DOCUMENTED

PERSUASIVE
ESSAY
(PBA)
Mr. S. Kelley
8th Grade Language Arts
April 13, 2016

RESEARCH PAPER
EXPECTATIONS
Documented Persuasive Essay You will research a
humanitarian, make an assertion, and write a
persuasive essay, persuading the United Nations
that they would be the best humanitarian role model
for a public announcement, using the information
that you have gathered from several sources.
Number of pages required: The final copy of the
research essay must have

Four

(4) handwritten pages (Do not write on the back of

the paper.) or two double-spaced typed pages

A cover page and
A works-cited page

RESEARCH PAPER
EXPECTATIONS

Writing Process: You must follow the writing

process.
Prewriting

Rough Draft

Drafting
Revision
Editing
Conferencing
Publishing

Final Copy
All work should be
turned in with
your final copy.

RESEARCH PAPER
EXPECTATIONS

Sources Required: Four

One

Primary Source
Three Secondary Sources

Sources can include:

Books
Magazines
Internet/Websites
Newspapers

Sources must be valid and reliable.

Note Cards

20

Note Cards are required (Look at the

sample on the screen.)

RESEARCH PAPER
EXPECTATIONS
MLA Format You must use and follow the
MLA format for this research paper. We will
discuss this format on tomorrow.
PBA Rubric: Lets review the rubric to identify
how your paper and research activities will
be scored.

Organization

(20 points)
Development/Synthesis of Ideas (15 points)
Use of Language/ Conventions (15 points)
Research Conventions (10 points)
Research/Writing Process (40 points)

PERSUASIVE RESEARCH ESSAY

Your persuasive research essay should
include:
A Cover Page

_______________________________

An Introduction: (1-2 paragraphs)

Lead
Assertion and/or Thesis
____________________________________

A Body: (3-7 paragraphs)

2 or 3Arguments to support your assertion/thesis. (Each argument will have

its own paragraph.)
________________________________

A Conclusion: (1 paragraph)

Restatement of your assertion and a

Memorable ending or a call to action

_____________________________

A Works-Cited Page

ASSERTION
An assertion is an opinion, belief or claim
stated with conviction.
Conviction means that you strongly and
firmly believe in what you are asserting.
The assertion is also called the position.
Position: An attitude, opinion, or particular
stand on an issue. Your assertion.
(Lets look at the rubric.)

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THESIS
A thesis is a statement or premise
supported by arguments.
(The thesis is also the controlling or central
idea of your essay.)

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LEAD
A persuasive essay should have a lead in
the introduction.
Lead: Generally, the opening sentence in the
introduction of a persuasive essay.
The lead should
GRAB your
attention.

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RESEARCH PROCESS

MLA (Modern Language Association)

Format
Types

of Sources:

Primary Sources: An original or first-hand source of

information, such as a letter, diary, or a legal
document.
Secondary Sources: Sources that pull together or
interprets information.

Documenting

Sources:

Source/Note Cards: Write information that you will

insert into your paper on the source/note cards.
Information that will help prove your arguments or
disprove a counterargument.
Quoting a Source: If you use the exact words of a
source, you must put it in quotes

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RESEARCH PROCESS

MLA Format
Documenting

Sources continued:

Source/Note Cards: Write information that you will insert

into your paper on the source/note cards.
DO NOT PLAGIARIZE! Plagiarizing is when you use
another persons (an authors) words or ideas as your
own, without documenting the source of the
information.
You will receive a zero if you plagiarize.
Do not plagiarize!

Avoid plagiarizing by:

Paraphrasing Restating the information using your own
words.
Summarizing Putting together the most important parts
of the information into your own words.
Direct Quotation - Use the authors exact words, enclosing
their words in quotes ..

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RESEARCH PROCESS

Direct Quotations:

Example: More than two-thirds of the American people

lived within fifty miles of the Atlantic Ocean, and they had
almost no contact with settlers who had crossed the
Allegheny Mountains (Jones 14).

Parenthetical Citation (shown above): At the end of a

quote or paraphrased information, place the last name
of the author and the page number of the information
in parenthesis.

In-text Citations: These citation are positioned within

a sentence when the author or source has already
been mentioned.

Example: According to Jones, (2001), we should give

credit to our sources.

Both parenthetical and in-text citations give the

author credit for their information and it can be easily
referenced if needed.

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RESEARCH PROCESS

MLA Format
Documenting

Sources: (The final page)

Works Cited: A page that will be at the end of your

paper.
Lists the sources that you used to write your report.
Do not include sources you looked at but did not
use.
Lets look at some examples in our Writing Coach
textbook.

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RESEARCH PROCESS

MLA Format - Documenting Sources: (The final page)

Works Cited Page Example

Works Cited
Stover, John F. The Routledge Historical Atlas of the American Railroads.
New York: Routledge, 1999. Print

Airplane Charge More for Overweight Passengers. ABCNews Chronicle: ABCNews,

11 Jan. 2008. Web. 3 May 2013.

Brown, Susy M. Airplane Tickets. Airline Express: Airlines Inc:

11 Jan. 2008. Web. 5 May 2013.

Airplane Charge More for Overweight Passengers. ABCNews Chronicle: ABCNews,

11 Jan. 2008. Web. 3 May 2013.

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RESEARCH PROCESS
MLA Form at Cover/Title Page Example

Shotwell Academy

Title of Essay

Your Name
ELA/Period
Mrs. Cooper
Due Date: April 22, 2016

The title page

information must
be centered on
the page.

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