.

For all references, use an appropriate form of documentation (MLA, APA, or another standard academic style discussed in Easy Writer.)

Discussion Topic

This unit, you will once again enter a conversation. Your job in this discussion threads is to outline and define the conversation begun by the three assigned readings. Our discussions unit should help you gather your thoughts for your essay due on Sunday.

In this discussion, let’s read rhetorically to understand the central claims, supporting arguments, and persuasive strategies of the authors. Anticipating this unit’s essay assignment, let’s also attempt to outline

In your initial post in this thread this unit, choose 1 of the assigned articles to analyze, using all of the questions below. Answer each questions in 2-4 sentences or so.

Unit 5 assigned essay readings are from Chapter 18. Read “The Climate Crisis at the End of Our Fork” by Anna Lappe’ on page 702. Note the author’s writing structure as she presents her ideas. Next, read “Why Bother” by Michael Pollan on page 715, and “Can GMOs Be Sustainable” by McKay Jenkins on page 722.

1. Read the brief introduction to the article. What is the context of this piece? Who is the author? When, where, why, and how was it initially published? Who was the original audience for this article?
2. What seems to have motivated the writer to write this piece? Is there some current event, a problem, a question, or another article that seems to have inspired the article? How do you know?
3. What seems to be the overall message or point of this article? Where does the author state this point or main claim?
4. What evidence does the writer include to support their claims? What pieces of evidence do you find most persuasive?
5. How is the article structured? What strategies has the writer used for introduction and conclusions? Why might the writer have chosen these particular strategies?
6. How does this article “speak” to the other two assigned articles? What do they have in common? What major differences can you identify? In other words, what is the “conversation”among the articles?

In your responses, make sure to fully answer each question, citing specific moments in the texts to support your answers. For all references, use an appropriate form of documentation (MLA, APA, or another standard style discussed in Easy Writer).

Part 2 Essay

In Essay #4, you will enter in conversation with other writers by writing a thesis-driven essay that responds to 3 readings selected by your instructor. Your essay should include all of the following:

• A precise thesis, or main claim
• Supporting details or evidence for your claim
• A clearly defined audience
• An outline of the “conversation” begin by the 3 assigned articles
• Direct reference (through quotation, summary, or paraphrase) to the 3 assigned articles

Guidelines for Essay #4

Length/Due Date: approximately 800-1,000 words, due Sunday midnight Central Standard Time (CST).

Style/Format: This, as all essays in EN106, should be formatted in a standard scholarly format. (Most students follow MLA or APA guidelines, which are outlined in Easy Writer.) No matter what format you follow, be sure to do the following:

• Use 12 point, Times New Roman font, double-spaced.
• Use 1-inch margins top, bottom, and sides.
• Although no cover page is needed, you should include your name, my name, the course number/title, and date at the upper left-hand corner of the manuscript.

Research & Documentation: This essay must include formal references to the assigned articles. Use your skills of quotation, paraphrase, and summary to incorporate these writers’ perspectives, and be sure to provide in-text citations using a standard scholarly style, such as MLA or APA. And, of course, you must also provide appropriate documentation for any other sources you cite.

File format: Please submit your essay as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file. These formats are available in most word processors, including Google Docs and Open Office, and will ensure that your instructor is able to comment on your work.

Works Cited/References: Your essay should include an appropriate bibliography, with an entry for each individual source you reference in the body of the essay.

Titles: Include a descriptive title at the beginning of your essay that tips your readers off to your thesis. Do not format your title with quotation marks, boldface, underlining or italics.

Cover pages: Please do not format your essay to include a cover page.

Deadline: Submit your final draft essay no later than Midnight CST on Sunday at the end of this unit.

Use of essays for future courses: Please understand that your essay may be used— anonymously—as a sample for future EN106 students and instructors unless you expressly request that it not be used. Your work, of course, will only be used for educational purposes.

Why Is This Assignment Important?

This assignment asks you to put together all of the habits of mind and academic writing skills you have practiced so far this term. You will need to read the articles critically, looking for “openings” or gaps in the conversation. You will need to seek out complexity among the assigned articles, and use revision and reflection to enter successfully into the conversation. Along the way, you will practice your rhetorical analysis skills, your ability to develop a working thesis, and thesis development techniques.

You have a great deal of choice in this assignment. You might start by reflecting: after reading the 3 assigned articles, what do you think? What can you add to the conversation?

Remember that your essay must not simply be a summary of the three articles. Instead, you must develop and argue for a specific thesis, addressed at a particular audience. Consider who you want to write to about the issue: other students? Community members? Your friends? Your work colleagues? University instructors? The authors of the articles themselves?