Due Monday, 21 November -- Two Persuasive Essays

Due date: Monday, 21 November

English 1301
Angelina College
Mr. Hall

Persuasive Essays

1. You will write two itty-bitty essays arguing both sides of an issue. Employ both logic and emotion.

2. Write a brief essay, slightly more than a page, supporting an idea or proposition. Then write another brief essay, again more than a page, arguing against that very idea or proposition. Each itty-bitty essay can stand alone or, if you prefer, your second essay may respond to your first essay. Avoid prompt-dependence. As always, follow the MLA essay format.

3. Since you are arguing both sides, you will probably want to choose a topic to which you are not emotionally committed. Indeed, you should have some fun with this (Ford? Or Chevy? Desperate Housewives? Or House?) as a break from your dry, grim, serious research paper.

4. Each essay should employ complete MLA essay format.

5. Write in first- or third-person, although rhetorical questions addressed to the audience (My fellow Texans, how can you find this bizarre idea credible?) are permitted.

6. Don't forget to employ vivid verbs instead of relying heavily on weak state-of-being verbs.

7. Prompts are pretty much open except for abortion, sex, sin, satanism, suicide, terminal diseases, and other grim, depressing issues. You might, however, consider whether or not whoever invented television reality shows should be executed or given a life sentence.