JTAC News (Stephenville, Tex.), Ed. 1 Thursday, September 7, 2017 Page: 2 of 7
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OPINION
Randall Toops|Ad Representative
/^OFFICE
Caleb Chapman
Katherine Millican
Ian Troub
Dalton Vondra
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C CONTACT US
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JTAC News
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Stephenville, TX 76402
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CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS
The Tarleton State University Police Department
no longer boots cars. The number of unpaid tickets
before being towed is now five and not three as
was printed in the last edition of JTAC.
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JTACNEWS.COM * Tarleton State University * Thursday September 7, 2017_
Composition tips from an Composition teacher
Stephanie Rosenquist-David
Adjunct Faculty
samiller@tarleton.edu
Composition classes often are filled
with students who believe they are good
enough writers, or who have the idea
that writing just isn’t going to make a
difference in their respective career(s).
Many will probably read this, thinking,
good grief, what is this woman going
to tell me about writing an essay that
I didn’t already learn in high school
After all, most students made it through
high school English and probably have a
good idea of what a basic research essay
consists of.
Wellllllll.........Not so much.
While there are a variety of ways to
research material for academic paper
writing, there are basics that students
need to understand. Research writing
is learning certain necessities that will
assist in solid research for any and all
research projects. These habits and/
or skills will be helpful in college class
course work and eventually in all future
careers.
Expectations
The idea that you are going to have to
write this huge paper in a Composition
class, filled with citations from outside
sources that will defend your argument
or stance on a topic, may seem a bit
daunting; however, there are suggested
methods, practices and tricks to
researching and using the material found
in writing methods that Composition
professors will share.
Clearly, research writing is a
substantial piece of academic writing
that is inclusive to independent research
on a topic to assist in describing and/or
supporting the findings of such research
material. For a Composition course (along
with many other courses) you will be
learning how to select a research topic
that allows you to take a stance on one
side of a debatable topic. The researched
argumentative essay is one which you
must make a claim, justify this claim with
RESEARCHED support.
When you question a debatable
topic, you tend to choose a side which
you agree with; however, when you do
select a debatable topic to research
and then write about, you need to look
at the entire perspective of the topic,
meaning both sides of the argument, in
order to determine if you have enough
information to support your own belief.
You should ask questions about the topic
in order to begin research. Start with your
topic in the form of a question and create
an answer which you believe could be the
result of your research.
The researched argumentative essay
is a genre of writing that requires the
student to investigate a topic; collect,
generate and evaluate evidence;
and establish a position on the topic
in a concise manner. This essay is
commonly in any number of courses,
such as a capstone or final project for
bachelor’s degrees or in first year writing
or advanced composition courses.
Argumentative essay assignments
generally call for extensive research
of literature or previously published
material. Argumentative assignments
may also require empirical research
where the student collects data through
interviews, surveys, observations or
experiments. Detailed research allows
the student to learn about the topic and
to understand different points of view
regarding the topic so that she/he may
choose a position and support it with
the evidence collected during research.
Regardless of the amount or type of
research involved, argumentative essays
must establish a clear thesis and follow
sound reasoning.
A Complete Argument
Perhaps it is helpful to think of an
essay in terms of a conversation or
debate with a classmate. If I were to
discuss the cause of World War II and
its current effect on those who lived
through the tumultuous time, there
would be a beginning, middle and end to
the conversation. In fact, if I were to end
the argument in the middle of my second
point, questions would arise concerning
the current effects on those who lived
through the conflict. Therefore, the
argumentative essay must be complete,
and logically so, leaving no doubt as to its
intent or argument.
The teaching of argumentative writing
has been one of the most important
elements in my life. I truly enjoy
watching a Composition student move
from hating writing to getting a kick
out of seeing their paper grow and build
over the course of a semester, to their
surprise in finally forming a really good
defense of their argument. While my
classrooms tend to often debate those
untouchable topics many students were
not encouraged to discuss in their high
school years, the underlying focus is
to get each one to understand there is
more to taking a stance on a topic, there
is supporting the stance with evidence,
proof and substantiation.
Photo courtesy of Stephanie Rosenquist-David
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JTAC News (Stephenville, Tex.), Ed. 1 Thursday, September 7, 2017, newspaper, September 7, 2017; Stephenville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1007430/m1/2/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.