Writing Exercise 2 Refer carefully to all "SS" items on the Simple Stuff page as you complete the assignment below. Your grade will be determined not on the quality of your writing, but solely on your adherence to the guidelines for formatting and presentation outlined in the Simple Stuff handout.
Part I. Type a fully developed paragraph of at least 150 words that could serve as the introduction in an essay in persuasive format setting up an argument on the topic below. You should observe all the "golden rules."
Topic: an argument over whether parents' closer involvement in the lives of their children is a positive development or a harmful one. (This topic arises from our reading, "Letting Go," pp. 164-66 in The Little, Brown Reader.)
Recall that introductions in the persuasive format should culminate in a literal question at the end of the paragraph—not a thesis statement. Recall also that the introduction should be neutral, so that after reading it your reader should have no idea which side of the issue you would support in the body of the argument. Review the comments on introductions in the persuasive format handout and see the introduction in the sample essay.
Part II. Whether or not you quote the article or story in your paragraph (and I'm really not expecting you to), print on a separate numbered page (i.e. not on the same sheet as the intro paragraph) a works cited page with "Letting Go" as the "work cited." For specifics on how to create a works cited entry for a work from an anthology such as The Little, Brown Reader, see QD5M on my quotes and documentation page.Microsoft Word Note: to make a page break after the intro paragraph (to start a new page for the works cited page), press the control and enter keys simultaneously.
Be sure to follow all guidelines set forth in the Simple Stuff handout regarding margins, fonts and font sizes, margin justification, titles, headers, listing of your name, course and section, etc.
Turning in the exercise:
Print the two pages, staple them together, turn them in at the start of class the day the assignment is due.