIN: Write a sentence or two after each of your DEFENSE
sentences to show exactly how the source defended your
point.
6.
ANALYZE the source and its content.
a.
If the
author is well-known or renowned in his/her field, address that if possible.
b.
Explain
the surrounding meaning/ramifications to your argument
c.
Show how
the source validated your argument.
7.
FINALIZE
the ARGUMENT: Create a closing
sentence that ties the paragraph assertion and proof
together.
a.
This
closing sentence should reflect the paragraph’s topic sentence.
b.
Create
only 1 sentence to wrap-up the argument sub-point as it relates to the THESIS.
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Lead
Your Argument
Don’t Make a "Walk-through" Essay
WRITING YOUR OWN ESSAY
WITH YOUR OWN ARGUMENT
A common structural flaw in college ARGUMENT essays
is the "walk-through" essay. Some instructors will note
this incorrect writing style as “report writing,” the “issue summary”
writing, or even the “issue description” writing). You will not want
to write a “walk-through” essay. You want to write a clearly logical
argument essay in academic writing classes.
ACADEMIC WRITING IS YOUR WRITING
Walk-through essays follow the structure of their
sources rather than establishing their own structure to drive the
writing. Remember, it is YOUR writing; therefore, your ideas need to
provide the flow for the essay. The sources are little tidbits in the
writing, not the main attraction. Let your argument dominate the writing
and develop the argument in the body paragraphs in your own voice—yet in 3rd person.
GATHERING IDEAS
To keep yourself from writing a Walk-through
essay, you must first start with analyzing your audience. AUDIENCE ANALYSIS will
make it easy to figure out what you are writing, who you are writing for, and
how it will be proven.
SORTING IDEAS LOGICALLY
Once you have the audience figured out and how you
want to approach the issue, you will want to organize your ideas through
an OUTLINE. If you fill out a
basic OUTLINE form to put
your ideas into a logical argument flow, you will meet five requirements for
writing a good paper:
1. You
will be sure that your writing is appropriate (content) and follows the logical flow (structure).
2. You
will be sure that your topic is on the correct issue (such as the opioid crisis, genetic modification,
or effects of social media).
3. You
will be sure you have written in the assigned writing style (such as a proposal, ethical, or cause/effect argument).
4. You
will be sure that you have met general academic writing standards for formal writing (no contractions, slang, questions, improper voice).
5. You
will be sure that your instructor will be able to see your lessons in action
through your writing, thus resulting in a higher score.
ARGUMENT ORDER
You need to clearly establish your argument through a thesis that is supported in the
body paragraphs. Again, it is important to remember that
this is YOUR essay; therefore, it
should contain 70-80% of your ideas and insights into a given subject. The
other 20-30% of the essay will be outside sources that work to support what you
were already arguing about an issue. You do not create an essay based on
outside sources you found researching the overall topic. You must first begin
with a CLAIM. Your goal is
to create your own writing based on the CLAIM (thesis statement) and
follow it with brief EVIDENCE to defend
your CLAIM. The Hamburger Method is
an excellent structural flow to follow that helps you to write out your CLAIM and
then go back through the essay to insert EVIDENCE (source
content) that defends what you are already asserting.
WRAP UP
If you begin with your ARGUMENT issue
clearly explained through logical progression in your OUTLINE, it will make it
so that your essay development is not only easy to write but clear for the
audience to follow. Start by ASSESSING YOUR AUDIENCE,
filling out an OUTLINE based on the
assigned writing style, making sure that you have a clear CLAIM (Thesis
Statement) and defend the argument in little bites (EVIDENCE) in each
body-paragraph using the HAMBURGER METHOD.
When you are satisfied with the quality of your essay,
post it to Blackboard via the SafeAssign link for grading. Do not forget to
write your degree program and whether you are using current MLA,
APA, or Turabian on the title page and in the “Submission Title”
field when submitting your paper. Every paper coming in for review should
have a TITLE PAGE that
provides basic information, even if you are using MLA.
IMPORTANT: Fully cite all quotations, summaries, and
paraphrases used within your essay, or those excerpts will be regarded as plagiarism and will
result in a “0” on your essay and possible course failure.
1. For
writing to not be considered plagiarism, it needs to integrate sources properly
using both in-text and parenthetical phrases.
2. Furthermore, signal phrases need to
be used to indicate information about who the author is so that this is
reliable and credible support for the point being proven. Using signal phrases
helps to integrate outside sources more smoothly.
3. Moreover,
when outside sources are followed by assessment and evaluative information about
how the source content connects to the point of the essay and proves part of
the argument you are making, it creates the required academic flow for the
argument and establishes it as your own argument of the issue.
Plagiarism often occurs when students do not write
their own argument and then defend that argument through a few precise outside
sources. [Review this online lesson about SOURCE SUPPORT to
help you learn ways to properly use sources as support--not as your argument,
but as SUPPORT.]
GETTING STARTED IN YOUR WRITING CLASS
A Reminder of Academic Writing Basics
Make Sure You Know What is an Argument?
Basic From Previous Writing Classes: Conventions of Academic Writing
Understand the Content in Academic Writing
Begin to Analyze Your Audience
Establish a Clear Argument in Academic Essays
As You Get Started on Your
Cause/Effect Writing
Important Reminders:
There are a few important
reminders to note before we begin gathering ideas, assessing the audience, and
organizing the outline. See THIS SHEET for key
points to keep in mind before you begin.
Analyzing the Audience:
•
To
help gather your ideas and work your way toward an actual thesis, visit THIS LINK. It
will provide you with questions to answer in the hope of finding your
way. You can also use the interactive, online version if you have a
reliable Internet connection.
Drafting a Thesis:
Cause/Effect
(showing positives and negatives)
Example Causal Argument THESIS: Social media has impacted career opportunities, family togetherness, and personal privacy in American culture through positive and negative outcomes.
Body paragraph 1: Sample Topic Sentence (that establishes clearly a causal analysis sub-point): Social media [key point focus] has impacted career pursuits in the American culture [1st sub-point to argue social media affecting job pursuits]. Positive: able to locate and apply for job openings across the United States. Negative: posts to Facebook, Instagram, and other social networks cost Americans career opportunities through company searches online.
Body-paragraph 2: Sample Topic Sentence (that establishes clearly a causal analysis sub-point): Social media has affected the culture of the American family, unity, and togetherness [2nd sub-point to argue family bonds and closeness has been affected by social media]. Positive: Families spread across the United States can communicate through social media and video conferencing. Negative: Families often lack intimacy and communication due to addictions to social media as a monopolizing of time: while driving, at meals, and during traditional ‘family-time’.
Body-paragraph 3: Sample Topic Sentence (that establishes clearly a causal analysis sub-point): Social media has altered the culture of American privacy [3rd sub-point to argue social media has affected personal privacy]. Positive: Negative:
Explanation of "Sample thesis
with positive and negative argument points" for a causal argument:
this handout shows a sample cause/effect THESIS, the break-down of that THESIS,
and how the essay would be structured to develop and argue the THESIS.
Developing an Outline:
To gather your thoughts in
an OUTLINE format, fill in the blanks of this handout to assert the
cause of the effects in the American culture from Social Media: HERE.
Additional information for your
outline can be found in this handout about Flow, Length, and Content of a Typical Body-paragraph: a
specific break-down of what is expected in a well-developed body-paragraph of
an argument paper.
Essay Structural Checklist:
Click HERE for a structural checklist to double-check your rough draft's
structure, flow, and unity.
To see if you have some
of the basics assignment requirements for a cause/effect outline,
visit HERE for
the assignment checklist
Cause/Effect Arguments:
You need to know some basic
guidelines for this structure and style of writing.
• Review
the handout for some BASIC GUIDELINES for Cause/Effect Argument Essays HERE. This
content is based on various readings from the classroom.
Student-Suggested Support for
Essay
This page will provide you with sources used by previous students in their essay 3 outline.
This page will provide you with sources used by previous students in their essay 3 outline.
·
These are not sources that
"I" suggest. I am simply posting them to help you springboard
to new ideas and possibly find credible sources to defend your argument about
the impact on American culture by social media.
·
Be sure to choose the sources
that meet both reliable and credible academic
writing resources (such as content from the library databases). Page of Sources
Additional Cause/Effect
Readings:
•
Need Ideas for Cause/Effect Essay??: this
handout provides 'spring-board' articles and images to help you think through
how you feel about the topic and possible cause/effect relationships.
These are not scholarly sources. They are simply readings to help you
understand different ideas surrounding the issue.
Essay 3 Cause/Effect Argument
Design and Development Handouts
Created by Jeanette Dick, 2018
Copyright 2018-2020 |
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