Causal Argument

Assignment: Write an essay investigating the causes or effects of a current trend, event, or phenomenon. You might, for example, seek to explain the popularity of superhero movie franchises, or

the continued relevance of a particular work, such as Little Women; alternatively, you might consider the

effects of social media use on mental health; or the effects of the declining number of honeybees; you

might examine the causes of mass shootings, or of the opioid epidemic, or the effects of marijuana

legalization. Whatever topic you select, your essay should strive to push beyond the obvious, revealing

new insights.

• Provide adequate background information regarding the trend, event, or phenomenon you are discussing. This may include a description of the topic, a brief history of the topic, a discussion of

what makes the topic significant, and an enumeration of some of the causes or effects proposed

by others.

• Establish your position vis a vis the causes or effects of your topic in a clear thesis statement.

• Support the thesis with detailed discussions of relevant evidence, while also accounting for and responding to possible objections.

• Conclude by summarizing your position, discussing its significance, and offering a powerful emotional appeal.

Learning Objectives: • To provide experience researching and thinking critically about cause and effect.

• To provide experience with engaging an on-going conversation conducted in and through written texts.

• To provide practice with the strategies of academic writing, including close reading and critical analysis, crafting thesis statements, crafting supporting paragraphs, responding to objections, and

incorporating sources.

Audience: MTSU Academic Community. Do not assume the audience has read the essays you are discussing. Provide enough details about the author and the essay for the reader to understand both their

positions and your own.

Tips: • Review Chapter 11 of your textbook for help thinking through the kinds of claims and strategies

of support typical of causal arguments.

• Use an umbrella thesis to make a strong statement regarding your position on the term you are defining. Alternatively, use an enumerative thesis to lay out your position and supporting points

o Umbrella: Trend X represents a serious threat to Y. OR The causes of trend X have so far been poorly understood.

o Enumerative: Trend X represents a serious threat to Y because A, B, C. OR The causes of trend X are not well understood, but a close look reveals the likeliest culprits to be A,

B, C.

• In exploring the topics you have chosen, be sure to separate proximate or precipitating causes from sufficient or necessary ones (see Chapter 11).

• For help organizing your essay, refer to the sample causal arguments included in your textbook on pages 280-85.

Requirements: 3-5 typed pages. Double Spaced. Include the standard assignment block in the upper left-hand corner (i.e. Your Name / Class Name / Instructor Name / Type of Assignment / Date). Use MLA

style and formatting throughout. Use the appropriate tone for an academic essay, as well as correct

grammar, spelling, and punctuation. This essay requires a minimum of three outside sources. All sources should be cited both in the text of your essay and in a separate works cited page.

Due Dates: See Schedule.

Essay Evaluation Sheet

Student ___ Final Grade

This evaluation sheet serves as an indication of where your essay is strong and weak. Use this information as a guide

when you write, revise, and edit your papers in the future. Remember: you can come in and talk to me about your

papers at any time during the process of writing them or 24 hours after they are returned to you. Each category uses the

Very Good to Weak scale; 100 total points are possible. Your grade is based on the points you receive out of those

possible 100 points and your final point score is calculated by applying the percentage of points out of 100 to the total

number of points possible for the specific assignment.

AREA SCORE OVERALL QUALITY SCORED CRITERIA

CONTENT _____ Very good *Interesting topic/title 5…4…3…2…1

30 points _____ Good * Clear significance 5…4…3…2…1

_____ Average * Meets the assignment 5…4…3…2…1

/30 _____ Needs improvement * Attention to Audience 5…4…3…2…1

_____ Weak * Strong support 5…4…3…2…1

*Vivid detail 5…4…3…2…1

ORGANIZATION _____ Very good

* Introduction 5…4…3…2…1

* Conclusion 5…4…3…2…1

30 points _____ Good * Development/control of ideas 5…4…3…2…1

/30 _____ Average * Logical sequencing of ideas 5…4…3…2…1

_____ Needs improvement * Transitions 5…4…3…2…1

_____ Weak * Unified paragraphs 5…4…3…2…1

Style _____ Very good * Accurate, precise word choice 5…4…3…2…1

20 points _____ Good * No wordiness 5…4…3…2…1

_____ Average * Tone/Voice 5…4…3…2…1

/20 _____ Needs improvement * Sentence variety 5…4…3…2…1

_____ Weak

GRAMMAR _____ Very good

* Misplaced or missing possessive apostrophes

3…2…1…0

15 points _____ Good

*Comma Use

3…2…1…0

_____ Average

* Sentence fragment

3…2…1…0

/15 _____ Needs improvement

*Agreement (s/v, p/a, tense)

3…2…1…0

_____ Weak * Run-on sentences 3…2…1…0

MECHANICS _____ Very good * Spelling/typos 2…1…0

5 points _____ Good * MLA style/Formatting 3…2…1…0

_____ Average

/5 _____ Needs improvement

_____ Weak

TOTAL

/100