Task: For your final essay, please choose one of the following topics below and write a well-organiz

/in /by

Task: For your final essay, please choose one of the following topics below and write a well-organized and
developed argumentative—not informative—essay utilizing all the writing skills studied this semester.
Proposals for Parkland College
 Topic 1: Propose one business, organization, or resource that you think is needed at Parkland College.
Please provide compelling arguments and evidence that show that this resource is necessary for Parkland.
 Topic 2: Choose one existing business, organization, or resource at Parkland College, and propose
improvements that will make it more successful or better. Provide compelling arguments and evidence
that show that these improvements will make the business, organization, or resource more successful.
Proposals for the Community
 Topic 3: : Propose one business, organization, or resource that you think is needed in the ChampaignUrbana-Savoy area. Please provide compelling arguments and evidence that show that the business,
organization, or resource is necessary to the specific area.
 Topic 4: Choose one existing business, organization, or resource in the Champaign-Urbana-Savoy area,
and propose improvements that will make it more successful. Provide compelling arguments and
evidence that show that these improvements will make the business, organization, or resource more
successful.
For Topics 2 and 4, the improvements that you propose must be realistic and applicable to the business,
organization, or resource. ……. …..

Past Student Thesis Statements: Proposals for Parkland College
 Topic 1: Parkland should offer international students health insurance because it will benefit both
international students and Parkland.
 Topic 2: Compared to the other homepages, for example, the University of Illinois at Urban-Champaign
(UIUC), the Parkland College website needs improvement. The homepage of the Parkland College should
be more vivid, should include more substance, and the search engine should be more effective.
 Topic 2: Parkland College Library needs more available study areas, especially discussion rooms;
extended open time; and many resources, both print and media to meet the needs of the students.
Past Student Thesis Statements: Proposals for the Community
 Topic 3: Opening a childcare service with reasonable fee at Market Place would help the mall businesses
to be more profitable because it will reduce goods returned, increase sales, and reduce the damage of
materials and fixture.
 Topic 3: To solve this situation, private and public organizations in Champaign-Urbana really should
consider providing more indoor places for children to play. It is really necessary because of the huge
number of children, the lack of indoor facilities, and the extreme weather in this area.
 Topic 4: Hollister Co. would be much more successful if they hire better employees, change the
environment in the store, and change the sizing of the clothes.
 Topic 4: To be more profitable, Meijer needs to add a delivery service and a kids’ place and redesign their
carts.2
Number of Pages: 3 ½ pages minimum + works cited page + outline
Format: Same as always. Typed, double-spaced, 1-inch margins on all sides, no extra spacing, Times New Roman
12-point font, MLA paper format, etc.
Due Date:
 Late work will not be accepted for this essay.
 Any time on Tuesday, Dec. 10 : Final draft + works cited page + outline that reflects the final draft +
articles cited in the essay with the passages highlighted
o Submit an electronic copy of the essay, works cited page, and outline to the Unit 4 Essay Dropbox on
Cobra as a Microsoft Word document attachment. Everything should all be in one document.
o Submit the articles you quoted in your essay to Unit 4 Essay Dropbox by following the directions
below: ……. …..

 Copy-paste the article that you cited in your essay to a Microsoft Word document.
 Highlight the passages you cited.
Organization:
Please follow the organization below:
I. Introduction
Thesis Statement: The last one or two sentences of the introduction.
II. Body
A. Background Information  Optional
B. 1
st Argument to Support Your Thesis (Be sure to provide a topic sentence)
C. 2
nd Argument to Support Your Thesis (Be sure to provide a topic sentence)
D. 3
rd Argument to Support Your Thesis  Optional (Be sure to provide a topic sentence)
E. Counter-Argument & Refutation
III. Conclusion
Content Guidelines:
 You must quote two passages from two articles. The quotations can be used anywhere in your
essay: in your introduction, argument sections, counter-argument & refutation section, or
conclusion.
Be sure to introduce/integrate the quotations and properly cite them.
The articles and the passages you quote from must be approved by me. This means, you will need to
choose your quotations at least one class before the final essay due date.
NOTE: Although you are quoting outside sources in this essay, majority of your essay should be your
own ideas. This is not a research paper.
 Your essay must have a relevant and attention-grabbing introduction.
 The thesis statement must be the last one or two sentences of your introduction. Please underline the
thesis statement.
 Please include a counter-argument and refutation section. This comes right before the conclusion.3
 Each argument paragraph must have a topic sentence that clearly states the argument/counter-argument
at the beginning of the paragraph. Please underline the topic sentences.
 Each body paragraph must be supported by specific and relevant examples and details.
 Use a variety of development methods.
 Each body paragraph must have a specific purpose for your essay.
 Apply PEES: Point, Evidence/Example, Explanation, & Summary.
 Use transitions both to link the paragraphs to each other and to link the points within each paragraph.
The essay as well as each paragraph must be clearly organized.
 Provide a relevant concluding paragraph.
 Include a works cited page. This should be the last page of your essay.
 Please pay close attention to grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling. Proof read to
correct any errors before you turn in your essay. ……. …..