ENG1100 Project 2: Mr. Trump Alone Can Order a Nuclear Strike

ENG1100Writing Project 2: Response to an Op-Ed(at least 1,000 words)(20% of final course grade)Due DatesHere are the important due dates: • Topic Proposal due on Wednesday, October 4th via Blackboard by 11:59 p.m. • a 1st draft due for peer review (Bring 3 copies) – Saturday, October 7th  • a final draft due for teacher review and a tentative grade – Saturday, October 14th by 11:59 p.m. via Blackboard Goals of the AssignmentThe main goals of the assignment are: • To help you critically read and respond to texts • To help you develop and sustain a controlling idea and to relate your own   ideas to others’• To help you refine your writing processes (prewriting, drafting, getting feedback, revising, designing, editing, reflecting, and assessing)• To give you further practice in producing a text appropriate for a particular audience and purposeCourse Learning Outcomes AddressedThe course learning outcomes addressed by the assignment are: • Demonstrate rhetorical knowledge • Engage in critical thinking, reading, and writing • Develop effective composing processes • Collaborate during the writing process in a social setting • Use appropriate conventions for format, documentation, and editing • Adapt composing processes to electronic environments ____________________________________________________________________The AssignmentThe term “Op-ed” is an abbreviation for "opposite-the-editorial-page.”  It’s a genre of writing that typically appears in newspapers, and it usually focuses on expressing personal opinions or viewpoints.  For this assignment, you’ll be asked to select your own Op-ed, then you’ll write a response to ONE of those selections (your choice). 
Your main goal will be to agree with, or disagree with, or otherwise make an argument about some aspect of your chosen op-ed.  You’ll be expected to use your own experience and observations to support your main assertion. You’ll also be expected to accurately summarize the original writer’s ideas and assertions. AudienceThink of your primary audience for this paper as the writer and the original readers of the Op-ed piece you’re responding to.  Think of your secondary audience as your classmates and your instructor. 
Format and Design12 pt font, double-spaced, Times New Roman.  If you want, you can lay out your paper like the sample Op-eds in the textbook (e.g., single-spaced, Times New Roman font). Or you could use a column style of formatting, like that used in newspapers.Evidence / DocumentationPlease note that the only source to be used for this assignment is the original op-ed to which you’re responding.  You’re not permitted to use other outside source material.  Your evidence should come from your own experiences and observations.To document the original Op-ed, you’ll use a practice known as “simple attribution.”  The first time you mention the author of the Op-ed, you will use his/her first and last name, after that, you will only use the last name. You will be using MLA citation, which means that you must include a name and page number for each attribution. You must include at least 3 direct quotes, with the appropriate attributions.Your attribution might look like this: Friedman writes, “Today, just about everything is becoming a commodity, except imagination, except the ability to spark new ideas,” (328). or this:He writes, “Today, just about everything is becoming a commodity, except imagination, except the ability to spark new ideas,” (Friedman 328). ProcessYou’ll work through the following stages for creating your response: • Reading and discussing op-ed pieces from your textbook • Completing prewriting and planning activities for your own draft • Creating a first draft of your project • Getting and giving feedback on drafts • Revising your project • Deciding on design matters for your project • Editing your project for clarity in terms of grammar, mechanics, etc. • Reflecting on and assessing your workEvaluationIn evaluating your project, I'll consider the criteria on the ENGL 0190 grading rubric.  I'll be looking especially at how well you: • Pose an interesting main idea and support it throughout the paper with specific examples drawn from your own experience • Hold your audience's interest and help them gain insights • Acknowledge (through simple attribution) the work of the original author to whom you're responding • Organize your writing • Achieve clarity in conveying your message
***Plagiarism Guidelines***Make sure you are familiar with plagiarism guidelines as outlined in the syllabus—the work needs to be your own. Though you may get help from the writing center or from family or friends, be careful about the line between other people doing your work for you and you taking suggestions from others, but doing the work yourself.