Humanities Homework Help

Use your outline from Lesson 1 to draft an argumentative essay about censorship or other ways society limits free speech. Besides meeting the major requirements of the Lesson 1 assignment, your essay must also organize your ideas into paragraphs and address at least one counterclaim.

Your essay should include the following elements:

• A claim that is supported by reasons
• Cited sources that provide evidence for your claim and reasons
• A response to at least one counterclaim
• An introduction paragraph, body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph
• Transitions that connect ideas
• In-text citations and a works-cited list that includes all your researched sources

You should have completed a draft of this assignment in the activity before this one. If you haven’t done so, go back and complete that activity now.

Ask yourself these questions as you revise:

• Is my claim narrow enough that I can support it in a single essay? Is it controversial enough that reasonable people may disagree with it? Do I support it with at least two reasons?
• Is the counterclaim I’m refuting strong and reasonable? Do I respond to the counterclaim in a fair and civil way? Do I find common ground with my opponents?
• Does my introduction paragraph present the claim and provide background information? Does it hook the reader in some way?
• Does each body paragraph present evidence from sources or address a counterclaim?
• Does my conclusion remind the reader of my major points? Does it leave the reader with a lasting impression?
• Do I use transitions to guide the reader from one idea to the next and to improve the flow of sentences?
• Do my in-text citations and works-cited list follow MLA guidelines? Do I avoid plagiarism by citing each piece of evidence correctly, whether I quote it or paraphrase it? Do all my in-text citations refer to sources on my works-cited list?

Use this rubric to determine how well you’re meeting the criteria for the assignment.