Livingood
From UVA Writing Center
B WEEK • ENWR 106 sec. 1 & 3
First Appointment
The students' first paper, 2-4 pages in length, is due Monday, Feb. 18.
Here's their first paper assignment:
The class topic is “Immigration in America.” Some people have called today’s immigration levels an “invasion,” while others argue that immigrants actually help the U.S. and its economy more than they hurt it. In either case, immigration—illegal and legal—is likely to be hotly debated for a long time. For this first paper, I want your main claim to assess how much of a problem you think today’s immigration represents. You’ve seen statistics and read reports on the best guesses of how much is occurring. You’ve seen conflicting information on whether today’s large numbers of immigrants help or hurt the U.S. economy. Is the amount of immigration occurring now a problem? Why or why not?
'When they come into the Writing Center, they should have at least'''' three body paragraphs ready. Things to work on:
- Each paragraph should have a viable claim in its first 1-2 sentences.
- Students should supply 2-3 pieces of evidence to support those claims in each paragraphs.
- The evidence should directly support the claim.
- That they also talk "about" the evidence, so a reader understands the strength, credibility, and relevance of it. (i.e. They don't just drop in a statistic, but also explain that that statistic came from a Washington Postarticle by Robert Samuelson)
If there's time, also take a look at
- Helping them develop an introductory paragraph using a problem statement (we covered this today, Monday, 2/11)
- Helping them get in-text MLA citation correct
