Composition I: ENGL 111
Tim Kenyon, Lecturer of English
Saginaw Valley State University
Winter 2018
PORTFOLIO FOUR
When is it due?
E4 draft due during the week 14 instructor conference appointment
(What to bring: annotated bibliography, paragraphs, outline, process notebook)
Portfolio 4 due in my office, SW 351, on Monday, April 30, 2018 by 1:00 p.m.
What needs to be in the portfolio folder?
A signed portfolio honor pledge sheet
Essay Packet (revised and proofed)
Conference Draft (with my revision notes)
Process Notebook (process notes and invention writing)
Writing Center reflection letter (optional)
How much is it worth?
Portfolio 4 is worth 110 points toward your final grade.
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Introduction / Counterargument / Concession paragraphs (30 points)
Formal Outline (30 points)
Annotated Bibliography/References page (20 points)
Abstract (15 points)
Format / In-Text Citations / Grammar Conventions (5 points)
Process Notebook (10 points)
Essay 4 Guidelines
Essay Packet:
Title page
Abstract
Introduction / Counterargument / Concession paragraphs
Formal outline
References page
Annotated bibliography
Style:
APA Format (See Additional Notes below)
Genre:
Argumentative Research
Text Chapter to Read: Chapter 13
Introduction
“Living in a society demands a certain degree of conformity. As individuals in a society, we conform to laws,
clothing styles, hairstyles, and even culinary tastes (most Americans like french fries but not raw oysters).
We also conform to ways of thinking; we learn to follow intellectual conventions. This is not to say that we all
think alike…but we do buy into conventional modes or patterns of thought that, on the one hand, allow us to
participate in shared knowledge but, on the other hand, limit intellectual possibilities.” (The Composition of
Everyday Life)
Assignment
In this essay project you will be presenting a radical idea. You will start by asking, “What if…?” This question
will allow you to move beyond conventional thought, beyond the common beliefs, to focus and argue a
particular topic in a new and radical way.
Since this is an argumentative essay, you will need to rely on more than just your personal beliefs. Your
reader needs to be convinced of your new approach to a conventional thought by supporting it with textual
evidence. Therefore, you will be conducting research, analyzing the sources, and using ideas from those
sources in your writing to help support your thesis.
Choosing Your Topic
“Radical thinking is not necessarily a matter of topic choice; in fact, topics are not, in themselves, radical.
Radical thinking involves an adventurous approach to a topic and offers a new way to think.” (The
Composition of Everyday Life)
Topic: There are several prompts in the text on p. 439 - 441. Each of these takes a different approach to
radical thought. You will choose from these prompts and will in the blanks with whatever idea you want to
explore. Make that idea original and thoughtful. Stretch the boundaries of your imagination. I encourage you
to choose at least two possibilities for topics to give yourself more choices.
Beginning Your Research/Finding an Answer to Your Question
While your initial ideas after invention writing will lead you to a specific, open-ended, and insightful research
question, you cannot rely on your own response to that question as a thesis. You must research the topic to
find support and counterargument/concession points for your radical idea. Through research you will affirm
your topic and establish an ANSWER to your research question. This answer becomes your thesis
statement.
For this essay you will be required to use at least three (3) outside sources. These sources must come from
the library or relevant online source. They can take the form of a book (or e-book), magazine, newspaper,
academic journal, or reputable and credible online source. Only one source may come from the web. (Online
journals/books/periodicals are not considered “web” sources. This refers strictly to websites.)
Your sources will provide direct support for your argument/thesis. They will also provide your
counterargument and concession points.
The Essay Packet (Putting the pieces together…)
“The primary objective for this [essay] is to communicate a new vision on your topic. This will take some
sound explaining tactics. But you will also need to persuade your reader that your vision, your adventurous
new way of thinking, is valuable, and this will take a broad range of tools.” (The Composition of Everyday
Life)
Normally, with a typical research project, I’d be asking you to develop an argument and present it with
support in an essay. This project is different. You’ll be doing it all except the essay. The workload will still be
challenging. You will still be working through all of the analytical and argumentative processes of writing an
essay, but instead of creating the essay you will be creating a packet which will consist of several
components.
The Essay Packet
The components of the essay packet are:
ABSTRACT
An abstract is a brief, but complete summary of your entire research paper. See instructions detailing the
process of creating your abstract in Appendix A of this document.
THESIS & INTRODUCTION / COUNTERARGUMENT / CONCESSION PARAGRAPHS
Consider the long list of sample thesis statements in the Thesis section of the chapter to further understand
how radical ideas can lead to new ways of re-seeing the world. Your thesis is your own argument which
answers your research questions and is supported by the material you have discovered in your research.
Your thesis and introduction paragraph should be thorough in its presentation of your topic, your argument
and thesis. This paragraph will take the reader into consideration and be written just like any introduction to
an essay.
Your counterargument and concession paragraphs will take a different approach. Since these paragraphs
will be out of context, they will be more explanatory, analytical, reflective, and will clearly explain your
rhetorical approach to the source and its argument.
FORMAL “FULL-SENTENCE” OUTLINE
Draft your outline by elaborating on your argument developed in your working thesis. Be sure to reflect on
your invention writing as it will contain many valuable ideas about the topic. It will lead you through the initial
thoughts you had in developing this idea.
Create a draft that utilizes as many of the rhetorical tools as possible in order to discover the ones that are
most effective for your particular argument. Remember that using your research means analyzing and
making connections for your reader. Don’t leave quotes dangling and rely on the reader to decipher how they
relate to your thesis.
Your outline should be written using:
main ideas
supporting points
topic sentences
Sources w/ properly documented in-text citations
analysis of source material
Your outline should follow the same logical structure as the essay you’d otherwise be creating. You will use
the standard “alpha-numeric” approach to formatting the outline, however your final outline must be a “fullsentence” outline.
REFERENCES PAGE
Properly document all your sources in your outline. A properly cited and formatted APA References page is
required. Use the APA section of the handbook to help you with in-text and references citations. The writing
center is also a useful resource to assist you with documenting your research. Please also contact me if you
have any problems or questions. Proper citation is extremely important and ensures to avoid plagiarism,
even accidental. Note: Your annotated bibliography does not replace your references page.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
You will formally evaluate and annotate all of your outside sources. These annotations will be collected in
your annotated bibliography. See instructions detailing the process of creating your annotated bibliography in
Appendix B of this document.
Rubric for Essay Packet Contents
The standard ENGL 111 rubric will apply to each piece of this essay packet. The rubric is available in the
class Canvas site.
Additional Notes
All good essays have an original title so be sure to give it one. Formatting will follow APA rules: 1” margins,
12-point font (Times New Roman preferred), double spaced. Include a cover page, but no abstract is
needed. A sample APA formatted paper is available in Canvas. All essays will be graded using the English
111 rubric. A copy of this rubric is also available in Canvas.
NOTE: To be eligible for satisfactory completion of this assignment, your essay must…
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Display a significant attempt at revision from first draft to final draft
Fulfill all the requirements of the assignment including appropriate use of assigned rhetorical tools
and integrating the minimum number of outside sources (if required by assignment)
Meet the minimum page requirement
Follow all the above formatting guidelines
Any essay not meeting these basic requirements is not eligible to receive a grade higher than a “D.”
Appendix A
Abstract
Introduction
An abstract is a short summary of your completed research and an overview of the resulting paper,
essay, or presentation which presents that research. These are used to entice readers and
researchers to want to learn more about your research.
Checklist: Parts of an Abstract
Despite the fact that an abstract is quite brief, it must do almost as much work as the multi-page
essay that follows it. Each section of the abstract is covers a particular aspect of the research, but
the end result should read smoothly as a single document, not bullet points of sentence fragments.
The five sections of an abstract are:
Motivation: Why do we care about the problem and the results? This section should include the
importance of your work, the difficulty of the area, and the impact it might have and the
understanding it might create.
Problem statement: What problem are you trying to solve? What is the scope of your work (a
generalized approach, or for a specific situation)?
Approach: How did you go about solving or making progress on the problem? What types of
research did you complete? What was the extent of your work? What texts did you utilize?
Results: What's the answer? Specifically, what conclusion did you come to, or answer did you
discover while completing your research? What is your thesis attempting to accomplish?
Conclusions: What are the implications of your answer? Do your conclusions break any
longstanding stereotypes or biases? How might it potentially alter or change one’s view on
society/culture/the world in general?
Other Considerations
An abstract must be a fully self-contained description of the paper. It can't assume (or attempt to
provoke) the reader into flipping through looking for an explanation of what is meant by some
vague statement. The abstract must make sense all by itself.
Some points to consider include:
Meet the word count limitation. If your abstract runs too long, it cannot do its job which is to give
the reader a concise overview of your entire paper. Your purposes will be better served by doing
the difficult task of cutting down the word count without changing its meaning or intention. An
abstract word limit is between 150 to 250 words.
Think of a half-dozen search phrases and keywords that people looking for your work might use. Be
sure that those exact phrases appear in your abstract, so that they will turn up at the top of a
search result listing.
Appendix B
Annotated Bibliography
Introduction
An ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY is an alphabetized list of sources cited in a research project which
includes the writer’s “annotation,” a written analysis and evaluation of each of those sources. The
annotations are a tool to aid the writer in making informed choices about which potential sources are most
appropriate for the project, to help the writer understand the context of those sources, and to guide the writer
in creating connections between each source and the paper’s central argument.
Annotations in your bibliography accomplish three objectives:
• summarize the source’s content
• analyze the source’s critical framework (purpose, context, audience, voice, etc.)
• evaluate the source for its relevance, reliability, credibility, timeliness, and diversity
Evaluating Sources: Step One
The first step of source selection starts with exploration in writing. The initial evaluation of all sources you’re
considering will serve as a guide for making an informed decision about which sources best serve your
purpose. For each of the sources up for consideration, complete the questions in all five categories from the
evaluation information in the CEL textbook, chapter 15 (questions on 489 – 90). After responding to the
questions, use your best judgment to make informed decisions from your responses when deciding which
sources to keep and which to exclude.
Annotating Sources: Step Two
The annotation itself should be comprised of three paragraphs:
Paragraph 1) A summary of the source’s content. A brief summary of what is covered in the source,
including the source’s actual argument, its support, and its conclusion.
Paragraph 2) An analysis of the source’s context. Address the source’s critical framework. [The source’s
purpose, audience, writer’s voice, and medium (or genre/type of source).]
Also consider and comment on:
• What are the political or ideological biases the author(s), if any?
• Are there any issues of subjectivity in the argument or support?
• What flaws in the logic do you find in the argument or support?
• Is there any lack of evidence?
• Is there any questionable evidence?
Paragraph 3) An evaluation of the source. Comment on the source’s relevance, reliability, credibility,
timeliness, and diversity. (Summarize your Step 1 information here.)
Also consider and comment on:
• What are the source’s particular strengths and weaknesses?
• What does it contribute to its particular field of study, and how?
• How useful is the source for your specific purposes?
• How do you plan to use the source for your research project?
1
Running Head: TITLE
Title
Name
Saginaw Valley State University
TITLE
2
Abstract
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur efficitur, magna ac
laoreet lobortis, ex eros laoreet felis, eu pulvinar tortor mauris nec ex. Nam id risus sed turpis
lacinia blandit non at mi. Vivamus aliquet, nulla vestibulum gravida ultricies, lectus metus
elementum leo, in posuere tellus sapien quis metus. Vestibulum dapibus dui ante, quis
sollicitudin nunc imperdiet non. Maecenas id mauris in ex efficitur pharetra. Nullam sit amet
auctor nunc, sit amet molestie dui. Nam malesuada faucibus eros, quis tempus elit eleifend sit
amet.
TITLE
3
TITLE
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut vel rutrum erat. Sed commodo
ante et condimentum ultrices. Maecenas nec augue lorem. Curabitur in vulputate enim. Nam non
hendrerit lacus. Vestibulum pretium malesuada sodales. Curabitur ac ligula at purus facilisis
facilisis. Donec eget egestas nibh, vel ultrices leo. Proin lorem augue, sagittis at tincidunt a,
vulputate vitae libero. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec volutpat
eros at lacus scelerisque porttitor. In tincidunt vulputate est, sit amet ultricies orci euismod
rhoncus. In tempus libero justo, quis eleifend nunc finibus a. Pellentesque molestie viverra mi
eget condimentum. Praesent pellentesque dolor sit amet vulputate pretium.
Counterargument:
Donec eget egestas nibh, vel ultrices leo. Proin lorem augue, sagittis at tincidunt a,
vulputate vitae libero. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec volutpat
eros at lacus scelerisque porttitor. In tincidunt vulputate est, sit amet ultricies orci euismod
rhoncus. In tempus libero justo, quis eleifend nunc finibus a. Pellentesque molestie viverra mi
eget condimentum. Praesent pellentesque dolor sit amet vulputate pretium. In in nisi enim. Nam
vel ligula nibh. Suspendisse congue convallis sem. Integer laoreet auctor tincidunt. Phasellus
auctor tincidunt dolor et sodales. Nam nec mauris nec purus feugiat laoreet a in turpis. Class
aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos.
Concession:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris volutpat feugiat suscipit.
Ut sodales et ipsum ac suscipit. Nullam sed semper ex. Nulla luctus lacinia sem ut mattis. Sed
TITLE
4
ultrices nibh nibh, sed fringilla ligula aliquet posuere. In pulvinar ante leo. Aliquam semper,
tellus non interdum hendrerit, nulla sapien malesuada elit, blandit finibus mauris augue id erat.
Aliquam erat volutpat. Sed sapien risus, venenatis sit amet tellus quis, feugiat sodales libero.
Phasellus rhoncus pharetra viverra. Praesent facilisis nulla a dolor sodales bibendum.
Suspendisse et tortor eget orci blandit euismod. Proin convallis risus nec risus ultricies, eget
egestas massa commodo. Morbi nisl turpis, commodo quis pulvinar at, lacinia at mauris.
Donec quis nibh massa. Phasellus sodales convallis velit, ut euismod nisl interdum at. In
rhoncus mattis tortor. Proin congue accumsan neque, eget pretium velit molestie et. Vestibulum
sagittis hendrerit sem, ut egestas sapien convallis id. Duis ultricies augue eget turpis consectetur
euismod. Sed condimentum enim et facilisis volutpat. Sed vitae hendrerit turpis, non ultrices nisi.
Nulla lacinia dolor id sem tempor varius. Nulla auctor nunc quis mauris aliquet, ut sollicitudin ex
porttitor. Aliquam quis vehicula sapien, ac aliquam mauris. Mauris condimentum lobortis nisi, ut
vestibulum augue. Praesent semper cursus ullamcorper. Vestibulum sed tellus lorem. Donec in
mauris et elit dignissim fermentum.
TITLE
5
Outline
TITLE
6
References
TITLE
7
Annotated Bibliography
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