Part I: Basic requirements of Essay 3
The essay meets the required length of 1600-1800 words and flips the
argument you used for Essay 2. (You cannot use the same argument twice.)
The essay incorporates eight peer-reviewed sources.
The essay, as a whole, hasn’t merely provided information on the general
topic of artificial intelligence, but articulates and upholds a position/claim in
response to the chosen position for the question on the instructions.
The essay’s presentation, as a whole, is consistent with current guidelinesfor
MLA (9th ed. - 2021) or APA (7th ed. - 2020) manuscript formatting (see our
textbook for manuscript guidelines).
The essay supports its central argument in the body of the paper using peerreviewed, scholarly research rather than general Web sources (i.e. news
sites, blogs), personal beliefs, experiences, or opinions.
The essay, as a whole, draws upon legitimate paraphrases (source content
rewritten in your own words and cited) and legitimate quotations (source
content quoted word-for-word and cited) for support. No “patchwriting”
(that is, only slight rewording of the original) or unacknowledged “lifting” of
sentences from sources/elsewhere is evident that could be viewed as
plagiarism.
The essay, as a whole, demonstrates a working knowledge of core concepts
and skills in the course (i.e. manuscript formatting, signal phrases, in-text
citation, topic sentences, etc.)
The essay reflects a general familiarity with and understanding of artificial
intelligence as a larger research topic. (You are not expected to be an expert
in that topic, but the essay should demonstrate that you’ve done enough
reading of available scholarship to be aware of recurring discussions, issues,
etc.)
The essay, as a whole, is free of obvious surface errors (i.e. typos, spelling
mistakes, diction/usage errors, misplaced/missing punctuation, grammatical
problems).
The essay, as a whole, works to avoid errors noted as part of the feedback on
Essay 1, Essay 2, the Midterm Exam, and the Annotated Bibliography (that is,
be careful to avoid repeating past errors).
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Part II: The essay itself
Introduction
Sufficient background information is provided for the casual reader to
reasonably understand the topic of artificial intelligence and its controversial
or divisive nature. (That is, they’d be aware that not everyone views artificial
intelligence similarly.)
Key terminology (where applicable) is defined using scholarly definitions or
explanations (vs. less scholarly definitions from Wikipedia or the dictionary).
Definitions or other background information in this paragraph is sourced and
cited.
Your thesis statement clearly indicates a position on the issue; that is, your
reader can see you taking a stand that answers the research question. (If you
don’t articulate a position, your risk writing an essay full of general
information and nothing more. That won’t make for an argumentative essay.)
Your thesis statement clearly indicates two or three lines of argument in
support of your chosen position. These “points” should be distinct from each
other and easily grasped by the reader. (Rule of thumb: the longer a thesis
statement has become, the greater the chance it has become unclear. Keep
your thesis w/ lines of argument limited to one or two sentences at most.
“Simple” is best.)
Body
Each body paragraph begins with a topic sentence that establishes both the
line of argument you will pursue and its connection to the overarching thesis
claim. (After reading this sentence, the reader should be able to clearly grasp
“Ah, this is a paragraph about ______ and it will be one way of showing that
X is true.”)
Quotations are sufficiently introduced with both signal phrases and context
re: the circumstances under which that content is used or appears in the
original source. Without context, some quotations’ sudden appearance could
be jarring or confusing to your reader.
All quoted and paraphrased material from your sources in the body of the
paper are clearly and accurately cited using in-text citation.
Discussion of quoted or paraphrased material in this paragraph sufficiently
accounts for 1) the significance of that material (Why is it important enough
to be included in your paper? What does it reveal?), and/or 2) an indication
of how/why that material helps to support your main thesis claim. Don’t
assume the importance of a quote/paraphrase is self-evident; it likely needs
unpacking.
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The body paragraphs contain an appropriate balance of your voice and your
sources’ voices. Tip: to spot for this, use the highlighter tool in MS Word to
highlight all quotes and paraphrases in your essay. If, after doing so, your
paper is overwhelmingly yellow – that is, “they” are doing most of the
“speaking” and you very little – you need to do more to flex your governance
over the material. Insert more of your own voice to explain significance, build
connections between different sources, show commonalities, points of
divergence, how your research might refute what the opposing viewpoint
has to say on the matter, etc. Once you’ve done so, there should be a more
even balance in the paper between yellow highlighted sections and nonhighlighted.
Conclusion
The conclusion of the essay restates the thesis, without making it sound too
repetitive of earlier. Say the same thing, but differently. (Note too: if the
conclusion is the first and possibly the only place your argument appears in
the paper, you may have arrived at an argument rather than staked and
upheld one in the essay. Arriving at a position this late won’t be especially
persuasive; hence, why it’s important that a thesis claim is clearly articulated
upfront.)
The conclusion briefly revisits or summarizes main findings addressed in the
body of the paper.
The conclusion perhaps gestures toward further research or action but does
not venture too far into opening new discussions or lines of argument. This
is also generally not the place to continue quoting from sources. If there was
a case to make, it was in the body of the paper – not in the conclusion of the
essay.
Works Cited or References page
Remember: Your list of sources is not a separate Word file but begins on the
first new page after the final page of your essay. This list is double-spaced like
the rest of the essay and paginated per current MLA or APA guidelines. (If
your essay proper is styled in APA, you will require an APA References page;
if MLA, you will need a Works Cited page.) The feedback you receive on your
Annotated Bibliography assignment will be useful to check your accuracy
here. Remember, though: you don’t have to produce annotations again here.
For each distinct source used in your essay, there is a corresponding entry on
this page that adheres to current MLA or APA guidelines. (A research paper
that draws from eight distinct sources, for instance, requires eight distinct
entries.)
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Entries on this page are alphabetized. (This is easy to forget. Many students
do.)
The second and subsequent lines of each bibliographic entry are indented so
that those lines begin approximately under the fifth letter of the first line.
(One hit of the Tab button is usually sufficient.)
Capitalization of source (e.g. book, article) titles is true to the requirements
of current MLA or APA guidelines and is handled consistently across all
relevant entries.
Formatting of pagination, volume, issue, journal titles, etc. is true to the
requirements of current MLA or APA guidelines and is handled consistently
across all relevant entries.
Before you submit your work on (or before) the due date, make sure:
You have run Spell Check and Grammar Check on your file to search for any
last errors.
You have had a friend or family member proofread the essay to look for any
errors that Spell Check and Grammar Check might not catch. Doing so may
also help to make sure that you have an argument in the essay, and that your
reader can easily understand the reasons you are using to support that
argument.
You have double-checked that the document you are sending me is in Word
format (.docx) instead of .pdf, .pages, etc. (I may not grade your paper until
the correct format is received)
You have double-checked that your file name for this completed essay is
distinct from other drafts or copies, and that before you click “Send” the
correct file is attached to the email.
Important:
As noted in the Course Syllabus, a passing grade on Essay 3 is a necessary (but not necessarily a
sufficient) requirement for passing the course. This assignment is your opportunity to
demonstrate a mastery of concepts accrued during the semester, and my opportunity to confirm
you are exiting the course with the expected skills. Students who receive an “F” on Essay 3 will
receive a final course grade of “F,” regardless of other results. That said, please see the
assignment instructions packet for info about how rarely this outcome occurs and how to be sure
to avoid it.