Final Draft Word Count and Setup Requirement:
- 1300-1500 words (plus a correctly formatted APA cover page)
- 12-point Times New Roman font
- Double-spaced lines
- 3rd person point of view
What:
Using well-chosen, real-life examples to illustrate your definition, define and explain the meaning of a particular concept or phrase to someone unfamiliar with it (or unfamiliar with your understanding of it). Remember to include your properly formatted APA cover page.
How:
Separate the concept or phrase into parts and discuss them as sections of the larger whole. For example, if you decided to write about the concept of “friend,” you could teach a reader about the term by describing two or three different types of friends, giving examples of each.
Brainstorm:
After you decide on the concept you will write about for this essay, brainstorm what you already know (and what you’d like to know) about the concept.
Thesis:
Write a thesis statement of your definition and explanation.
Rhetorical Structure:
You can organize your essay as follows:
- Start with a paragraph that introduces the concept of “friend” and provides a summary of the word. Your introductory paragraph would also contain your thesis statement that informs the reader of the specific types of friends you will discuss in the essay’s body paragraphs: best friend, family friend, and Facebook friend.
- Define the types of friends in your essay’s body paragraphs, giving examples to illustrate the types. For a five-page essay, one or two paragraphs might be devoted to each description of each type of friend.
- Conclude your essay by summarizing the types of friends described in the project, connecting to the introduction’s thesis statement.
Revise:
Revise the entire document several times to ensure you have conveyed your thoughts clearly, you have developed examples with details, and you have shown logical transitions from one paragraph to the next.
Edit:
Print your essay and read it ALOUD to check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
APA Citation Basics:
This assignment does not require outside research; the finished essay should not need in-text citations or a References page. The assignment does not require an abstract. The assignment does, however, require a properly formatted APA cover page.
Academic Format, Citation and Integrity Resources:
Please view this link to learn how to format in-text citations or make a references page:
https://guides.lib.unc.edu/citing-information/apa-in-text
Please view this link to learn what plagiarism is and how to avoid it:
http://subjectguides.lib.neu.edu/plagiarism
REMEMBER to SUBMIT your draft(s) to your WRITING SPECIALIST in your Online Writing LAB (ENG 1108). Your OWL WRITING SPECIALIST will help you develop a polished, well-crafted final version of your work.
Why:
This assignment strengthens your ability to analyze and explain a concept for different audiences, subjects, and purposes, and to identify main ideas, supporting evidence, and conclusions. Completing this assignment also helps you develop assessment, revision and editing skills.
REMEMBER: Chief Executive Officers consistently list writing skills as one of the top five most important skills required of their employees.
