- 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.
