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English Studies: Analytical Essay

Instructions

For this paper, you’ll research an issue that interests you. Here, take “issue” to mean a subject around which there is some debate. This might mean a current, “real world” problem that people are actively in conflict over, like current debates over whether restaurant workers should be paid a living wage. But you could also take “issue” to mean “abstract” debates around a topic that has no material “solution”: how do we define the concept of cultural appropriation, for example?

Using your research, you will write an essay that makes three moves:

1. Identify: Give your readers a sense of what the issue is. Think of this as where you define the topic and its limits: what counts as part of your issue? What are the terms or concepts or factual information that readers need to know about it?
2. Explore: Show your reader the history and complexity of your issue. Where did the topic originate and how? Why are we in this situation today? What are the various positions that people take regarding the subject? Imagine that you are mapping out the issue’s “terrain” for readers.
3. Persuade Why It Matters: No matter how important your issue is, it’s not the case that your readers will readily understand (or agree!) why they should care. So part of your task will be to argue convincingly for why your chosen issue really is so crucial to read and think about.

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Format

Your essay must be submitted on Canvas by the due date. The essay must be 5 full pages, double-spaced, with 1 inch margins on all sides, and in a professional 12 point font such as Times New Roman. Title your paper in a way that engages your reader and hints at what you say in the paper (not just “Essay 2,” etc.). English Studies: Analytical Essay

Research

For this paper, you’ll perform research into your chosen issue. The final paper should draw on at least three sources, incorporating them in in-text citations and a Works Cited page according to MLA style. Refer to Purdue OWL as a resource in preparing your citations.

I choose: “The effect of illegal immigrants on the economy of the United States”.