Why: This assignment teaches students to assess and reference scholarly research sources used to support an argument with two sides. The goal is effective communication, y’all!

What: Write a 4-6 page essay (note: a minimum of 4 full pages is required for this assignment) that makes an argument and where students support their claims with at least 4 peer-reviewed, scholarly articles (each consisting of at least 5 pages in length) from the Dallas College databases online.

Prompt Options: Prompts are based on the novel students read in this course. Think about the following topics inspired by the book and craft an argument based on one of the topics:

· How to punish children?

· *or* what are the best positive motivations for children? What is the best teaching style?

· How should administrators deal with students who misbehave?

· Should dark-themed literature be read by young readers?

· Should parents talk about death with their children?

· How does divorce affect children?

· How does trauma affect children as they develop?

· What are the best ways to grieve a loss?

· What are the most effective ways to prevent bullying in schools?

Note: this list is *not* exhaustive! (This means you can come up with a topic that is connected to the book that you are more interested in exploring.)

How:

· Students should use the Toulmin Method to write their body paragraphs in addition to the methods for writing introductions and conclusions specifically taught in this course.

· Students should include properly formatted in-text citations in their paragraphs following direct quotations taken from their scholarly sources.

· Students should use proper MLA formatting and should include a Work(s) Cited page citing their scholarly sources.

· Students should not use any website or the brain of anyone else outside of this course to help them write their paper.

· You will submit essays on Brightspace before the due date/time specified in the course calendar.