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Do not use statistics or the Internet or any sources or quotes for this essay (or any essay 1, 2, 3) or the paper will fail.  You cannot invent or create your own question.  You cannot change the directions for a paper.  For example, you must write five paragraphs, no more and no less.
You must read all of the directions, first, in order to understand how to write this paper. 
In this paper you will be giving advice to a person who has a problem (He/She says…I say).   Your choice of questions or problems — the topic — are below.
You will invent the person, anyone, who has the problem.  You will just make up a name.  I have a friend named John.
You will write a total of five paragraphs, and each paragraph will be a 1/2 page, double-spaced, in Times New Roman, 12 point.
The entire paper will be 2 1/2 pages.  Too short a paper will receive a lower grade.  A longer paper will not necessarily get a higher grade.  What matters is quality and that you write 2 1/2 pages, double spaced.
Again, for this paper you will write a total of five paragraphs.  You will find the exact choices/topics you will write on farther below, but for now, as an example, suppose you are writing about how to convince someone, John, to go to college (your advice is to help him with his excuses for why he cannot go to college):
Para. 1 – In this paragraph you will begin with an introduction that will say who the person is and describe what a good person he or she is in the majority of the paragraph (around 3/4 of it). 
I have a good friend named John.  He is a good person.  He exercises every morning and tries to eat well.  He is a member of his church and likes to take part in fundraisers for his community.  He has two kids… (and so on, for 3/4 of the paragraph).
Your paper, no matter the topic, will begin that way.  Then, in that same paragraph, make a transition with the words: In spite of these qualities.  In spite of these qualities, John says he cannot go to college.  Next list, as your thesis points, in three separate sentences, his three excuses.  John says he doesn’t have the confidence and never did well in school before.  John also says he doesn’t have the discipline for college and it is just too hard.  Finally, John says college is too expensive.   (Do not use bold).  Now, the last line of the paragraph will say only, I have some advice for him.
(Note: to avoid the monotony of sentences in your introduction — such as,  John plays in a church band.  John runs track.  John earns good grades.  John helps his grandmother — use phrases such as: One thing John loves is…  When he is in church, he likes to…  I have seen him help…  During the daytime, he….  At night, he…  Also, after we got to be better friends, I discovered that John…  Most of all, however, John enjoys… Even though he is not a great guitarist, he loves to play…)
Para 2 – In this paragraph start with a strong topic sentence that is the same as your first thesis point in paragraph 1.  John says he doesn’t have the confidence and never did well in school before.  Yes, you will state that sentence twice, once in the first paragraph and again here, in this paragraph.  It is in fact repeated.  The entire rest of the paragraph will be advice from you.  You should have at least four pieces of advice that you develop, in detail, to help him to overcome the specific problem you mentioned in the topic sentence to start this paragraph.  That means you will not just list four things for him to do, but that you will have four things and give detail to them.  Your advice will help him to overcome his “confidence” problem.
Para 3 – This paragraph is the same as paragraph two in organization, except you will start with a topic sentence that is the same as your second thesis statement, John also says he doesn’t have the discipline for college and it is just too hard, and of course your advice will be different — designed to address his “discipline problem.” Yes, you will state that sentence twice, once in the first paragraph and again here, in this paragraph.  It is in fact repeated. Give four suggestions to him to overcome his issue, but make sure the suggestions are developed and thus longer than just four sentences.  Remember each paragraph needs to be 1/2 a page.
Para 4 – The organization of this paragraph is also the same as the form of paragraphs one and two.  But in this paragraph you will start with a topic sentence that is the same as your third thesis statement, Finally, John says college is too expensive.  Yes, you will state that sentence twice, once in the first paragraph and again here, in this paragraph.  It is in fact repeated.  Then give four suggestions for him to overcome his issue.
Para 5 – In summary, you will begin by writing In summary, and then sum up the three pieces of advice you gave him in paragraphs 2, 3, and 4, in order.  I told John to join a study group.  Another thing I told him to do is…  Finish by saying a few words about how much happier he will be if he follows your advice.
Assignment: What will you write about?  YOU MAY NOT WRITE ABOUT COLLEGE.  For this assignment, you will encourage a person with a problem to take your point of view ON ONE OF THE TOPICS BELOW.  Do not use statistics or the Internet or any sources or quotes for this paper or the paper will fail.  You must choose from one of the five question below.  You cannot invent your own question and you cannot improvise (change a question even slightly) or your paper will fail.
Assignment: Write a five-paragraph essay on one of the following to encourage (also you may not write on how to encourage someone to go to college):
1. A smoker to stop smoking (he or she gives excuses why he can’t quit, and you will give advice on how to overcome those excuses)
2. An unhealthy eater to stop eating junk food (he or she gives excuses why he can’t stop eating at McDonald’s, for example, and you will give advice on how to overcome those excuses)
3. A non-religious person to go to church, synagogue, or any other religious place of worship (he or she gives excuses why he can’t go to church — too early, can’t relate to priest, hypocrites, etc — and you will give advice on how to overcome those excuses)
4. A woman and her right to choose (she gives excuses why she wants to have an abortion and you will give advice on how to overcome those excuses; in this paper if you really want to, you may reverse the excuses — that her excuses are NOT to have an abortion, and you will advise her TO have a abortion, if you so choose, but that is a more difficult paper).
5. A substance abuser to stop using alcohol or drugs (CHOOSE ONE DRUG: John says he cannot stop smoking marijuana because of peer pressure, nerves, and addiction, for example.  You will give him advice to overcome three excuses).
In all papers, regardless of if you are writing about a social issue, such as drug abuse or abortion and a woman’s right to choose, use a fake name of a person who has three arguments (or problems) with the issue.  Do not use statistics or the Internet or any sources or quotes for this paper or the paper will fail 
Do not use “you” in this paper.  That is because this paper is in part an exercise in the correct use of third-person pronouns (he or she, etc).  Remember if you are talking to one person, refer to the person as he or she.  If you are referring to more than one person, use the pronoun they.  Do not use “you,” as in, You should seek help in the financial aid office, or, Dan, you should go to the financial aid office.  Write, Dan can go to the financial aid office and get a FASFA form and fill it out.  Also, he can…  Use the pronoun he — He can get help at the College.  Don’t direct him: Go to the College.  See an advisor.  Rather, Dan should also consider seeing an advisor.  OK?
Advice is a noun.  Advise is a verb.  My advice is for him to get up earlier…  I advised him to use Nicorette gum…  One piece of advice I gave to John is to…
Healthy in an adjective.  John does not eat healthy — is incorrect.   John does not healthy food — is correct.
In your body paragraphs, use transition words for clarity: first, second, moreover, however, also, besides, he should not forget to, he should also remember to, he tends to, seldom, usually, however, he should watch out for, etc.
So that is the assignment.  If you want more detail, please note the following:
The entire paper is five paragraphs.  But below we will look in more detail at how to write the body paragraphs (the middle three paragraphs), of which there will be a total of 3.  Below is an example of those paragraphs — a sample.  Please read it:
(DO NOT WRITE ON THIS TOPIC) How to convince someone to stay in college at CVC.
What would you tell him (or her)?  How would you address three complaints he has?  For example, he says the following to begin with:
John says he doesn’t have the confidence and never did well in school before.
What are four suggestions you would give him from your own experience?  Remember that those suggestions must address his feeling that he is not confident about his ability.
a. I didn’t have confidence, either, when I started college.
b. He can join a study group.
c. He can get help from a tutor.
d. He can take fewer classes, which will give him more time to concentrate on the classes he does take.
Next paragraph and another excuse: He doesn’t have the discipline and college is just too hard.
Four suggestions:
a. College is hard for most everyone.
b.
c.
d.
Now develop those four suggestions into a paragraph.  The paragraph begins in the following way.
John says he doesn’t have the discipline and college is just too hard. The first thing I would tell the student is that I lacked discipline when I first….
B.   Here is a more detailed example of how the body paragraphs (paras. 2,3,4) will be outlined:
2.    John says he doesn’t have the confidence and never did well before.
a.  the student must understand that most entering students don’t have confidence
b.  college is a place where professors help students to build confidence (say how, give examples)
c.  many other college students never “did well before”; this is the student’s chance to start again, and just think what will happen if the student does do well (give realistic and sky-is-the-limit examples)
d.  it is better to try than not to try—imagine the alternatives (give examples of grave, threatening consequences)
3.  John says he just doesn’t have the discipline and college is too hard.
a.     college is a place where discipline is often learned for the first time
b.     we have patient professors, bright tutors, and experienced students to help the student learn concentration
c.     available at CVC are many clubs, organizations, and athletic teams that also assist in building discipline (college is not only about the classroom)
d.     many, many successful people started out feeling the same way
4.    John says college is too expensive.
a.   college is expensive for most everyone who goes to college; imagine the cost of not having an education (again, some dark, grave, life-shattering examples will do great here)
b.    student aid and loans
c.    make sacrifices, such as no more clubs, clothes, or unlimited cell-phone plans
d.    compare CVC to expensive colleges
e.   Those are the body paragraphs.  How to write paragraphs one and five (the first and the last paragraphs) are above.   Please write to me if you have questions.

For this essay, you will choose Macbeth as your main text.
In your essay, you should begin by posing an argumentative thesis statement that promises to explore an interesting aspect of the text you’ve chosen. An argumentative thesis statement is one that requires proof and one that can be refuted by a different interpretation of the text. You will use quotations from the text to support your argument. Your argument should make an important intervention into interpretations of the text, and should not simply reiterate material discussed in class.
You may choose your own topic and thesis, and we encourage you to choose something that interests you. One way to begin thinking about this essay can be by posing a question, one to which your thesis statement will provide a robust answer.
An example of a thesis statement from an A paper on Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko has all of the elements we’re looking for in a thesis statement. This student offers a thesis statement that (a) requires textual evidence that must be clearly analyzed and explained by the student, (b) is one that could be refuted by differing interpretations of the evidence at hand, and (c) makes an important intervention into interpretations of the text (in this case, arguing that Behn uses the ambiguous narrator to influence English readers into thinking about the violence of slavery). Your intervention should also comprise the “so what?” of your thesis—the explanation of why it is an important intervention to make in the study of your text. This thesis statement requires substantive argumentation to prove the student’s point:
In her prose piece Oroonoko, Behn frames the narrator as a connection point between the English readers and the characters of the story, using the narrator as a means of implicating the readers in the violence of slavery.
Two caveats: First, beware of making any sweeping generalizations or assumptions about the lives of early modern peoples (such as: women were always oppressed and never allowed to speak; or: Shakespeare represents every lived experience in early modern England). Your essays should avoid such tropes and instead should explore the nuances of your arguments as evidenced by the text. All of this is to say: the argument you make and the ways you prove your thesis should be grounded in textual evidence in the form of quotes that require analysis, rather than in larger assumptions or generalizations.
Second caveat: Try to avoid only rehashing arguments made in class. I am looking for fresh thinking on these texts. You can certainly use bits and pieces from class as jumping-off points, but the bulk of your essay should be your own thoughts and arguments about the text.
Research Component
This essay should also incorporate research from at least 3 scholarly articles.
A scholarly article is one that appears in a peer-reviewed journal or publication, or as a chapter in a book. 
Useful databases for this kind of research include the MLA International Bibliography (although they only link to articles/book chapters, so some may be inaccessible); JSTOR; and ProjectMUSE.
Avail yourself of Interlibrary Loan services for texts not held by the library.
Please include your scholarly sources on your works cited page.
You should engage with each scholarly source: that is, your quotations from your sources are not self-explanatory. Tell your reader how this source helps your argument. That can happen in several ways: you might disagree with the article’s premise, and you can explain how your counterinterpretation is correct; the article might illuminate something about the text you’re analyzing that helps support your argument; or the article might offer some background or an interpretation of a part of the text that you’re not directly discussing, but want to incorporate (without having to prove it in, say, an entire paragraph of your own essay). There are myriad other ways to incorporate other scholarly articles, just ask if you have questions!
Please note that dictionary entries, biographical entries, etc. do not count toward this requirement.
You can only use 1 (one) of the scholarly articles we have read in this class in your essay.
Formal Requirements
Formally speaking, you are not limited to the standard five-paragraph essay; each paragraph, instead, should move your argument forward towards the conclusion. If you can rearrange your paragraphs without affecting the sense of your argument, your argument is probably not complex enough. Your essay must have:
A title that reflects the argument you are making.
A formal introductory paragraph that names the work you will be discussing, and includes an argumentative thesis statement. You should also include a brief roadmap or outline that explains where your paper will go, so your reader knows what to expect as your argument unfolds.
Each body paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that explains the mini-argument of that paragraph; quotations and textual evidence from the text; and a concluding sentence that both sums up the paragraph and transitions it to the next.
A formal conclusion that restates your thesis statement and offers some closing thoughts on the significance of your argument.
A works cited page that lists your primary text and all secondary texts referenced in your essay, in proper citation format. Do not rely on autogenerated citations! They are often wrong. Verify your citation formats using your style guide of choice. Updated guides can be accessed for free via the Online Writing Lab at Purdue: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/index.htmlLinks to an external site..
Basic Requirements
Length: 1250
12-point font
1” margins
Consistent citation format (MLA or Chicago preferred)
Works cited page (not included in the word count)