To ensure you include the appropriate elements in your argument paper, you must organize all of your research. This assignment will help you to determine what pieces of research you would like to include in your paper, and which claims and statements the selected research will support. The outline you create will be used as the basis for the Week 5 Final Argument Paper assignment. Follow these step-by-step instructions as they are presented, to guide you through the assignment.

Part 1: Research and Evaluation

Conduct a search in the University Library for three peer-reviewed journal articles that relate to your topic and the reasons you hold your position about that topic, which you outlined in your Week 1 Topic Selection Worksheet.

Review the articles you selected, and highlight information that supports your reasons for your position.

If the articles you      initially select do not support your position, continue to research until      you find content that does.

Evaluate each article you intend to use with the

Evaluating Resources Worksheet

in the Center for Writing Excellence. Your sources should meet the evaluation criteria listed to ensure they are appropriate for your paper. You will use the information from this evaluation in Part 2 of this assignment, but you will not submit this evaluation document.

Part 2: Thesis Statement and Outline

Create an outline of your argument paper using the

Argument Paper Outline Template

.

Complete the following areas of the Argument Paper Outline Template. Replace the template text with your information.

• Title page
• On page 2: Title of Paper
• Revised thesis statement 

  Review       the draft of your thesis statement from your Week 1 Topic Selection       Worksheet, and make any necessary revisions to form a clear claim for       your argument. Use your faculty feedback and the Writing a Thesis Statement Tutorial       for tips on revising your thesis statement.

• APA-formatted level 1      headings for each of the reasons for your position
• Topic sentence 

  Topic       sentences will begin each body paragraph about the particular topic. The       topic sentence should focus on one of the reasons for your position.

• Main points you want to      present about each reason for your position 

  Each       main point should represent an additional detail in the discussion of       each reason for your position.

• Supporting research for each      main point, including the Information source from which the supporting      research was retrieved
• Reference page with an APA      formatted reference for each of the peer-reviewed sources used 

  Ensure       your Reference page lists the sources in alphabetical order. You may use       the Reference and Citation Generator,       found in the Center for Writing Excellence, to help generate your       references.
  Below       each reference, include a 25- to 50-word justification for why the source       is appropriate for use in this paper. Each justification should be based       on the evaluation you completed in Part 1 of this assignment.

You do not need to include the introduction and conclusion paragraphs this week, as you will be working on those next week.