- In creating your essay, follow the steps you have learned for researching, drafting, and writing a research essay. Your essay must rely on a minimum of six academic sources (no Wikipedia, encyclopedias, non-academic sources). Your essay must make a clear statement of topic (controlling idea), articulate a coherent argument that begins with a focused thesis, and support this argument with the results of your research.
Your essay must have a descriptive title that suggests its topic and main argument. You will include a properly formatted works cited section, and correctly use parenthetical references in the MLA style, as shown in Strategies for Successful Writing. You will submit a complete draft of the essay, which is a required part of the assignment. Failure to do so will result in a deduction of 10% from its final grade. The essay draft must be complete in terms of length, must have a complete and correctly formatted works cited page, and execute parenthetical citation according to MLA style. Non-compliance in any of these areas will result in the aforementioned deduction for incompleteness.
Final drafts that do not correctly utilize MLA rules for citation and works cited entries will receive a grade no higher than a "C."
